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 15

The journey north had started out well. Thelma had taken Fritz hunting not long before they left so the young mogron happily trotted behind her. Gabrielle had collected all of the other Kisprians and they all marched into the scrubland with a single purpose: To get to the iron ship. Louis had planned out camps along the way that were as far from the deadly hot spots as possible and they'd reach the first camp a good candle mark before dawn. Everyone had been in a good spirits.

Their guide led the group along with Durgan and Thor. Dalene and the remaining three women trailed the large group of men and watched over the two children, a blonde boy named Max and a younger brunette girl named Dina. Gabrielle, Thelma and Fritz brought up the rear.

The children had presented a challenge. They'd been treated as orphans, though their parents were still alive back on Kispri, and Gabrielle had some trouble getting them released to her. She had to officially adopt them and if it wasn't for Louis' help, the process would've taken much too long. Luckily, he had some friends in the city government.

'Thank goodness for Louis,' the queen thought. 'It's just too bad Marie and I can't keep them. We'll have to return them to their real parents. But I'm sure they'll be happy at least.'

Gabrielle had made sure to have a serious talk with the boy and girl about their mother and father. She wanted to make sure they truly did want to go back with their parents. After being reassured by the pair, she thought back to her plans to have her own children and wondered what their lives would be like if she were no longer queen. She still had the deceit of her false pregnancy hanging over her head. The issue wouldn't leave her alone so she treated it the usual way. She ignored it and distracted herself with idle banter. She could always count on Thelma for interesting, or at least distracting, conversation.

"I had an interesting conversation with Louis earlier," the queen said.

Thelma responded in her usual fashion. "What?!"

Several of the men near the back of the group briefly turned to check on them. By then, Thelma already had a reputation for being a bit volatile. When it didn't look like anything was wrong, everyone soon ignored the women. The only problem was Fritz. Whenever Thelma seemed upset, Fritz went into protective mode, growling and ready to attack.

Gabrielle held up her hands to shush her friend. "Please, Thelma. Calm your pet... and yourself. I didn't mention your name when I spoke to Louis. But I think you'll be interested in what we talked about."

The redhead did relax, returning to her somber mood in the blink of an eye. "Whatever," she said, sending Fritz back into lovesick pet mode.

"Seriously, Thelma. The subject of children came up."

That got the short, beautiful woman's attention. She tried to temper her interest but Gabrielle could tell she wanted to hear more so she continued.

"He told me that he wants to start a family some day... if he meets the right woman."

"Oh, swell." The redhead's eyes glazed over, threatening tears.

"Oh, Thelma. Can't you tell? I'm sure he meant you. He got a wistful look on his face, showing he already had someone in mind, and that someone could only be you."

"Fritz doesn't like him, remember? And he's not too crazy about Fritz, not after getting his butt chewed."

"Then try again. Don't give up so easily. Isn't love worth fighting for?"

"I guess," Thelma said in a small voice.

"You've been miserable without him. Do you want to be miserable? Or do you want to rise to a challenge, with a grand prize if you meet that challenge and win?"

"You're doing it again," the redhead warned.

"Doing what?"

"Cheerleading."

"Actually, I think it would be better described as matchmaking. Yes, I admit it. I'm trying to get you back together. But that's only because I hate to see a friend be so miserable. Is that so wrong?"

"Naw. Thanks, Gabi."

"You're welcome."

The two women walked in silence for another few dozen steps until Gabrielle had one more thing to try.

"Thelma? If you want, I can watch Fritz for you while you talk to Louis."

"Oh. That's nice but I already have plans. I got Durgan to agree to watch Fritz so Louis and I could... discuss things."

"What?!" It was the queen's turn to be unpleasantly surprised. "And you didn't tell me this until now?"

"You didn't ask. Remember that you already told me I shouldn't give up so I didn't."

"But you've been looking so miserable. Why?"

"I'm not sure. Various reasons I guess. I'm still not that optimistic about getting back together with Louis, and I'm a little sad that I'll probably never see you again, Gabi. I owe you so much and I'll miss you so much."

Thelma started crying then, followed by Gabrielle and then some whimpering from Fritz. The females had a good cry and felt much better for the rest of the trip. It was a good night.

~o~O~o~

Just before daybreak, the group set up camp and prepared to sleep under a series of tarps. The tarps stretched out from a string of tall shrubs to poles that Louis had thought to bring. There wasn't much wind to speak of so they didn't have to worry about the tarps blowing away. There really wasn't anything dangerous to worry about. They just had to make sure they stayed in the shade while they slept.

