"Daria, the Warrior Queen" (closed to current writers)

[PennySaver]

Palla practically leaped out of her shoes at the feel of a hand upon one of her ass cheeks. Spinning, she found a familiar face, Kylen, one of the Castle Guards who had been trying to get under the hem of her dress since her first day working in the kitchen.

He gave her a hungry ogle. Employing the name he knew her by -- she hadn't wanted anyone to use Palla for fear she'd be remembered -- he asked, "Where have you been hiding, Chloe? I looked for you in the kitchen, but they said you'd been gone a couple of days."

He stepped closer, eying her bosom as he asked with an obviously suggestive tone, "Are you ready to come visit me for a little hide the sausage yet?"

Kylen hadn't had a chance with Palla before, even when her own sexual needs had been building … but now that she needed a convert reentry into the castle … maybe?

#############​

Daria looked down upon Meara as she napped in the cushy chair that Gwent himself had spent hours and nights in during his own weakness. She was looking so much better than that first day. Speaking to the Healer, the Queen asked softly, "Have you had any further gain in learning what is wrong with her … with Meara and the others."

The Healer urged Daria off to a far corner of the room, then in barely more than a whisper said, "I believe it was poison, Mistress."

Daria's eyes widened, and a moment later her face was filled with rage. She growled, "Who … and how did you not determine this before?"

"The who, Mistress, is still unknown," he responded. He explained that they had looked at all the affected people and determined that if it had been bad water or food, that others close to those patients would also have gotten ill. "But we can find no connection between those who got sick or died. Miss Meara … Lord Gwent … Bettra Lee..."

"Who?" Daria cut in.

The Healer hesitated before answering, unsure of how to properly identify the woman who for weeks had been sucking the cock of the Queen's future husband. He only continued by calling her, "The Lord of Honor's Chamber Maid, Mistress. And … there was a Cook's Assistant from the Kitchen--"

"Then it was someone preparing food in the kitchen," Daria surmised.

"But there was also a Castle Guard, Mistress, who never ate from the food that came from the kitchen that served only you, Miss Meara, and the other nobles."

What the Healer didn't know was that Palla had tested her poison out on the now dead guard by sneaking him some of the snacks prepared with it. "I'm sorry, Mistress … it is simply a mystery … one that might never be learnt."

 

[SandS13]

Palla turned and smiled. She pouted prettily. "I wanted to visit but I didn't know where you lived Kylen. I thought you had forgotten about me."

She pressed up against him. Her eyes on his. He was perfect. His position not too high to bring suspicion. "If you still want me I think I might be ready..." She batted her eyes.
-----
Meara woke but didn't open her eyes. She strained to listen to their conversation. She caught poison, food.. She frowned and slowly sat up. Whoever had done it had stopped since no one had grown sick in over a week and everyone was on the mend.

"And the baby?" She stood, legs shaky but she wanted to move and on her own. Her hand rested on the back of a chair.

The healer looked surprised and turned to look at Meara.

"Viable, growing but smaller than it should be. You are almost six months along and the child should be far more..." The healer mimicked a larger belly. "You are small and not all carry the same but I fear its growth was slowed by the poison. It moves well so that is something. You must, for the last few months eat as much as your body can handle and rest. With the wedding coming up I fear the excitement or stress may be too much and the child could come early. If that happens I cannot say it will survive."

Meara nodded, her face showing her sadness. "I must work on regaining my strength. I wish to go for a walk, three times a day. Outside."

The healer frowned and turned to Daria. "I suggest bed rest."

"I am tired of the blasted bed!" Meara rose her voice a little. "I will not be confined to it all day."

The healer looked at Daria. "She must take it easy. Perhaps you and the Lord Commander can convince her to take it easy and mistress...it is recommended...well..." He looked uncomfortable. "No sexual activity until she has recovered more."

Meara let out an exasperated groan. "I do not get to decide any of this do I? I wish to walk, to see petitioners again and to do what I wish in bed."

 

[PennySaver]

"If you still want me I think I might be ready..." Palla told the Castle Guard.

Kylen smiled, pleased with the incredible development in his sex life. He wasn't exactly the most handsome, more fit of soldiers in the emply of the Castle; in fact, he was thirty pounds heavier than his height dictated he be ... and then there was the fact that he looked like someone had beat him two or three or ten times with an ugly stick.

"I'm stuck on Perimeter Watch for the next moon, maybe two," Kylen told her with a sour expression. "We stay in a barracks where you and I can't meet. But...! Every six days, I am in the castle, to offer relief to the Tower Watch. We can meet then … inside the castle."

That seemed to please Palla, and they made plans for their next get-together.

#####################​

Daria was pleased to hear the relatively good news about the health of the baby. She was also pleased to see her lover pitching a fit over the suggestion that Meara limit her sexual activity.

Pretending that she didn't intend Meara to hear the question, Daria asked the Healer, "Now, when you say limit sexual activity … I assume you mean the excitement that would result from it...?"

The Healer nodded acknowledgment, after which Daria added, "So … you are concerned about Miss Meara's excitement level. She could still work to increase my excitement level, though … with no harm to the baby."

The Healer didn't immediately realize that Daria was teasing Meara; when he did, he blushed a fiery red, nodded respectfully, then as he departed said, "I leave such issues to you, Mistress."

Daria laughed and went to Meara, kneeling before her and kissing her softly on the lips. "You...! You are going to refrain from sex for the next little while, my love … a week … a moon … until I see signs that you and our baby are both healthy again."

 

[SandS13]

Meara was annoyed and frustrated. She pouted as Daria kissed her. Her eyes met Daria's. "Alright, I will refrain."

She kissed Daria, her hand brushing her cheek. "You will have to be patient with me love. I tire easily and you are insatiable at times..." She smiled against Daria's lips before pulling back.

"I want to go for walks. And I will not be relegated to a bed. I wish to move around and bathe myself and see petitioners again. I need to feel normal. And you can tell Lord Commander, Gwent he may visit today. I have received all his concerned messages and feel I need to ease his worries before he dies of worry."

Finna nodded and left the room.

"I do not want to be treated like a child. I have earned this right, have I not? I have learned a lot and I am stronger than I look." She was looking at Daria again.

 

[PennySaver]

Things began to get back to normal ... if you could call Daria's life normal; she was, after all, a Warrior Queen with a girl friend carrying the child of the man she was about to marry. But ... relatively normal anyway.

She'd spent half a moon close to Meara as the girl's health improved. Daria had initially insisted that Court be limited to an hour every third day, and yet somehow it was now being held every other day for 3 hours! Gods on high, she's got me wrapped around her finger, Daria thought today as she watched her lover again tending to the petitions brought before her.

When Meara finished and made her way to the back passageway, Daria gave her the news they'd been expecting. "The Lord Sheriff of Vorna is seeking support from his nobles to seek secession, so … I must lead the Company there. We leave tomorrow."

The two of them had been limiting their sexual interaction until now per the Healer's instructions; although Meara had so skillfully as ever driven Daria to multiple orgasms many nights over the past two weeks, Daria had limited her own pleasuring of the younger woman to kisses and licks and gentle probing without fulfilling the act with climax. Tonight, however, Daria pushed Meara to ecstasy before falling asleep at her side, whispering all sorts of soft, loving words as they talked about the future.

