Gena and Roxanne stood in the Queen’s assembly hall, awaiting her arrival. They were accompanied (but not necessarily welcomed) by stiff female guards who stood watch at every doorway. Narsis sniffed a few of the guards’ feet. He even lifted his leg over one of them, but a simple kick to the face with their iron boots was enough to break him of that.
“Would you behave yourself?” Roxanne hissed at him. “We’re in a royal house here.”
“We have a muzzle if you need one,” one of the guards offered.
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Yes, it will,” Gena said, taking the muzzle from the guards’ hands and kneeling down before Narsis. He tried to run away, but Roxanne held him tight on the leash. With her hands against his cheeks, Gena snapped the muzzle over his impish snout and yanked it hard. He couldn’t so much as open his mouth to bite down on the air now.
“The last thing we need is him babbling more nonsense about ‘game helmets’ and ‘hacking viruses’ to the Queen,” she whispered to Roxanne. “She’ll take us all for madmen.”
“I suppose you’re right,” she said. “Sorry, chump.”
Narsis just scowled up at them.
Suddenly, from the top of the master stairs, the door flew open and a fair-faced brunette with a white dress and ribbons in her hair stepped out. “All hail Queen Isabella of Ellewyn!”
Like a wave washing over them, every guard bowed her head. Gena and Roxanne did likewise, with Roxanne having to force Narsis’ face to the ground. And she held it there, rubbing his face into the red carpet just for fun. He couldn’t cry out anyway.
The young Queen Isabella appeared at the doorway next to the brunette and raised her hand. “Thank you, Fallon. Rise, guards.”
The guards obeyed and returned to their stiff upright positions.
Only Gena, Roxanne, and Narsis remained with their heads down. Isabella and Fallon walked slowly down the stairs and stood before them, Isabella in front, Fallon behind, and a handful of knights (all female) at their sides.
“You may rise as well,” Isabella said.
Gena and Roxanne did so. Narsis only slowly lifted his head, just enough to look up at the queen, who paid him no mind. Her eyes were on the Necromancer and Black Knight in her castle.
“You are much younger than we expected, Your Highness,” Gena said as politely as she could. “I pictured you much older.”
“My mother, the real Queen, is seeing to an important diplomatic affair in a faraway land. I am in charge during her absence.”
“Ellewyn is a big kingdom. Are you sure you’re up to it?”
One of the knights drew her sword. “You dare mock Her Excellency?”
But Isabella put her gentle fingers on the sword’s blade. “No, Lucilla, you’re not spilling blood over my new carpet. It matches the curtains wonderfully.”
“But they’re all red, Your—”
“Silence!”
Lucilla shut up.
“I love doing that,” Isabella laughed to herself. All the knights kept straight faces. “So, Necromancer…”
“Gena.”
“Necromancer Gena, you are quite bold to question my authority as Queen. I assure you that my age should not be a factor you consider when it comes to my capabilities, for you are quite young yourself. No more than one and twenty, I would say.”
“Very astute, Your Highness,” Gena bowed her head. “But you do misunderstand me. It is because of that—your youthfulness—that I do trust your authority. It is the older generation that I find…lacking.”
“Yes, I do believe my Mother is quite primitive in her ways. She actually believes the race of Men deserve proper feeding! Can you believe that? Blasphemy, I tell you.”
“It does seem the older generations are a little too soft-hearted in their judgments, especially when it comes to Men.”
Lucilla turned to the queen. “Your Highness, I must protest. She’s ridiculing your mother!”
“I like her,” Isabella smiled. “You seem like much more fun than these boring knaves, Gena. Where do you come from?”
“From a land far, far away.”
“Ha! That’s classic. And what about your friend? Does she have a name and a place of origin?”
Roxanne stepped forward. “My name is Roxanne, Your Highness, and I come from…” She looked to Gena. “…A land far, far away also.”
“I have always dreamed of a land far, far away! You must take me there some time.” Isabella smiled and then gave the brunette with red ribbons in her hair a small push forward. “This is my best friend and my mother’s courier, Fallon.”
“Hello,” Fallon said properly and they each bowed heads.
Isabella made a gesture with her hands. “Away, knights.”
All the knights broke away except the blonde-haired Lucilla, who stood by the queen’s side. “Your Excellency, your mother would not approve of any of this. Necromancers are known only for their bad fortune and malice! Their ebony veins flow with the blood of the innocent, spreading out into twisted vines of evil that snare any soul in their path until the last moaning breaths give way to darkness. Your mother knows that.”
“Fair Lucilla,” Isabella said. “I understand your concern, but were you not the one to tell my friend here that she should not question my authority? Perhaps you should heed your own advice, lest you become a most terrible hypocrite.”
Lucilla couldn’t respond to that, even after trying. She gave one last shared scowl to Gena and Roxanne and stuffed her sword deep into her sheath before turning her back and storming away.
“Don’t mind her,” Isabella said to Gena. “She’s a Paladin. I think one of the requirements to becoming a Paladin is to shove a sword up your rear end and keep it there for the rest of your days.”
“I bet she has a whole arsenal up her butt,” Gena smirked as Lucilla heaved open the doors to the courtyard.
“It’s of no matter! Come, Necromancer, walk with me. You too, Roxanne, and your little pet.”
“What should I do, Your Hi…Isabella?” Fallon asked.
“Tell Lucilla I would like to speak with her in my chamber within the hour. I have a sword I would like to remove.”
Giantess World