"We don't have to worry about mogrons around here," Louis lectured after he got everyone's attention. "Because of the hot spots, mogrons wouldn't last long. There isn't much worth hunting for anyway. This land is too unhealthy to support much life."

"What about Fritz?" Thelma interrupted. "How is she supposed to hunt?"

Fritz heard her name and looked up with adoration at her adopted mother. She also drooled a little. She'd learned the word 'hunt,' forcing Thelma to spell it out to keep the little mogron from getting too excited at inappropriate times.

"Oh. Right." Louis looked a little uncomfortable. "About that. Sorry about not telling you earlier but I think I have that little problem taken care of."

Thelma frowned and put her hands on her hips to show her displeasure.

To Louis, she never looked more beautiful. He had to shake his head to get himself to focus. "Right this way please, Thelma."

He led her and Fritz over to a small cart that had been pulled along by a couple of the hardier men. Thelma didn't give it much notice before but now she wondered what was in it.

Fritz gave the air a good sniff around the cart and started drooling in earnest.

Louis opened the top and reached for one of several wooden boxes. "I gave the matter some thought before we left and came up with this," he said, opening the box and quickly holding up a niggler by its tail. "Fritz's snack cart."

The little mogron started prancing in place, but when Louis moved towards her to give her the niggler, she growled at him.

"Uh...," Thelma started to warn.

"I know. I know," Louis grumbled.

He moved back away from Fritz a little and swung the niggler low to the ground in the opposite direction. The small, nervous animal rolled a few times, stopped and then took off running with Fritz right behind. It wasn't long before Fritz had her first snack of the trip.

"How many nigglers do you think she'll need?" the man asked.

"Three more should do for now," the redhead told him, giving him a grateful look for his thoughtfulness.

He basked in her gaze for a short time and then realized that he didn't estimate Fritz's appetite very well. "Three more?!" he yelped.

"Yes, of course. She's a growing girl."

"Well...."

"You didn't bring enough, did you," she accused.

"No. Sorry. I should've talked to you about her needs before we left. But... she can have some of my rations. I brought lots of dried meats."

"Thanks," she said, smiling. "She'll need them. She'll likely need more than that though. I hope we can get some of the other men to contribute."

The other men couldn't help but listen to the conversation. They'd been fantasizing about the redhead ever since they first saw her.

Durgan was first to speak up. "She can have some of my jerky. I'm used to feeding her anyway."

Thelma laughed. "Yeah. You're the one who got her to tag along in the first place!" she said.

"Right," he confessed, looking down.

Not to be outdone in getting a beautiful woman's attention, Horus spoke up. "She can have some of mine too. I don't need it." The tall thin man patted his small stomach and the rest of the group laughed.

"She can have a bit of mine too," another said.

"Mine too!" a third man shouted.

All of the men volunteered some of their rations for Fritz, just in time for the little, blood-smeared mogron to come trotting back from her freshly eaten kill. She came back to her adopted mother's feet and gave her an expectant look.

At that moment, Thelma finally accepted that she had yet another type of magic talent. Besides seeing the glow of magic around her fellow Kisprians, she had her beauty. It wouldn't last. She'd eventually get old and gray. But she promised herself that she wouldn't abuse her good looks while she had them. She might take advantage of them now and then but she wouldn't try to get men to do anything they shouldn't.

"Thank you all!" the redhead shouted so everyone could hear. "I thank you and Fritz thanks you."

Just then, the little mogron belched, giving everyone a good laugh.

~o~O~o~

With Fritz fed and everyone getting some sleep — except Durgan, who took first watch — Gabrielle once again made her way back to her queendom. It always amazed her that whenever she wanted, she could instantly appear in her bed chambers and materialize her astral body, ready to rule. It seemed impossible, but she did it night after night. Sometimes she wished she better understood the ways of the universe, but then she came to her senses. Everyone had their specialty or niche. Hers was to run a queendom and keep it safe. That and see to her mate's happiness and well-being.

She quickly donned her favored gray robe and slippers after arriving, anxious to talk to her mate. The door to her bed chambers was left ajar and she could hear voices and laughing in her sitting room. That put her in a good mood.

"Hi everyone! I'm home!" she shouted uncharacteristically, getting caught up in the mood.

The faithful insider group of four sat in their usual seats, exchanging gossip, recipes and more. They all stopped talking and turned when their queen entered. Then Muriel did a curious thing. The queen's advisor suddenly stood up with a serious look on her face and shooed the other three out of the room. Both she and the queen stood facing each other, several paces apart.