"The wedding is set for the next full moon," Daria said as she held her soul mate to her. It seemed like such a strange thing to discuss while holding the woman carrying her future husband's child. But then, the whole thing was soft of strange. "We have invited all the right people … the ceremony will satisfy them all, as well as satisfy my uncle. We will consummate with little to no chance of my conceiving … and, to be certain, we have the Healer."

What she meant by that, of course, was that if by chance she did conceive a child by Gwent, the Healer could terminate the pregnancy, just as his predecessor had offered Meara the ability to terminate her own.

"Once that is done, you and I and our baby will be together without further issue," she said, kissing Meara with a joyous tear running off her cheek onto the younger woman's. "I love you."

#######################​

The next morning, Daria rode out with the specialty hand picked Company of Black Army soldiers. She would be gone for only two days, she promised; it would actually become a handful.

 

[SandS13]

Meara understood that Daria had to go. It was her duty. It was her role as queen. It didn't mean she wasn't going to miss her terribly.

For her part she had grown stronger. Her colour returned, her body regained the lost weight and a little more. The swell of her abdomen grew though smaller than it should be for 6 months along. By the time the marriage was set she would be closer to eight months.

She held Daria's hand to her stomach. The baby moved under the touch. "I love you too, my queen. We will anxiously await your return to us."

The wedding preparations were well underway. Daria's dress had been designed. Meara's was being made though like all others she was just a guest. The food was planned and it would be a feast as expected of the queen's wedding. Gwent was learning to manage all the tasks his role was going to entail and was settling in nicely.

Meara sent for him daily so he could sit with her, see the way the baby grew and continue to assure him she was well once more.

Daria's trip went from two days to three...to five....

Meara wrote to her everyday. At this rate she feared Daria wouldn't return until the wedding day.
------
Palla was straddled over Kylen's face as he brought her to another orgasm. She moved back to sit astride his hips. She began rocking her body against him.

"And you will sneak me in to see the wedding right?" She pushed back, sinking his cock into her body. She knew he would give her anything she wanted as long as he was fucking her.

 

[PennySaver]

The rebellion that had been feared never materialized, which was the good news to the Realm, to Daria, and to her plans, both short and long term. The Black Army infantry and cavalry respectively did very little more than take a walk and a ride through the troubled lands; every where they went, the peasantry welcomed Daria and her troops with open arms, open hearts, and -- when the force bedded down for the night -- sometimes even open thighs.

Thanks to the nobles who had been trying to degrade her by speaking of her proclivities for pussy rather than cock, even Daria found herself being approached by women wishing to earn favor by showing their skills between another woman's thighs. She passed, of course; she had no desire for such pleasures from anyone not named Meara of Greendale.

Regarding her soul mate's residential origins, Daria had been busy with a bit of a surprise. Returning to Castlemont after 10 days away, not the promised 2 or 3, Daria spent the first night back showing Meara how much she'd missed her, ignoring the Healer's advice not to send the nearly 7 months pregnant woman to heights of ecstasy. They rose the next morning to eat, bathe, and dress, then went down to the Inner Ward where Daria had a surprise awaiting: a brand new style of carriage that had revolutionary steel springs that gave the vehicle an incredibly smooth ride on the roughest of roads.

"Your bags are packed, my love," Daria said, gesturing to a second coach from which both Hamma and Finna were waving with excitement. Calling forth a pair of Bodyguards to help her up and inside, Daria said with a smile, "I have something to show you."

The trip took four days; each night, the two of them slept together as they had in those first days, on a bed of pillows in Daria's battlefield tent. And all along the way, each time Meara begged to know what was going on, Daria only told her with a big smile, "I am the Queen, the Queen says you don't get to know, so sit there and look at the scenery or I'll blind fold you for the rest of the trip."

The last morning, when they loaded up in the special carriage again, the drapes were drawn so that they couldn't see outside. They road for almost six hours before they came to a stop and the carriage door was opened by none other than Gwent.

"Miss Meara," he said as he offered a hand and he and one of his Captain's helped her down to the ground. He waited for her eyes to begin growing at the realization of where they were before saying, "Welcome home."

It was Greendale, but not the Greendale she remembered. It had been entirely rebuilt and was bustling with activity; most of the original structures had been replaced, but in addition there was a larger dock, a lumber mill, a flour mill, and a bakery so large it was capable of not only feeding the entire population but of selling bread and excess flour to other nearby villages.

"A hundred men and women have been working here for the past four months," Daria explained. She spoke about how the economy had been rejuvenated and most of the survivors who'd fled to the woods that day so many months earlier had returned and -- with an injection of coin to their pockets -- had rebuilt their lives along with the town. Then, gesturing toward the bakery, Daria said, "And that's not all."

A woman was already running toward the coaches, calling out, "My baby! My baby girl!"

It was Meara's mother.

 

[SandS13]

Meara had come to figure out she was not overly fond of surprises. Now, being quite pregnant she really was not in the mood for surprises. Still, the previous night of Daria's attention had put her in a good mood and she was willing to indulge her queen and love.

"Bags? What is...Alright, alright." Meara laughed and got into the carriage. The days went by and Meara's patience grew less. She grew slightly grumpy and pouty.

When they finally stopped Meara was struck speechless. She looked around. Nothing was as it had been and yet it was still home. It was still Greendale. It was just busy and thriving.

The sound of her mother, Berral's voice made Meara white with shock. Her knees weakened and she reached out to Daria for support.

"Mother?"

Berral hugged Meara and placed a hand on her stomach. "My little girl! Look at you. A Lady in the Queen's court! Married, pregnant! Is he a lord?" She put her arm around Meara's shoulders. The curly haired woman looked both frightened and happy. "I am- I-" Her mother was so careful, conservative and strict. How could Meara explain the situation?

"Look at all the queen has done for us! Isn't it wonderful? And when you come back to live here you will have the grandest house I am certain of it! I wish Palla and your father could see you." Berral sniffled a little. "No matter though. I have met a new man and he will marry me soon. He lost his family in the raid as I had mine. We work well together."

Meara didn't know what to say so she simply nodded. She knew Daria had meant this as a happy surprise but her mother added a level of stress to Meara that she had not wanted. Oh, she was happy to see her but Berral would not be happy to learn of what Meara's life was now.

Meara winced, her hand on her abdomen and she froze. She said nothing but her face contorted a little.

 

[PennySaver]

Although she was standing near the coach's back end, nearly out of sight of the approaching, gleeful older woman, Daria had a good view of Meara's reaction to seeing her mother for the first time in 7 months ... 7 somewhat hard to explain months.

As she listened to Berral rattle on about Meara being a Lady in the her court and being married and pregnant -- hopefully! -- the spouse of a noble, Daria didn't know whether to chuckle or cry.

"I am- I-" was all Meara could get out.

