An archer stood elegantly poised in the delicate light and silence of a gently stirring dawn. Ancient trees covered in lichen, surrounded and towered over her petite frame. Her stance was perfect; legs shoulder width apart, back straight, knees slightly bent. A gloved hand brushed against her warm, brown cheek, almond eyes stared fixedly towards the target yards away.

A gentle exhale and….

With an almost indiscernible sound the arrow left the bow, swiftly cutting through the crisp air and hitting its aim with a soft thunk.

Hands lowered, she turned. Her hair a dark cloud of coils down her back, held away from her face by two, thick braids which dangled past her ears and rested in coils on her lush bosom. She stared at her friend who lay on a large rock a few steps away from her. Clad in the similar loose, linen blouse and tight, dark trousers she was clothed in. Her left ankle rested against her bent, right knee and a half-emptied wineskin lay on her stomach.

She looked lost in thought, chewing a blade of wild grass, eyes staring up into the pale sky.

“Soooooooooooooo,” the archer drew the word out slowly from her full, pouted lips. Her friend lowered her gaze to her.

“His Majesty has a massive cock huh.”

Keela cupped her forehead and made an exasperated noise.

“Ad’jeoma……”

“I mean you would not think so when you look at him.”

Keela groaned, pinching the space between her creased brows.

“He looks like he has a tiny, little pee pee, something cute and harmless.”

She paused, cackling hysterically as she hugged her stomach.

“He looks…..he looks like he needs to be made Love to tenderly on the softest linens, layered with fresh rose petals. He looks like he cries when he cums and needs to be held to your chest closely while you kiss his tears away.”

“Gods!”

“Don’t curse, you know I’m right.”

“No, you’re not right, especially in the head.”

The little woman bent over laughing, voice tinkling and full of teasing. She sauntered over to her friend and sat next to her, eyes glittering with mischief.

“So, what happened next?”

Keela paused, her gaze lowered and darkened, growing hazy as her mind was transported to the previous night.

The King’s appetite was…..voracious.

He took her again and again and again; her bound hands did not prevent him from contorting her body to his satisfaction. They rested briefly between bouts; in the silence between them he traced her body with his fingertips or stroked her locks.

In the final silence she fell asleep, body coated with sweat and legs trembling, physically and mentally spent.

She slowly woke up to a hand gently nudging her shoulder.

There was a muted hum of activity around her, servants bustling in and out of the open doors, filling a large tub in the opposite corner. Three of her chambermaids were around her, helping her up, one attempting to slip the sleeve of a robe through one of her now Free hands.

“Hurry up!”

It was then she noticed the King standing at the window, shutters open, facing the still dark sky. The deep rumble of his voice was distant and cold.

“Fill the tub as quickly as you can. I need to get her stench off me.”

Keela froze, her stomach tightened and eyes burned. One of her chambermaids gasped, then covered her little mouth quickly.

The queen chuckled darkly and they finished helping her up and into the robe, guiding her out of the room to her chamber. Her own bath was waiting, she undressed and slipped in without a word. They rushed to help but she shook her head, rejecting their outstretched hands.

“Please.” It was a hoarse, broken sound.

They turned to the head-maid, the older woman nodded and they all curtsied and left, glancing at their queen. She hated how fragile she must have looked in their eyes.

She hated how fragile she felt, how….

Dirty.

She shut her eyes, the older maid was yet to leave. Keela felt her presence move towards her and stand behind the tub, then a warm palm gently squeezed her upper arm. She covered the hand and squeezed back.

She heard the woman sniff softly, then with slow steps she left her alone. Alone with her thoughts.

Alone with her hurt.

Silence reigned in the wood again.

Ad’jeoma sighed deeply.

“Oh, Keelz……”

She heard the pain her friend felt for her in those two, whispered words.

Keela sat up, forearms resting on her knees. She rubbed her face and laughed bitterly.

“To think I was a night’s dream away from my happiness. Now…….”

The hurt returned in the form of a physical pain. A lancing, throbbing heat in her chest.

Now reviled, scorned, hated.

“What do I do Ad’je?” She smiled looking at her friend as tears escaped from her red eyes.

“What kind of queen can I hope to be? I’m bound by honour to live, but all this shame makes me want to die! A lifetime of blood, dedication and sacrifice smeared, tainted and discarded. I have nothing to look forward to – no heart, no hearth, no home. No hope. No future. Nothing!”

