The Ranger Queen

The Queen

Halt winced slightly as a man dressed in black armor prodded him in the back yet again with the blunt end of his spear. His back muscles were aching from the rough way his arms were tied behind him, and without his familiar cloak he felt as if he was advertising his situation to all of Redmont.

He'd patrolled these forests for years, and had never come across this tribe. Now, instead of fulfilling his mission to track down the toscan assassins, he was held captive and being married off towards some tribal camp!

Will and Horace were similarly tied, with Will also looking uncomfortably open without his ranger cloak. The tribesmen and women who were marching their prisoners seemed to be wary of them, afraid to touch them almost, since they used their spears to push them faster if need be. The mistrust in their eyes was easy to detect, and greatly interested Halt.

" Behave yourselves, Outsiders, it's time to meet the queen, and she does not take kindly to people like you," Eliza commanded, a smug smile on her face.

Horace narrowed his eyes at her, obviously disliking the sound of this queen of theirs. They were prodded through a dense area of the woods, and when the foliage was left behind them, they found themselves in a wide clearing, gazing around at a fully functioning camp.

Wooden cabins dotted the clearing, and a small stream of water flowed along beside the camp. Dense foliage around it hid it from view, and men and women dressed mainly in dark cloth bustled around the camp. Children laughed and chased each other long with pretend wooden swords, racing behind cabins and around people.

It was a nicer settlement than they had been expecting, although the sight of men and women trying with swords and axes to one side of the clearing, made Halt even more curious.

These people clearly had a system together, and were also armed with weapons and skills to use them. They were a notable threat, and he would definitely be reporting to Baron Arald and King Duncan about this.

However, on their entrance, many of the men and women of the camp shied away from them, scuttling as far away as they could get, while yelling for the children to join them. They seemed to be incredibly scared of the three newcomers.

Eliza quickly made her way over to the cabin she shared with her sister, knowing Deorwynn would be very pleased with her work. The girl was not inside though, an so Eliza made her out the back of their home to see Deorwynn hacking away at a wooden post with her twin blades, executing swift and deadly moves.

" Deorwynn!" Eliza called out.

The girl stopped, and turned to face her sister, panting slightly from her vigorous work, and wood chips strewn all through her hair and clothes.

" Eliza? I didn't expect your patrol to be back so soon," Deorwynn commented curiously.

" We captured three outsiders! You have to get dressed in your ceremonial clothes and come interrogate them!" Eliza goaded excitedly, eyes shining happily.

Deorwynn froze, eyes wide with shock before settling in a determined look.

" Give me five minutes," She growled before disappearing inside their cabin to change.

This was it, her first chance to prove she could be a good queen! This would be one of her first official acts, and yet the thought of confronting oustiders made her want to shrive up inside. They'd been told to avoid these people all their lives, naturally there was fear. However, she had to do this.

She gazed at the crown in her hands, its weight seeming unfamiliar to her. The silver crown with sapphires and rubies embedded in it was both delicate and symbolistic. With a small sigh she placed it upon her dark brown hair and strapped her twin blades to her back.

" Time to prove your worth," She whispered to herself as she took a deep breath, donned a confident and fierce expression and opened the door to her cabin, ready for anything.

Will cast a glance at Horace, catching his eye as they were forced in to a kneeling position on the ground. Horace sent him a small smile, and he returned it, before turning his gaze back to the largest of the Woden cabins, directly in front of him. It seemed this was their idea of a royal home. He mulled over his worries about Tug, his faithful horse who was most likely nervous for him as well. The tribemen had paid no notice to their horsed, and had left them where they were.

With a soft creak the door to the cabin opened and the people of the Lupus Tribe bowed in one swift movement. Out of the cabin strode a girl who looked to be about fifteen years old. She looked positively murderous, and the crown upon her head marked her as the infamous queen. The black dress she wore at first looked like fabric, but at second glance he noted that the bodice of it was actually black painted chainmail. Silver, wicked looking blades were strapped to her back, and she did not seem to be the gentle, almost airheaded queens that Will had seen over the years.

When she looked up at him he was upside to see a pink scar running over on eye, and yet something about her was triggering his memory. Something about her seemed slightly familiar, and the feeling only increased when she spoke.

" What are you doing on our lands?" The Queen snarled in a melodious, but angry tone.

Horace, who was a natural spokesman, and usually the calm one in Will and Halt's bickering, decided to speak up, considering Halt often lacked tact when he spoke for them.

" We have not come to harm you or your people. We were simply passing through," Horace explained calmly.

The Queen's eyebrow raised as her expression morphed in to a sarcastic look, that was almost identical to the one Halt often used.

" Is that so? Then why is it that you attacked my sister!" The Queen hissed dangerously, sending a quick glance at Eliza, who stood beside her.

" We believed your sister was a Toscan assassin, and did not know with whom we were dealing with," Horace answered calmly, hoping that by telling the truth it would earn them some credit with her.

He noted that her eyes narrowed when he mentioned Toscan assassins, and she swept her glance over Will and Halt, before looking back at him.

" I know of the assassination attempts the Toscans made on the two Rangers here. What I do not understand, is what business you have with the Toscans?" The Queen stated simply, eyes narrowed once again.

Halt and Will stiffened beside him, clearly thinking the same things. How did she know bout the assassination attempts on their lives? How would they explain their business with the Toscans without giving away their whole mission?

" We are on a reconnaissance mission, to get information from them on why they tried to kill us," Horace lied easily.

The girl seemed to contemplate that for several moments before replying in a clipped and short tone.

" Very well. We will emit you to travel through our lands on your mission. However, we will escort you through them to make sure you leave," she decided, before signaling to the three men standing behind them.

Horace sighed in relief as his bonds were cut, and he could move his stiff arms and back again, and yet he did not look forward to being escorted by these people. However, it was the best option.

" Agreed," He murmured with a nod of his head.