Daria looked to Gwent, who had inconspicuously increased the distance between him and Meara in the hopes of not needing to partake in this particular moment. He and Berral hadn't yet met, though, he had been to Greendale twice since Lauren found the enslaved woman in the service of a Lord within the Realm. The Collector had reclaimed Berral per the Queen's direction, promising the Lord a future favor from the Queen, as well as a significant purse of gold. But she'd been told to tell the mother only that Meara was alive and well and with child. When Berrel had asked them who the father of her future grandchild was, Laurel had only said with a smile, "I am sorry, but I don't have that information. I am but a humble servant of the Queen and not privy to much."

What a crock, of course; Laurel had her finger on the pulse of the entire continent, including most of the Noble and Royal territories not yet within Daria's Realm. But the Queen had wanted to explain this herself when the time came … and now, that time had come.

"Look at all the queen has done for us!" Berral went on. She clasped her daughter by the hand and led her toward the bakery, which -- Meara would soon learn -- was now her mother's to operate and, thus, profit from. "Isn't it wonderful? And when you come back to live here you will have the grandest house I am certain of it!"

Daria nodded Gwent her way, then headed slowly for the two reunited relatives and Berral continued, "I wish Palla and your father could see you."

Daria suddenly slowed, eager to see where the conversation went regarding the other sister to use to lick at her womanhood.

Berral went on with emotion, "No matter though. I have met a new man and he will marry me soon. He lost his family in the raid as I had mine. We work well together."

Daria knew Berral was conflicted about what had happened to the village and to the families that had lived within it, including her own. Everyone living here before and after the raid had lost loved ones; at the same time, Greendale's already thriving economy was like nothing they could have hoped for under the previous Noble Lord of the under the Count, Earl, and King for whom he'd shown fealty.

"So, tell me, child, who is the father?" Berra asked excited, rubbing her hand over her daughter's belly once again. She looked around excitedly, and her eyes suddenly went wide as she spotted Daria. She spun, turning Meara, too, and whispered, "Oh, dear praise to the Gods … it's the Queen!"

Somehow, Berra hadn't realized just with whom her daughter had arrived. She dropped into a deep curtsy and tried to urge Meara into it as well, presuming it was the right thing to do.

"Please, Miss Berra, do not," Daria said, moving forward now to close the six or seven pace distant between them. She glared at Gwent with a knowing expression, and he reluctantly fell in step behind her. Upon arriving, Daria demanded the woman rise to height, glancing to Meara with a slight smirk of nervousness. "It is an honor to meet the mother of Lady Meara of Greendale."

Berral's lips spread, and she shoulder bumped her daughter, whispering, "Lady Meara of Greendale."

Berral thanked Daria personally for all she'd done and was still doing for the town, then looked to Gwent, asking, "And who is the handsome Lord standing alongside you, my Queen. Could this be your Lord Consort, the man who has finally captured the heart of our great Warrior Queen?"

"Well … that's something that will take a little explaining," Daria said, trying to suppress her smile as she looked to the woman's daughter. She turned Meara to stand beside her, then gestured Gwent to her other side; he was slow to move ahead, but a glare from Daria solved that problem. She drew a steadying breath, then began, "I fell in love with your daughter, Miss Berral … deeply in love … she is my soul mate … but by the time this happened, by the time I knew my heart was hers to possess for all time..."

Daria reached one hand to Meara's belly and the other to grasp Gwent's upper arm. "...she was with child … with Lord Gwent's child..."

She hesitated just a moment to study Berral's reaction, which was one of confusion. Daria continued, "We all wish, the three of us … to have Lord Gwent participate in the upbringing of this child which he has seeded in your daughter. But … this child … this child is to be mine ... mine and Meara's. It will be raised as my heir."

Daria could see Berral wanted to say something, and she had a pretty good idea Meara wanted to add her piece of copper as well. Looking to Gwent, though, all Daria saw was white.

 

[SandS13]

Meara stared at her mother. She wanted to explain but mercifully Daria stepped out and gained the woman's attention. Her mother pulled on her, urging her to curtsey. Even if she wanted to Meara wasn't sure given the tightness in her abdomen she could. She was vastly uncomfortable but said nothing.

She watched her mother praise and thank Daria. Her eyes widened as she saw Gwent appear. They widened further as Daria explained to her very reserved mother about their situation. The tightness of her abdomen eased a little. Meara exhaled.

"I do not...I am sorry queen Daria but I don't understand. It was announced that Lord Gwent was to marry you. He...he fathered Meara's baby then why...You cannot love..I mean you are a woman and my daughter..." It was clear Berral was trying to understand what was going on.

Her eyes fell on Meara. "You laid with a man without being married? You were taught better than that. You have made things hard for the queen."

Berral looked at Daria. "Thank you, Queen Daria for taking in the child of your future husband and caring for my ill behaved daughter. I raised my girls to keep their legs closed. I am ashamed of her. You are most gracious and kind." It seemed she had chosen to ignore the part about Daria loving Meara or her being her soul mate.

"Yes mother, Queen Daria and Lord Gwent will marry. Lord Gwent is the father of my baby. I will be raising the baby with-"

Berral's hand moved as quick as a cat's. Meara's head snapped to the side. A red palm print formed on her cheek. "You owe the Queen everything. Do not disgrace yourself more."

Once more Berral turned to Daria. "Forgive her, please. She was taught to keep her tongue and mind her place. It seems some things have gone to her head."

Meara's eyes welled with tears and she held her cheek. The tightness grew in her abdomen again but she said nothing.

 

[PennySaver]

Daria wanted to help Berral make sense of it all, but how does one do that? She was still contemplating her words when the mother suddenly slapped her daughter. Without even thinking, Daria began to move forward, intent on physically punishing the older woman.

But Gwent quickly reached a hand inside Daria's upper arm, grasped, and casually held her back. When she shot him a harsh, how dare you? glare, he whispered, "Forgive me, Mistress."

Daria could have pulled her sword and killed both of them right now without a regret. But … Gwent was right to stop her. Daria looked down to the hand restraining her movement; Gwent casually withdrew it, bowed his head, and repeated in a whisper, "Forgive me, Mistress."

Daria looked back to Berral just in time for the woman to say, "Forgive her, please. She was taught to keep her tongue and mind her place. It seems some things have gone to her head."

"Your daughter's … transgressions have been forgiven," Daria forced herself to say, as if Meara needed forgiveness. She looked to Meara and said politely, "I believe Finna and Hamma require your attendance at the coach. Please..."

Daria gently turned Meara away and walked her toward the vehicles. Behind her, she could hear Gwent engaging Berral in conversation about the town; the man had thankfully sensed that Daria wanted a moment alone with Meara. When they were out of hearing range, Daria said softly, "I am sorry, my love. I thought she would take the news better than that. I was wrong, and I am ashamed for having caused you this pain."

She glanced back to the pair, smiled to Berral, then whispered, "I understand it is a mother's place to discipline her daughter when she feels the need has arisen … but I need you to understand..."

Daria lifted Meara's chin and looked into her watering eyes, and with a quiet but firm tone, she warned, "...that if your mother ever lays a hand upon you again … I will have that hand cut off."