Her voice rose shrilly as she vented. A tumble of feelings, of anger and sadness, disappointment and fear flowing out of her.

She laid down the shield over her emotions and wept loudly. Ad’jeoma held her while she did so, rubbing her back, murmuring to her to let it all out. To cry, to curse, to scream if she had to. Days worth of pent up emotions raged through her and out of her and left her feeling empty and desolate.

When the tears ended, she sat up, disentangling herself from her friend’s embrace. Sniffling and hiccuping. Drying her face with a sleeve.

Ad’jeoma stared and smiled sadly.

“Do you know what I Love about you Keela?”

The sniffling stopped, she quieted, listening.

“I mean besides your strength, your wits and your perfect Ass.”

A snort and then, a short bark of genuine laughter.

Ad’jeoma reached out, stroking her locks.

“I Love your tenacity. I Love that you never give up. I Love that you work that pretty little head of yours to find a way, even if it seems impossible. Every runt of every litter you’ve saved, every man and woman you’ve helped bring back home, every difficult mission you’ve accomplished is a testament to you. Regardless of how dark the path, you’ve always let this,” she moved her hand and covered the area over her heart, “light the way. And even where there’s no path, time and time again you’ve used your will to carve one out yourself. Do not give up Keela, you never have before. Do not start now!”

The last sentence was almost a command, she gazed into her friend’s eyes and her insides warmed at the faith she saw there.

Her lips quirked upwards and she parted them to thank her friend only to feel her hand shift to the left and tentatively squeeze her breast.

Not breaking eye contact and with the most deadpan expression on her face, Ad’jeoma cupped her other breast and squeezed. It was when she squeezed them twice in quick succession that Keela finally jumped to action and sharply swatted those mischievous paws away.

“Ow!”

“You little lech.”

“Hey not everyone can boast that they’ve squeezed a literal royal pair of tits.”

“No one is supposed to.”

She stuck out her tongue petulantly and Keela smiled. She shook her head, then laughed. Her friend’s antics and words made the gloom around her brighten.

“Thank you Ad’je.”

Ad’jeoma grinned back rakishly.

“Never thank me for the truth, my Love.”

She chuckled and rose up, body arched backwards like a gently bent bow as she stretched, arms above her head.

“Time to head back?”

Keela had already turned away from her.

“Yes, prep for the morning-after luncheon later. May try to get a quick nap before that battle.”

“Do that, sleep can help smooth out some of those frazzled nerves.”

She hummed in assent and then glanced at the rock with the blanket she was laying on as well as the wineskin and an opened paper bag half filled with pastries.

“You’ll clean up here?”

“Yes my Queen,” Ad’jeoma also rose up, ending her response with an overly extravagant curtsey.

More laughter.

“Little fool.”

Keela started jogging in place, she felt lighter, calmer, more determined.

Yes, I’ll find a way.

She stretched her long legs and ran off, locks bouncing.

“Keelz, send Ez over to help!”

A lifted hand indicated her agreement.

The petite archer smiled, bow in hand and watched her friend disappear in the distance.

Her smile slowly grew hard and ugly to the point of malevolence. And then….

She spun, faster than the eye could grasp, gracefully twisting her exquisitely shaped body like a dancer. Four arrows left her bow. Four targets fell, three with loud thuds, to the forest floor.

Three sharp whistles were heard in the distance.

The wait was not a long one; they were never far from their mistress. She heard them rustling through the underbrush towards her then they sped past, rapid blurs of grey, black and white went searching. One excited fellow danced around her, front paws reaching her shoulders, tail wagging wildly. It took her two head pats, a chin scratch and a few “good boys” for him to dart off to join his friends.

She heard heavier, slower steps behind her.

“Why…..good morning Ezra.”

She turned and grinned cheekily, meeting the gaze of a titanic hound covered in grey, wiry fur. One pitch black eye and one milky white stared at the little archer, simply oozing disdain.

“Still THE most arrogant bitch I’ve ever come across.”

She received a short huff in response.

The hound glanced forward and let out four throaty growls and a heavy “whuff”.

A chorus of excited yips was the response. The canine huffed again, glanced at Ad’jeoma in disgust then padded off to the now unoccupied rock. She leapt up, circled and settled down on the blanket that Keela was laying on, she sniffed at it, nuzzling the fabric with her snout and huffed contentedly, eyes closed.