"Your Majesty," the old woman said. "Welcome back."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes and sighed. "What is it this time?" she said.

"Our good friends and neighbors, the barbarian hordes are at it again. According to my sources, they're planning on taking advantage of your pregnancy, thinking you'll be slowed down too much to do battle."

"Oh. Is that all," the queen said with a sarcastic tone. "Any other, more important matters that I should be aware of?"

"No. That about covers it I think."

Gabrielle marched across the room, flopped down on her padded chair and promptly sulked.

Muriel sat down next to her and patted the woman's arm. "There there, my Queen. The timing might be a bit close but it looks like you'll reach the iron ship and have a good chance of getting back before our good neighbors invade."

The tall woman didn't say anything to that. She just groaned.

The two women sat in silence for a while, letting thoughts come and go. Gabrielle remembered that she wanted to talk to Marie, but first she had to deal with the issue at hand. She took a deep breath and got right to the point.

"How long do we have before they invade?" the queen asked.

"Unclear," Muriel responded. "It looks like their spies are waiting for a clear sign that you're not fit for duty."

"So more battle practice in the courtyard with a pillow stuffed up my tunic then?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Can I talk to Marie first?"

"Of course, your Majesty. I'll go call fetch her back, along with your pillow."

"What would I do without you, Muriel?"

"Probably have a lot more fun. Ignorance is bliss, they say."

"Just who are 'they' and what makes them so smart?"

Muriel just shrugged and got up to leave the room. She returned shortly and shut the double doors after Marie entered, leaving the queen and her mate alone.

"Here you go," the small woman said, handing over a small, round pillow.

Gabrielle scowled at it but accepted it. She set it on her lap and motioned her mate to sit across from her on the couch.

"How's the journey going?" Marie asked.

"As well as can be expected. We have another few days before we reach the iron ship. Then it's anybody's guess how long it will take to figure out how to fly it and get home."

"Remember my experience with the portal, Gabi. There was plenty of magical writing and pictures for that portal. There should be lots of help for something as large and complicated as that iron ship must be."

Gabrielle nodded, but her mind was already drifting to another topic. She kept trying to guess how Marie would react but she didn't have a clue. Her mate was a strange and unpredictable mix of male and female. That's one of the things she loved about her.

"Right, I remember that accursed portal well," the queen muttered.

"It wasn't the portal that was bad, Gabi. It was that huge metal guardian that blew it up that separated us."

"Yes, I know all that. Sorry, but I wanted to discuss something else if that's okay."

Marie kept quiet and waited with a serious look on her face.

Gabrielle debated which way was best to start the conversation. After going back and forth several times in her mind, she decided on the quick and innocent approach. It usually worked best with the men she knew.

"Your brother says hi," she blurted out.

Marie sat there, stunned, her eyes wide. It took another dozen heartbeats before she responded. "Gabi! How could you?!"

'Wrong. Wrong. Wrong,' the queen thought to herself. 'I got it wrong again. Dang!'

The small woman threatened tears so Gabrielle went into damage control mode. Sometimes her diplomacy skills actually came in handy for something worthwhile.

"I just wanted to let him and your mother know you were okay! I didn't mention anything about you being a woman, not really."

"You told Mom too?!" Marie wailed, after already starting to cry and not hearing the second part of what her mate told her.

"Please, Marie. Listen to me." Gabrielle got up and walked over to her mate, kneeling before her. "I only talked to your brother, okay?"

Marie slowly nodded, tears running down both cheeks.

"And he really needed... closure. He needed to hear that you were okay. He didn't believe that you would ever leave your family unless you were dead or dying. Okay?"

Again, Marie nodded.

"I told him about our sword fight and told him that I won the fight."

The small woman scowled. "But you didn't win," she said.

"Not technically, no. And your brother wouldn't believe that I could beat you."

Marie nodded again, more emphatically, her jaw set.

"That's when I went just a little farther. I told him about disabling you with magic."

"But...!"

"Just hold on, please. I didn't say exactly what my magic did. I just said I disabled you... in a kind of... permanent way."

"And he believed that?!"

"No."

"Hah!"

"Now wait, Marie. I made my hands glow and...."

"You didn't! Please tell me you didn't turn him into a woman!"

"I confess I was tempted. Your brother can be a bit...."

"A bit of a prick?"

Gabrielle stifled a laugh. "Yes, that's one way to put it. But please listen."

Marie nodded again.

"I made my hands glow and shot my magic up and out of a window. It surprised him but he still had trouble believing me."