She wanted to lean in and passionately kiss Meara, to give evidence to the intimacy that the two shared. But, glancing to Berral again, she instead told Meara, "Speak to your mother ... make her understand ... or … keep her away from me … before I do something for which you will hate me."

 

[SandS13]

Meara didn't notice the exchange between Daria and Gwent. She was too busy trying not to cry from the slap or make a noise that would show her discomfort in her abdomen. The healer had warned her that stress could bring things on sooner than was good for her or the baby. She prayed that this wasn't what was happening.

She nodded, her eyes lowered as Daria told her she was needed at the carriage. She could hear Berral and Gwent talking. She was glad for his presence.

She looked up at Daria. "It is best to keep her away I think. She will never approve. She will never understand." Meara rubbed her abdomen. "I need to sit down."

Finna appeared and guided Meara back into the carriage to sit down. Sleeping arrangements had been made for Daria and her entourage. Berral had assumed Meara would be staying with her but was disappointed to learn that would not be the case.

That evening though was the great feast. Everyone had bathed and changed. Meara had laid down, the tightness in her abdomen fading. The temple had been prepared. Tables were brought in to accommodate Daria's party and all the other guests. A table was set on the dais. That was where Daria sat. Gwent on her right, Meara on her left. On each side of them sat two men and the end of the table flanked by Berral and her intended husband.

Berral looked a bit unhappy that Meara was there, at the main table. She was ashamed of her daughter's condition and did not think it proper for her to be on display. In her day, in her upbringing unwed and pregnant women were hidden away until after the birth.

The temple filled with people and the smell of food wafted through the air.

 

[PennySaver]

The lavish meal, plentiful wine and ale, and great deals of happiness and laughter fill the Temple Hall, pleasing Daria greatly. She and her forces had attacked and destroyed this community just 8 months earlier, and she'd feared that the hatred and resentment would be overwhelming. But Daria had sat down with the Patriarchs -- the most respected of the village men, mostly elders but also a pair of men still in their 20s -- and had been promised that the community could and would get past that day of violence, that they themselves would ensure that anyone who might retain anger or hatred for her would not act out of hand.

Still, Daria felt that she needed to display just who she was and just what she could do for them if the peasantry and Lesser Nobility would just play nice. She looked to the Bodyguard Captain who was her most senior soldier present, excepting for Gwent, of course. The man stepped forward, pulled his dagger, held it blade to the sky, and rapped its handle atop the solid table four times. The Temple Hall went silent in just seconds.

Daria had arrived in Greendale wearing her Hunting Garb, but had changed into a more formal dress; she had brought her crown with her, but it sat on the table before her rather than atop her head. She scanned the crowd and found a mix of expressions; many were happy from the recent improvements to their lives or from tonight's drink, while others still remembered that day not too long ago.

Daria spoke for a moment about the rebuilding of the community, then of the expansion that would bring in so much coin in the near and distant future both; she named names of those laborers and supervisors who had played keys roles, men and women who got instantaneous cheers or pats on the back for their hard work.

She told them that Greendale would pay no taxes for the next three years, to allow them all to build strong lives for themselves and a strong community as well. That got cheers, too, even from those community members who Daria had been told hadn't yet forgiven her.

She gestured to the Bodyguard at the door at the far end of the Temple Hall, who opened the doors and revealed a man very the traditional garb of the Tax Collector. Many in the crowd booed him, some playfully, some sincerely; others laughed at those people; Daria only smiled. She gestured him inside, but he stepped aside to allow two pairs of Bodyguards enter first. They carried small chests between them, and as they made their way slowly down the aisle between the two long rows of tables, the Tax Collector reached into the boxes one after another, withdrew small purses of coin, and began tossing them to the citizens of Greendale.

By the time he reached the base of the dais, the people at the end of the rows nearest her had become away that they were being tossed money; they cheered and waved their hands eagerly for their own bag of coins, and the Tax Collector made sure that each and everyone of them got their own gift bag.

She told them that the coin was for them to use in any way they wished. Lots of purchase ideas began to be tossed out by the excited dinner goers; many of them involved more wine and ale, Daria noticed, laughing.

"Before the dessert come out," Daria said, now standing and walking around the end of the dais and, ultimately, to the main floor at the end of the aisle. "I would like to make some announcements regarding the future of the Town of Greendale."

A low murmur rolled through the group as many wondered aloud what else the Queen had in store for them: would it be good, bad, or something in between?

"Lord Gwent, please rise and join me on the floor," Daria commanded. When he had, she gestured to the main floor and said, "Take a knee, Lord Sheriff."

He did as he was ordered. When Daria said softly sword, he pulled out his weapon and held it horizontally before him on the backs of his wrists.

"Lord Gwent," she began in her formal tone, "for your hard work in helping with the reconstruction and expansion of the town of Greendale," Daria said with a formal tone, "I am promoting you to Lord of the County of Sherrindorn."

There was obvious recognition amongst the dinner guests of just what this meant for Gwent. Sherrindorn was the County to the north of Greendale, sharing a physical frontier and political border with the town's lands. It had been without a ruling noble for more than a year after Daria had had the previous disrespectful Lord executed and his entire family exiled.

Looking out upon the people, Daria continued, "You may wonder what this has to do with the Town of Greendale."

She looked to a Scribe who had traveled with her entourage, and he pulled a cloth from an easel that had been standing in the back corner of the dais. On it was a map of Greendale, its lands, and the neighboring Counties and Earldoms, all appropriately labeled.

She looked down to Gwent and saw his arms and hands beginning to tremble from the weight of the sword laying upon them. Knowing that many of the people nearest them could also see this, Daria joked, "Are you getting tired, Lord Sheriff?"

"Not at all, Mistress," Gwent said with a strain in his voice. He chuckled and said, "I will hold this position as long as my Queen demands it."

Daria looked to the people and together they all chuckled after she responded, "Good. I'm having fun with this."

She ascended the dais and -- identifying the lands to those watching -- traced a fingertip around the borders of what was land belonging to the County of Sherrindorn and the land belonging to the town of Greendale; the latter town land was considered only an estate, and it was barely an 8th the size of the land Gwent now would call his own.

"Lord Sheriff, how are you doing down there," Daria teased, leading to another round of laughter. The man's arms were beginning to droop then rise up with a jerk, then droop again. He vowed that his endurance would hold. Daria looked to the people again and continued, "I have a great respect for our Lord Sheriff of Yarlham and Count of Sherrindorn … but … I fear that all this land might be too much for him to rule … particularly after he has become my husband and moved his residence to Castlemont."

There was a cheer at the reminder of the upcoming wedding; Daria wasn't entirely convinced at the sincerity of the cheer, but it didn't matter. She was fairly sure that what she was about to announce would make the people here even happier than learning their Queen was about to wed.

"Because of this..." Daria nodded to the Scribe, who pulled down the map to reveal another. This map showed a massive piece of land that had previously been part of the County of Sherrindorn now within the boundaries of what the map identified as the County of Greendale. It included 20,000 acres of rich river bottom, thick woods, and the port through which most of the region's good currently shipped. She continued, "...I will be transferring the southern lands of the County of Sherrindorn … to the Town of Greendale … and I will be promoting Greendale from township to County."