Ad’jeoma strode over and sat down on the rock’s edge.

“Ever going to tell me why you dislike me so much Ezra?”

The hound opened her working eye and peered at her, bored, as if this human was not worth an iota of her time. She shut it and snorted.

“Guess not.”

Minutes later all of the smaller dogs returned, they dragged over the four targets; three human and one a bird.

“Dead, dead and damn, dead?”

She exhaled in frustration, while the first two human targets were taken down with arrows through their throats, the third should have been incapacitated only with an arrowhead lodged in his lower back. However the purple face and disgustingly bloated tongue pointed to another cause of death.

“Shit,” she toed the corpse, “poison.”

Ezra lept down and glanced at the poisoned man, then at Ad’jeoma; a glance full of blame and derision.

“Don’t look at me like that, why don’t you be in charge of the shooting next time and I deal with the clean up? Hmmm?”

She swore the bitch rolled her eyes at her.

One of the pups pranced over, a snow white hawk held in its jaw. Ad’jeoma took the bird over gingerly, the arrow had broken one wing. It lay in her hands quietly shivering, mouth opened and gasping.

She smiled at the marvelously beautiful creature in her hands. Eyes dancing with fascination.

“Ohhh….I am going to keep you my gorgeous darling.”

She removed one of her gloves and tenderly stroked the silken feathers. She detached the tube attached to its leg and kept stroking its body.

“There, there, little one. Sorry about the wing but I will patch you up and take good care of you. You won’t be hurt agai…..”

She was abruptly cut off as Ezra had leaned over, grasped the bird in her mouth and pulled it out of her hands.

“HEY!”

The hawk started struggling, letting out soft, little “chwirps” of distress. Ezra then dropped it to the ground, placed one gargantuan paw on its body to pin it down, then….

Bent over and wrenched its head off with its great jaws.

She then spat it out.

“Ezra! Dammit you heartless bitch!”

Another disdainful look and then the dog bent over, picked up the now wildly flapping body with her teeth and tossed it to the pups who immediately tore it to shreds.

Ad’jeoma, crossed her hands before her chest and glared at the hound.

“Was that really necessary!?!”

The dog grunted as if to say, “an enemy is an enemy and enemies must be destroyed.”

“Argh!”

She tugged at her braids and growled in frustration.

Sighing, she then extracted the note encased in the tube in her hand. She read it and frowned.

Damn.

She crumpled the paper and stared in the direction her friend and queen previously headed off to.

The woods were once again silent.

Keela lengthened her strides, seeming to glide through the quiet wood. She kept that same, even pace as she entered a hidden entrance within a cluster of rocks. Through damp tunnels of earth and old stone, hidden channels behind the busy kitchen and quiet chambers. She only halted when she stood in front of her bed and then allowed her muscles to loosen, falling face first into the soft fluff of her bed, boot clad feet dangling over the edge. She shut her eyes, breathing slowly, emptying her mind of all distractions and then drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Again she was awakened by a gentle nudging on her shoulder. She sat up and righted herself to see her chambermaids about her, tentative smiles on their faces and a mixture of unknown emotion in their eyes. Her lips curled upward slightly, her eyes soft with warmth. They all seemed to let out a pent up breath and smiled genuinely in return.

After that came another flurry of action. A quick, perfumed bath, her locks were weaved into a beautiful crown atop her head, gorgeously decorated with jewelled flowers. Her garments were slipped on in layers, all in the King’s colours, the material and cut dulling the hard edges of her body. After a tint of coloured wax was added to her lips and cheeks the maids gathered around her, grinning in satisfaction. The head-maid stepped forward

“It’s time, my queen.”

Keela nodded and stood up, posture proud.

“Yes it is. Let’s go.”

She was surrounded and guided to the King who was waiting to enter the Great Hall in which the morning after luncheon was being held. Most guests were already seated, awaiting the expectedly late entrance of the newlyweds.

Keela’s steps did admittedly slow for half a heartbeat when she saw him standing before her, but in all daunting things that have ever required her extra courage, she dug deep within her reserves and mustered onward.

The King glanced over her wordlessly, again no emotion on his face. He nodded once then proffered his gloved hand, she stared at it for a short time before placing hers over it. The herald announced their entrance and they strode into the room, greeted by raucous cheers and applause. Some blessings and jokes added to the cacophony of noise. The King led her to their seats over all and then gave a note of thanks and welcome. After the brief greeting, the food was blessed and the feast began.