"Yes, Marcus doesn't believe much of anything unless he can see it for himself. You'd have to turn him into a woman and even then it would take him a season or so to believe it."

"Just like Thelma then," the queen joked.

Marie laughed, making her mate smile.

"By the time I left, I don't think Marcus would ever want to see me again, but I think he believed me about you being okay... just too far away to ever make it home again. I mentioned something about the portal but I tried to keep it very general."

Gabrielle got up off her knees and sat on the couch next to her mate, giving her a moment to think.

It wasn't long before Marie responded. She kept staring straight ahead as she said, "Marcus would tell Mom, of course. He wouldn't want her to worry. That's what you meant about them both knowing about me."

"Right," the queen said.

"And they know I'm okay. I'm just too far away to come back to them."

"Right again... except...."

"Yes, I know. We could go back using astral travel, but that would likely embarrass my whole family."

Gabrielle sighed. "You could change your astral body to look like your former self."

"The most I've been able to do is sharpen my form and add clothes. I doubt I could control my appearance enough to look like a man."

"With enough practice...."

"Maybe someday, Gabi. For now, let's focus on more immediate concerns, shall we?" Marie turned to face her mate and wiped her moist eyes. "Thanks for telling him though."

"You're welcome." The queen leaned over and gently kissed her mate's waiting lips.

~o~O~o~

Except for romance, nothing challenged the group as they zig-zagged their way through the dangerous scrubland north of Roggzer. They spent the nights walking and passed the days sleeping under their tarps. Fritz got her daily half ration of two nigglers and made her rounds getting treats from everyone, everyone except Louis. The hungry little beast accepted tidbits from everyone in the group including the children, but she snubbed Louis, giving him a growl if he even looked like he might try to feed her.

Louis hoped to slowly win over Fritz but despite tossing out each and every niggler for the hungry little mogron, she wouldn't let him feed her directly, and she still wouldn't allow him to get close to her. She didn't trust him after his first failed attempt to feed her. And she no longer felt intimidated by him, not after biting him and hearing him scream in pain. She had the upper hand and she used it well. She especially pressed her advantage when she saw him move close to her adopted mother. One little growl was all it took to get rid of him.

"Oh, Fritz," Thelma whined after having Louis chased away yet again.

The young mogron sat at Thelma's feet and twitched her tail, happy to hear her name.

Meanwhile, as the group continued to march roughly northward, Louis left Durgan and Thor to lead according to his careful directions and moved to the back to talk to Gabrielle. He especially had one important matter that bothered him enough that he wasn't sleeping well. But before he could ask about it, the queen spoke first.

"I estimate that we'll make it to the iron ship before daybreak. I'd like to take a small party and explore the area while the rest of our group makes camp."

She'd informed Louis about the reason for their trip when she first looked him up in the city. He'd thought it a fool's errand but he'd never turn down a job, even a low paying one. His professional pride wouldn't let him. Neither would his libido. He still couldn't get Thelma out of his head, and when he'd heard that she'd be going back to Roggzer, he'd known that he'd have to stay with her and help her get back. It would only be him, her and her little pet according to the latest plan.

"That all sounds good to me," he said, then immediately moved on to his main concern. "Do you think they serve food on this iron ship? Or could there be food in the underground room that you mentioned?"

That question surprised the queen. She hadn't really thought about it but it was a very good question. She had enough food for another seven days or so. Her current water supply would only last another five days. The group couldn't trust any water supplies in the area, not with all the deadly hot spots that might contaminate it, and they certainly couldn't hunt or forage. There was nothing really safe to eat. With her limited experience being around technology, she guessed that the longest part of the journey by far would be getting to the iron ship. She had to hope that the ship itself had to either be fast enough to not need to carry food or it had magic on board that could supply food.

"I'm not really sure about food or water," she confessed. "I'm sorry. Why do you ask?"

"It's about Fritz. I.... I didn't bring enough food for her. I underestimated her appetite... a lot. Damn but that little animal can eat. At the rate she's going through the nigglers, we won't have enough food for her on the return trip."

Gabrielle frowned and took a moment to think. "I didn't plan for a return trip to Roggzer," she said. "I've been kind of preoccupied with getting... home. But I think I have a solution. We'll most likely need a little practice operating the ship. We should be able to give you a lift back to Roggzer. We'll set down behind a hill just to the east of the city and restock supplies, mainly food and water. We can drop you off there."

"Yes," Louis said with a bright smile. "That sounds perfect. Thank you. I was worried about... Fritz."

"Of course," she said, knowing he really meant that he was worried about keeping a certain redhead happy.

~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.