"Who's gonna be our new Lord?" someone called out from the crowd, leading to lots of questions, speculations, laughter, and more until the Bodyguard Captain again rapped his knife handle for silence. The voice from before asked more specifically, "A County needs a Count, Mistress, yes...? So … who will be out new Count?"

Daria looked down to Gwent, who was sweating now about his face and neck and was seriously beginning to show signs of no longer being able to keep the sword from falling to the ground. She ran through the official promotion lines of making him a Count, told him to sheath his sword and stand, waited for him to bow and for the group to go silent again, then told him, "Gwent … Lord Sheriff of Yarlham, Count of Sherrindorn, and Lord Consort to the Queen … choose a leader for this new County of Greendale."

Gwent was still showing signs of the unusual workout. He looked about, snatched a handkerchief from one of the men, wiped his brow, and thanked the man … to another round of laughter and cheer. He turned to look over the crowd; all about the Temple Hall, men and even women raised their hands to volunteer themselves to be Count of Greendale.

Gwent strode down through the aisle as the mayhem continued, but then turned and headed back up it again. Reaching the end once more and nodded respectfully to Daria, Gwent moved to his left and stopped at the base of the dais … right in front of Meara's mother.

"I would respectfully suggest that Berral of Greendale become Countess of Greendale, my Queen," he said in a bold voice that covered the entire room, "for the sacrifice that she made … in the loss of her husband who so heroically defended his home and family … for the loss of her daughter--"

He looked to Meara, then to Daria with a devilish smirk as he added, "--with whom I believe you are somewhat familiar, Mistress..."

There was another round of raucous laughter and cheer; the relationship between the Queen and the former Greendale peasant girl was no secret here in her home town. Daria pulled the small dagger on her hip and pretended to be slicing off Gwent cock for his comment, leading to another round of madness in the room.

Gwent only laughed and turned back to Berral, waiting for the noise to somewhat subside before continuing, "...and for all the hard work she has put in to making Greendale a thriving community for her beloved family, friends, and neighbors."

The crowd seemed to acknowledge the choice as having merit, though, there were a great deal of men in the room -- including most of the Patriarchs -- who likely thought that they themselves deserved the honor more than the lady who ran the bakery.

Daria turned to once again be standing where she would to bestow an honor as she just had Gwent...

 

[SandS13]

Meara was dressed in green, the dress nicer than anything her mother had ever seen her daughter in before. It fit well and highlight the roundness of her abdomen. The baby was still smaller than it should be for seven months and she was carrying low, both things that worried the healer but it looked good on her tiny frame. Her breasts had swollen more as the end of the pregnancy drew near and the dress highlighted them well.

She at much as she could manage. She was doing better with constant smaller meals over feasts and large meals.

When Daria got up Meara was fascinated by all she said. She was confused, unsure of what was going on just as the crowd was. It seemed that Daria and Gwent seemed on the same page though the queen did make the poor man work for it. Meara admired Gwent's stamina. She clapped for him when he was allowed to stand. She smiled, watching Daria. She was so beautiful and commanded the whole room.

It was what happened next that surprised Meara the most though. Daria offered the title of countess to her mother, Berral.

Berral, unlike the crowd did not find the comment on losing her daughter amusing. the very idea of it disgusted her. Still, her daughter had a position in the court and now she was being offered a title. It was more than the former farmer could have ever imagined.

Berral stood and approached Daria. She knelt before Daria. "I am honoured to be chosen for such a title and such a role. I thank Lord Gwent for the referral and humbly accept."

Meara frowned. Her mother knew nothing of being a countess. She didn't think Berral could read or write. What if she ruined Greendale and all the work and money Daria had put into it?

Her hand went to her abdomen, the tightness beginning again.

What if this was a terrible decision? Worry lined her face.

It was her mother's choice though. She would remarry and hopefully there would be those around her to help her do what was best for Greendale and its people. Of course, Meara would learn of it. They would come to petition her if there were issues. Meara tried to relax and not think about it too much.

 

[PennySaver]

"I am honoured to be chosen for such a title and such a role," Berral said, showing her respect to Daria. "I thank Lord Gwent for the referral and humbly accept."

Daria looked to the thick pad on the stone floor, upon which Gwent had knelt, and after nodding to her Queen, Berral dropped to her knees. Daria turned to the dining table and retrieved her crown; the protocols for bequeathing titles to women who were not military types such as Daria, Lauren, and a few others was a bit different.

While she was gathering the sign of power, Daria couldn't help but notice the grimace that filled Meara's face. She'd noticed this before, of course, and she'd questioned the girl about it. The younger woman nearly always blamed the pain on food and drink, but Daria had demanded that the Healer check her over nearly every time.

She gained Meara's eye and gave her a concerned look, but Meara only shook her off. Daria blew the girl a kiss, then turned back to Meara's mother. She held the crown out directly out before her, above Berral's bent head, and spoke the words that made the former farmer a Countess.

"Rise, Countess Berral of Greendale," Daria said when it was all over, "and be recognized by your people"

Berral rose, curtseyed to her Queen again, then -- after Daria had ascended the dais and looked out into the Temple Hall again -- turned to look at the people who were her family, friends, and neighbors. The room exploded with the pounding of fists upon the table and the chant, "Ber-ral! Ber-ral! Ber-ral!"

Daria casually looked to her left, then her right, checking on the Patriarchs were sitting both near the ends of the table at which she was sitting and at the heads of the tables on the main floor, flanking the aisle. It was obvious that they didn't all agree with the decisions that had made a simple bread maker their noble leader. Daria would have to do something about these men, of course; carrot or the club, she wondered.

When Berral turned back to Daria again and offered another cursey, the crowd's chants slowly shifted to, "Miss-tress … Dar-i-a, Miss-tress … Dar-i-a, Miss-tress … Dar-i-a."

The Queen gestured Berral toward her seat, gestured the crowd fairly close to silence, then called out, "Dessert!"

As she turned to set her crown back on the table, Daria saw a sudden look of concern in the face of Gwent, who had already returned to his seat. She turned and found one of the men who had been giving her dirty looks throughout the meal marching up the aisle … sword in hand!

From all directions, members of Daria's Bodyguard began to close on her position, as well as on the man himself; behind her, Gwent rose pushed all of the dinner ware before him away, and rolled his ass over the table, his feet landing on the dais next to her as he pulled his sword.

"Stop!" Daria hollered loudly, though, not to the man who seemed intent upon attacking her; her command was for the men protecting her, which she followed up with, "No one will harm this man!"

The Bodyguard lined up before her, as well as plugging the aisle behind the would be assailant. Daria moved to the front of the dais and looked down at the man. She said in a tone meant to relieve some of the moment's tension, "This is not the protocol for bringing a grievance to the Queen … however … if you have something you would like to say, my good man."

The man waved his sword before him as he angrily explained that his two sons had been killed in the raid on Greendale eight months earlier and that his daughter was still missing, having been sold into slavery to an unknown buyer. "You ruined my life … you ruined my family … and your gold and silver can never repair the damage you have caused, you bitch!"