Keela smiled the gentle smile she taught herself throughout, the one that she reserved for wounded animals and small children. She was not required to say any words and blessed the Saints for it. Instead she sipped sweet wine from a ridiculously ornate goblet and sampled the decadent fare.

One of the serving maids placed a wooden mug before her, emanating a warm, comforting and familiar scent. She glanced up to see the server gently incline her head to her left. The head-maid was there, discrete behind one of the entrances for the kitchen staff, she smiled with gentle encouragement. Keela smiled back, feeling her mood improve even further and picked up the mug in both hands.

She sipped and couldn’t help a low sigh of pleasure from escaping her pursed lips.

Spiced xoco, as it slipped down her gullet, warmth unfurled soothing tendrils that spread from her chest to the tips of her fingers. her lips curled against the rim of the mug and she sipped again.

“What’s that?”

The sudden question to her right brought her out of her comforting reverie, she glanced across to the King, his head leaned against his seat, he was watching her from under lowered lids.

“Spiced xoco.” she husked. He glimpsed at her lips again. She was about to place the mug down when he reached across and covered her hand with his. He leaned forward and brought the mug to his mouth. A tentative sip then, “Oh”.

He settled back into his seat, his tongue flicked over his bottom lip.

“It’s good.”

Keela nodded slightly and placed the mug down, she turned to her meal and felt a penetrative stare shoot right through her.

By the Piteous Saint. She squeezed her eyes shut then peeked in the direction of the stare out of the corner of one eye. The hulking fifth Prince of Cartine stood at the guest entrance to the hall, clenching and unclenching his meaty fists. Eyes burning with a myriad of emotion, all directed towards her. She almost cursed out loud as her newly gained calm felt the first ripples of unwanted disturbance.

I do NOT need this.

“My Queen?”

The King leaned forward, studying her darkened features.

“Is everything alright?”

A gloved hand covered hers, for the wisp of a moment she fell into the illusion that he actually cared. She slipped her hand from under his touch.

“Pardon me, O King. I feel a bit lightheaded and need to slip away.”

His eyes roved about her face and he nodded, pulling away. She rose swiftly and exited the Great Hall, the feeling of being tracked by a predatory animal burning between her shoulder blades and making her neck prickle.

By The Goddess. She was almost jogging when he hit the corridor leading back to her chambers. She asked not to be followed and slipped behind one of the heavy tapestries that led to a balcony. She noticed how overcast the sky was and inhaled deeply, savoring the cool, clean air.

“It’s going to rain, plenty and soon.”

A much younger Keela glanced off into the distance, the rumbling of thunder confirming the incoming deluge. She and the young lad from the monastery who asked to accompany her on this short mission trip sat silently on their horses, pondering their next move. Caught in the forest during what was shaping up to be quite a rainstorm was not an attractive prospect.

The young knight huffed, ruffling her shoulder-length locks. The nearest town was at least two hours away and putting together an adequate shelter would take more time than they had. She glanced down and her eyes lit up with an idea.

“Aha!”

She turned towards the lanky young man behind her and winked at him.

“Follow me.”

She turned her mount and headed back in the direction from whence they came, but part-way they branched off into a faint track that led deeper into the wilder parts of the wood.

“Where…..where are we going?”

Keela chuckled, so cute.

“To shelter of course my good man.”

“Shelter?”

“Yes, yes, yes. Apart from good hunting, this wood is also known for rare, quality mushrooms. During the gathering season, the men and women who come out here stay in Jakobo Trees. Remembered passing a couple markers higher up in the trail, once we follow them we will be able to find shelter.”

Jakobo trees were large, hollowed trees that grew in a circle in certain parts of the wood. Individual trunks were connected to each other by large, horizontal roots. Older trees could be fashioned into living spaces even when alive.

The wind became more aggressive, causing both travelers to pick up their pace. The thunder which initially sounded afar off, felt as if it were coming from overhead and the sky became a boiling, dark grey mass of heavy clouds. Soon enough their place of refuge came into sight. Keela led the lad through a gap in the trees. There were several of them, each trunk served a specific purpose, be it for sleeping, cooking, even for storing livestock. They were able to strip and settle their mounts and scamper over to the closest living area, open the rough door and enter the gloomy interior before the rain poured down in seemingly endless sheets of cold water.