Gwent descended the two steps of the dais in a flash, ready to run his blade into the man's chest, but once again Daria called out, "Stop!"

She looked to the villager again, then asked, "Make your petition, my good man."

The man was trembling with a combination of fear and anger, his old, worn, but still deadly sword visibly shaking before him; he shifted his hold on it often as the weight began to get to him. Daria clarified, "What would you ask be your restitution for this wrong committed upon you."

Gwent looked back suddenly at his Queen's apparent admission that what had happened here in Greendale had been a wrong. She shook her head gently at him, then looked back to the man as he was saying, "The Black Army killed my--"

"No!" Daria cut in loudly, stepping forward again, down one step, then another, until she was on the Temple Hall's floor, as was the man; it was meant to show that she was not above him in rank but was just another person among persons. She told him firmly, "I killed your sons … and I enslaved your daughter. I ruined your life and your family … and while I could pay you off with gold and silver, for I have much and you have little and most would call that fair … justice … you and I both know that that is not true in this moment."

Daria stepped closer yet again, and with a repositioning of his feet and one step, the man was within striking distance of his Queen, able to drive the sword deep into her abdomen. But instead of attacking her, the man began to cry, the desperation and anger and fear and hopelessness too overwhelming. He spat out, "You should die … for you did to me … you should die … and I should be the one to kill you."

"So be it," Daria said without hesitation. She looked to the Bodyguard Captain, who had his own sword cocked, ready to strike the man down. She said softly, "Rap."

He looked at her with confusion, but after Daria looked to his sheathed dagger and repeated the word, he turned his sword's tip skyward and rapped its hilt on the table four times. Loud enough for all to hear, Daria announced, "The petitioner has requested a duel to the death with his Queen. Tomorrow, one hour after sunrise, the petitioner and his Queen will meet in the town's square … where justice will be served."

Daria looked back to the sobbing man, whose sword had long since lowered to hang at his side. "Does this satisfy the petitioner?"

It took a moment for him to respond. This was obviously not the result for which he'd searching. In fact, Daria knew, he'd likely expected to be killed -- and relieved of his pain -- on his way to the dais minutes earlier. Eventually, though, the man whispered before bowing respectfully, "Yes, Mistress."

The man was disarmed and gently led out of the building after Daria reminded the Bodyguards that he was not to be harmed. She told Gwent to return him to his home and post guards outside, just to ensure that he didn't conspire with anyone -- such as other swordsmen or an archer -- to gain the advantage.

Daria returned to the Dais to find dessert on her plate and Meara with yet another grimace on her face. She kissed the girl on the cheek, then asked, "Should I get the Healer?"

 

[SandS13]

The sound of steel, the sight of Gwent rolling over the table to stand guard. Daria. A man with sword drawn. Meara gasped and pushed her chair back from the table. She went to stand but there was a pain in her abdomen and it forced her to remain in her seat. Her hands gripped the table.

Daria was in danger. Meara knew that it wasn't real danger. The woman was quite capable and there were guards everywhere but it was danger and Meara was utterly helpless. She listened as Daria agreed to duel the man. She reached for her glass and took a drink, hoping it would settle her nerves. It was decided. The man was escorted out and Gwent left with the guards to watch over him.

Daria returned to her seat beside her. The queen kissed her cheek as if nothing had happened. Meara's eyes stayed on Daria's face. Her hand pressed against her abdomen. "It will pass once I rest. A duel?"

She half turned in her seat. "A duel, Daria? And what happens if he gets a lucky strike and I lose you? We lose you?" Her hand reached out to take Daria's, placing it on the baby bump. The bump was firm and tight under Daria's hand. Meara shook her head a little. "You are a brave and honourable queen but my love, you are going to leave me fearful of losing you every day." She gave Daria slight smile.

At the end of the table, Berral was watching her daughter and the queen. She was not pleased with how close the women were. It was not right. The queen was going to marry Lord Gwent. Her eyes were locked on her daughter.

Meara frowned and turned. It felt as if she was being watched and as she looked away from Daria, she found her mother staring at her disapprovingly. Meara seemed to withdraw into her self. She did not touch her dessert but sat silently in her chair.

Berral appeared at her side. "I think Meara needs to lay down. Pregnancy can be taxing." Her hand gripped Meara's upper arm and pulled her from the seat.

"Wish the queen a good night, Meara. And be sure to thank her."

Meara closed her eyes. "Of course mother. Please, go ahead, I will be right there." She remembered Daria's threat and wished for her mother to be away as quickly as possible so a scene was not caused.

"Good night, Queen Daria." Meara reached out to take Daria's hand and gave it a squeeze. She turned and moved towards her mother. The stress of the dinner was quite tiring. Meara moved slowly, her abdomen was slowly tightening again.

"Come on girl, you need to lay down. Your colour is off and you are sweating. Do not embarrass me. I have a title you know." Berral's whisper was harsh in her ear.

"Yes mother."

Berral smiled and stroked Meara's hair as she led her away. "Just think, once the baby is born and the queen adopts it you can come home and marry a nice farmer."

The tightness brought a bit of pain. Meara looked up at a guard. "Get the queen please..."

 

[PennySaver]

Daria's face was filled with panic by the time she reached the sleeping quarters of the Temple Priest. Meara was laid out upon the man's simple cot, surrounded by her mother, the Healer, the two Bodyguards who now rarely left Meara's side, and the additional Bodyguard who Daria had assigned to keep an inconspicuous eye on Berral until Daria and Meara left.

Pushing through the crowd to kneel near the bed and grasp Meara's hand, Daria asked with great concern, "What is it my love...? Is it the baby...? Tell me."

She looked to the Healer for answers.

 

[SandS13]

"She is fine. The baby is fine but the day has taken its toll. She is showing signs of early labour. Miss Meara but be confined to the bed until the baby is ready to come."

Meara tried to sit up. "It is fine. It has been happening over the last week or so. It just grew painful. I am sorry to cause so much worry." She started to get out of bed.

Berral pulled her daughter back down to the bed. "It is settled. You will stay here with me until the baby is born and then we will send it to the queen."

"But mother, you don't under-"

"I do understand. The future child of the queen is at risk and I will not have my daughter being stubborn and risking the child's life."

 

[PennySaver]

"She is showing signs of early labour," the Healer warned.

Before Meara, Daria hadn't known much about pregnancy, other than how to personally avoid it, which she'd been successfully doing for more than a decade. But little as she knew, it was far to early for the girl to be in labor.

The Healer continued, "Miss Meara but be confined to the bed until the baby is ready to come."

Meara tried to contradict the man, and then tried to fight her mother's aims as well. But after Berral stated the future she thought was obvious for the child, Daria cut in. "Miss Meara needs her rest, and we all need to leave and let her have that rest."

Berral tried to argue that she needed to remain here with Meara, but Daria nodded to the Bodyguards who stepped up behind her, literally pressing lightly against her back to encourage her forward.

"Thank you, Countess Berral, for your willingness to remain with Miss Meara," Daria said as she took the woman's arm to also encourage her to leave. Berral realized that she was essentially being herded, like a lamp in the fields surrounded by dogs; she moved as the others had desired. "You have people with whom you must discuss the future of Greendale, though. Lord Gwent will join you outside and will help you to understand some of the intricacies and protocols associated to you new noble title and responsibilities."

Daria couldn't get Berral out of there fast enough, and once she was gone, Daria waved Gwent to her and commanded, "Keep that woman busy and anywhere but here."

Back at Meara's bed, Daria took a stool next to her and said firmly, "Now is not the time to confront your mother about his ways in regards to this child's birth and upbringing. Soon, though … maybe when our child is four … or fourteen … or forty."

She leaned in and kissed Meara on the lips, telling the girl, "Go to sleep, my love. I will be right here when you wake up. I'm going no where."

Daria waved to the nearby priest for a pillow, set it on the floor near the bed, and knelt onto it. She laid her head on Meara's belly and told her again, "I'm going to where.

 

[SandS13]

Meara wanted to cry but she was too tired. "I am sorry. I was trying not to let it bother me." She looked at Daria, stroking her cheek. "I will just rest a little while."

It was morning when Meara woke. The tightness in her abdomen seemed to have eased in the night but as she tried to sit up she noticed she was uncomfortable. The tightness started again when she saw Daria in her armour.

"The duel..." She began to get up. "Let me get dressed. I must see this." Meara was slow to move. "I must be there." She put her hand on her abdomen as she stood.

 

[PennySaver]

Hamma and Finna were helping Daria into her battle dress when she heard a groan behind her. She found Meara attempting to rise from her bed and chastised harshly, "Lay back!"

"The duel..." the pregnant girl said with a grimace on her face. "Let me get dressed. I must see this."

Daria was at Meara's bed in an instant as the latter was saying, "I must be there."

"You must not be there," Daria corrected. "You are not to leave this bed until I return … if even then!"

She reassured Meara that she would indeed be back. Not sure whether she was being truthful or simply trying to calm the girl, Daria said, "There likely won't even be a duel. The man will be given an opportunity to apologize and take an appropriate punishment. He will be accused of having been drunk and out of his mind with despair ... that he hadn't been thinking as he approached his Queen with a blade ... he'll be given the option of serving a year of indentured servitude followed by a year in the Black Army … and he'll take it. Trust me, my love ... this man will not want to fight me."

#######################​

But … he did.

Dressed in her full battle field dress and carrying her shield, Daria demonstrated an expression of disappointment when -- after Gwent accused the man of having been too intoxicated to know what he'd been doing and presented the option of Service -- the man contested his inebriation and confirmed his desire to reclaim his family's honor by killing the person responsible for that family's demise … the Warrior Queen Daria.

The setting for the duel was an open piece of ground next to the Temple that had long been reserved as expansion space for the cemetery. Daria found that rather morbidly ironic. The crowd seemed to include the entire population of Greendale -- men, women, and children.

"Lord Sheriff," Daria called to Gwent after he had called to the crowd to back up and told the participants to step forward. "I would ask you to offer this good man your sword."

Daria looked across to the man's old, beaten up, poorly sharpened blade, looked to Gwent, then looked back to the man's face, now filled with confusion. "A man brave enough to fight for his family's honor should do so with a warrior's fine blade … don't you think, my good man?"

Gwent walked to the man and offered out his blade, and after a moment, the man took it. He swept it from side to side, then slashed it, then jabbed it forward to experience the weight and balance.

"Besides … if you do manage to stick me deep or slice me good," Daria said, pulling her own sword out and repeating the man's moves, "I would prefer it be with a sharp blade that will end my life quickly … rather than leave me laying in bed dying from infection caused by whatever that muck is on your sword."

The man looked to his discarded blade, looked back to Daria with an expression of mixed offense and anger, then -- seeing his Queen smiling broadly -- smiled and then laughed himself. He asked, "Shall we, my Queen."

"Not yet," Daria said, beginning toward him. "We have something to discuss first."

She flipped her sword over in her hand so that she was holding the blade toward the ground as she covered half of the space to the middle of the dueling field. He had obviously seen or heard of such a duel in the past and knew what to do; he repeated the motion and moved out to meet her. They both held their swords with the hilts to their chests, a sign of honor to one another for a fair fight to come.

"If this man should kill me," Daria said loud enough for all to hear, "he will suffer no punishment, no retributions. He will be allowed to continue his life here in Greendale or anywhere else within or without my Realm without fear of harm from others. If he leaves this town, he will be given a purse of 100 silver pieces with which to begin a new life. Is this understood?"

She had been looking about the crowd as she spoke but was looking at Gwent when she asked her question about understanding. After Gwent gave her a light bow of acknowledgment, she looked to the opposite side of the circle, directly at Berral, of whom she'd caught sight almost immediately upon arriving at the Field.

"If I am struck down … if I am killed or otherwise unable to continue as Queen of the Realm, the Conquered Territories, and the World Known," she said to the mother of her lover, "Mistress Meara of Greendale, Lady Consort to the Queen..."

Daria couldn't help but notice the hardening of Berral's expression. It was a look that only continued to harden as Daria herself continued, "will return to Castlemont and sit on the throne in my stead … and when her child is born … that child will be known as my heir … heir to the Realm … heir to the Conquered Territories … heir to the World Known."

She maintained her eye contact with Berral for a moment before turning to look at Gwent. With a firm tone, she asked, "Is that understood?"

This time, Gwent fell to one knee … and from those nearest to him every man, woman, and even child fell to one knee in a sweeping wave in both directions until finally the two waves met on the far side … on Berral … who lowered into a generous curtsy that she maintained until Daria finally looked away.

"Do you still wish this?" Daria asked the man in barely more than a whisper.

He was hesitant to respond but finally said, also softly, "I must … for my family."

"If you die here today," Daria said with a polite, sincere tone, "I will find your daughter … I will buy her from her master … and I will take her to Castlemont to serve as an honored woman … a chaste woman."

The man began to speak, likely to point out that his daughter had likely long ago lost her virginity, but Daria cut him off, saying firmly, "When she arrives in Castlemont … word will be passed about of her purity of body and spirit … and a young, handsome, rich noble will fall in love with her and marry her and take care of her."

"And make many sons and daughters with her?" the man asked, his eyes beginning to well over.

"Yes … many," Daria said, adding, "and they will learn of how their mother's father fought for their honor this day."

The man held his sword out before him, point still down, and Daria held hers out to click the blades together. The nodded to one another respectfully, backed a few steps … and engaged.

#################​

The majority of the people of Greendale had likely never seen a blades duel, and those who had likely hadn't seen one so intense or long lasting. The man seeking honor had indeed been a skilled swordsman, something about which Daria likely should have inquired before engaging him. He was strong and dexterous and enduring; he slashed and lunged and stabbed with his sword, and several times he engaged his body against Daria's, knocking her off balance half a dozen times and twice nearly sending her to the ground.

But Daria was better, of course. She'd been practicing with the sword almost from the time she learned to walk; she'd killed her first man at 12; she'd personally killed more than dozen Tribal, Noble, and even Royal leaders herself with a blade; she'd likely killed more than 200 hundred soldiers during her rise to power; and she had never suffered more than a few light cuts, one scary slash to the back of her left thigh, and a stab to her gut that had missed everything vital and left a wound so clean that the scar was barely noticeable.

The fight today would end with her adding to her scar list, but with her foe bleeding out on the ground. After more than 60 blows between them -- most of them energy exerting moves from the man, with Daria fighting as much with her brain as her body -- the exhausted but determined father of three missing children made a fatal mistake, allowing Daria to duck a poorly swung sword and slice her own blade along the man's side.

He fell to one knee, dropping his sword to the ground; he clutched at the wound, blood oozing through his fingers; then he fell over to the ground … right into Daria's awaiting arms. She held as she knelt beside him, turning his head to look into his widened eyes. He knew the fight was over; he knew he'd lost. He begged, "Keep you word … my queen."

"I will," she told him. "Your daughter will live a honored life … and you will receive a honorable burial."

"With my sword," he managed, attempting to look around for it. "It was my father's. Please … do not bury me … with that … piece of shit from … the Lord Sheriff."

He laughed -- more of a gurgle as one of Daria's earlier stabs had penetrating his belly and had all along been filling his gut with blood -- then said before dying, "The Gods praise Mistress Daria … Queen of … the..."

And he faded off.

 

[SandS13]

Meara didn't want to stay. She knew Daria was trying to reassure her and she was sure the queen would be alright but she knew in her heart she would go mad waiting here to learn of the result. She kissed Daria before she left.

Waiting a short time, Meara called for Finna and made her help as Meara dressed. She then ordered Finna to help her outside. She had never ordered the woman to do anything. It was always requests, questions and always gentle with appreciation for the woman's work and presence. Not this time. Meara, moving slowly and carefully was adamant that she was going to see the duel and her tone with Finna was hard and firm.

Finna helped Meara outside and they stayed hidden. Meara did not want Daria to see her. She feared it would distract her. She wanted Daria safe and if she was distracted the man might wield a blow that could kill her. She heard Daria's proclamation. They all did. Meara's hand gripped Finna's to the point where the poor woman was in pain. "She cannot die." It was all Meara said as the fight began.

Meara saw the blows that hit on Daria. Each one made her tense. Each one caused her abdomen to tighten. When the man fell, dropping his sword Finna finally put her foot down.

"We are leaving now before you have that babe right here."

Meara began to protest but Finna gestured to the guard who was responsible for Meara and he picked her up. She may have been pregnant but she was still slight compared to him. He followed Finna and they returned to the room where he placed Meara down on the bed.

Finna got a wash cloth and bathed Meara's face as the woman moaned softly. Finna worried that it was the start of labour and called for the healer. He was already on his way as Daria was coming back to the temple so that he could tend to her wounds.

Meara was in a fog of discomfort as the door opened and the healer entered. She shook her head. "No, I must see Daria..Do not give me anything until I see her."

When the door opened again, Meara smiled at the beautiful woman who was entering. "My love. You came back to us.." She tried to sit up but Finna huffed and began putting pillows behind Meara's back so she could see Daria. She wiped down Meara's face again.

"Mistress, she ordered me to take her to see the duel. I fear the stress of it has caused-"

"I am fine. I am better now." Meara was putting on a brave face. "Healer, see to the queen."

She looked at Finna. "Water, please." Finna got her a cold glass of water that Meara eagerly drank.

 

[PennySaver]

"Have you all gone mad?" Daria chastised when she entered the Priest's sleeping quarters at the back of the Temple. "One man shows me disrespect, and now all of you do?"

The Queen's anger made her forget that she was bleeding from three different places. After the fight had ended and the crowd began dispersing, the healer hurried up to Daria to check her wounds. She had ordered him to remain with Meara in case she had more complications. Hamma had suddenly appeared, too; she also had been told to stay with Meara. And, of course, Daria returned to hear Finna admitting, "Mistress, she ordered me to take her to see the duel. I fear the stress of it has caused-"

"I am fine. I am better now," Meara said, trying and failing to hide her pain. "Healer, see to the queen."

When the man turned to Daria, she gave him a hard look and asked in an emotionless tone, "Which of us is likely to behead you for not tending to the other first?"

The man hesitated for a moment, looking to the blood leaking from his Queen's upper left arm, lower left abdomen, and the back of her left calf … then immediately turned back to attend to the woman who was less likely to decapitate him.

"Water, please," Meara pleaded.

Finna filled a goblet, and Meara eagerly drank it down. Daria stood a few feet away, watching the Healer check on her soul mate … who suddenly clenched up in obvious pain. A moment later, the Healer pulled Meara's dress up high to peer under it, looked back to Daria, and said, "She has spilled her water, Mistress. The baby is coming."

 

[SandS13]

The water helped at first but then as it hit her stomach a terrible pain and tightness ripped through her body. She didn't make a noise though. Meara curled up around herself. As it eased she became aware of a sudden wetness. Meara was horrified. Had she wet the bed?

The healer was under her dress.

"No, no that isn't possible. I still have months before the baby comes." Meara shook her head.

"The baby is coming now. It will take some time yet. I need clean bedding, towels, boiling water and cold water." The healer set to work.

"No, no...see to the queen's injuries." Meara moved to get out of bed. Finna was there, her arm around her, helping her up.

"Come miss...let's get you undressed."

Other servants were busy milling about. The healer followed Meara and Finna. Meara shook her head, drew herself up to stand straight. "No. I will not have my child here. Not like this. You will see to the queen and I will find a bed, something comfortable and..." Her anger and frustration were clear on her face and in her eyes. She looked at Daria. "Let the healer see to you and then help me find a more suitable place for our child's birth."

She turned and let Finna lead her away to be undressed. Her body was bathed with a cool, clean rag and her hair brushed before she was redressed in a clean nightgown. Thankfully the contractions were not too close together at this moment. Finna was monitoring her and found them to be every fifteen minutes or so. She had seen babies born. She knew there was time, not a lot but time to make Meara more comfortable.

 

[PennySaver]

For the first time in her life, Daria was at a loss for what to do and say. The Healer said the baby was coming; Meara said it wasn't; Daria just stood there watching as Hamma covered and wrapped her wounds to hold off the bleeding until the Healer was done with delivering the baby.

Meara looked at Daria and demanded, "Let the healer see to you and then help me find a more suitable place for our child's birth."

"Step toward me and away from Meara, Healer," she disciplined the man, "and we will revisit our conversation about heads and keeping them on shoulders."

The Healer didn't hesitate to consider the options this time, instead turning immediately back to the pregnant woman waddling about, trying to dress and make herself look presentable.

Daria shrugged Hamma off of her as the servant was dealing with the last bandage, then moved to the Healer. "Tell me what you need. Do we move her somewhere else? Isn't it best to just remain here?"

She listened to what the man had to say, then looked to Finna, who agreed for the most part. Daria looked to Meara with a scared expression; she was panicked.