by Billy Wong
"Elly, please..." Before she could strike her down, a figure darted between them and Celia heard a loud clang. Her eyes widened to see who stood holding back Elly's sword with a thick metal staff. Straightening up further by the throne, Cyril too stared. "Lina?" she asked in disbelief. But Elly was so strong, how could the healer...
After a brief attempt to muscle Lina aside, Elly broke off and jumped back. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded warily.
Lina twisted something on her staff, and pieces of the top fell off to a bunch of jingling sounds. Revealed was the round head of an axe—which Celia recalled seeing in statue form. "I'm Sergio the Reaper," Lina said.
Celia's jaw dropped, and Edge shared her flabbergasted expression. "Wasn't Sergio your fiance," asked Edge, "and isn't he deceased?"
The healer flashed a half sad, half proud grin, and a lot of things suddenly made more sense. "Yes Sergio was my fiance, and yes he's dead. But the masked marauder who struck fear and awe into the masses? That was me, wearing the armor in his stead. I became a healer after because I'd tired of the warrior life, of bloodshed and killing. My skills are still there to be used when needed, though."
"Wait... so he was short enough for you to pass for him?"
Celia gaped incredulously at his question while Lina replied, "He was a little taller than me, but thick boots brought me up close enough. It's not as if you're that tall, considering Celia has a bit on you." Come to think of it, Sergio had likely been around the same height as him.
Edge sighed. "I guess you got me there..."
"So you're the famed terror of the Livian coast?" A hungry gleam shone in Elly's eye. "I wondered what it would be like to fight you! It was a tad disappointing to learn you were dead, and we'd never get to match blades with each other. But it looks like that thought was premature."
"One second," Celia said. "Before we get back to fighting, what happened between us getting knocked out by the Necromancer's creatures and waking up in the wagon?"
Lina raised a palm towards Elly. "If Her Majesty doesn't mind, I could explain multiple things."
After a moment, she nodded. "This should be interesting to hear."
"Remember when you got knocked out by Gunther, and thought you woke up quickly? You were unconscious for over a minute while I wrestled with him, and you waking up distracted me for him to peel me off." Celia hung her head, none too proud right now. "Then when you questioned why the Shanfor Brothers were sloppy and underprepared, and where the third one was? I killed the other triplet when they tried to take me hostage to use against you, hence them turning desperate and sloppy." Edge fiddled awkwardly with his fingers. "I acted annoyed after talking Ted's kidnapper down because it was the third time I had to bail you out with non-healing skills, and I'd hoped you kids would be a little more self-sufficient than that. By the way, the reason I always put my staff down so carefully is because I don't want people to notice just how heavy it is. As for what happened after you got beaten by the golems..."
#
The Necromancer looked over an unconscious Celia and Edge, admiring his handiwork. "Now crush the life from them!" he crooned. As Celia had been flung far away by War Dead's kick, The Drowned raised its foot to finish off Edge first.
There was a sound of tearing flesh, and The Drowned leaned backwards before crashing down. Something had sheared clean through the ankle of the one leg touching the ground, so the golem lost its balance and fell off its severed foot. The Necromancer stared at Lina, who now stood before its fallen form. "Aren't you dead?" he asked, gawking at his monster brought low so suddenly.
She held her staff in front of her, the outer shell of its head shed to reveal the double-sided axe it hid. "I suppose you don't know who I am."
"Should I?"
"No, not particularly. That was long in the past. But even the healer that I am now can't allow you to kill my friends."
He sneered. "Then I'll kill you too. War Dead, barrage her!"
The metal-laden giant aimed its arm at her and loosed a storm of assorted weapons. Swords, spears, axes, maces, and even shields and bows flew at her, but she deflected them steadily with her flashing axe until the volley died down. As the last projectiles—a sword and a blade-rimmed shield—approached, she batted them back. The sword skewered the golem's neck, while the shield passed right through his head. Though it tottered, it didn't fall. She ran forward, jumped, and swung. "Death Wing!" she cried as she burst out its back and it finally collapsed.
"You n-name your moves..." the Necromancer sputtered, "the mark of a champion..."
Well, somebody could do that just to give off a pretentious air. Unfortunately for him, in her case it was quite warranted. Plague Lord stomped between her and its master while The Drowned attempted to sit up. She probably could have defeated each of the golems one by one, but why bother with that when killing their puppeteer might stop them handily in their tracks? She dashed forward, cut away some of Plague Lord's fingers as it reached down for her before running between its feet. The Necromancer's eyes grew panicked at the sight of her speed. He turned to flee, but she was already on him and threw an uppercut with her axe at his back, ripping him open and launching him in a shower of blood through the air. He flew and flew before landing in a ditch to the side of the road, and his creations fell apart behind her with his death.
Lina looked to her injured and insensate companions, and recoiled at the boils bubbling up on Edge's face and neck. "So getting touched by Plague Lord infected you that fast?" She pulled the last piece of magic augmenting stone from her pouch. "I guess this is where we say goodbye, Mister Stone... If I can't heal you enough to wake you up, I hope I won't have to carry the both of you too far before I find a cart."
#
"Does every inhumanly powerful warrior name their attacks?" Edge asked after she finished recounting her tale.
"No," Lina said, "in fact I traditionally didn't. But since you told me Elly did and I hadn't revealed the full extent of my abilities for a long time, I felt inspired."
Elly chuckled. "How flattered I am to inspire you. So you intend to defend these two?"
"That's correct. My skills are rather rusty though, but they'll have to do."
"Then let us see whose will prevails!" The girls yelled and charged one another. Elly jumped high into the air and plunged back down. "Queen Meteor!"
Looking up, Lina leapt to meet her. "Death Wing!" Their collision shook the castle, its thunderous gong hurting Celia and Edge's eardrums so that they bent at the knees.
Lina landed on her feet, but took a few involuntary steps back before steadying herself. "Gods, you're impressive. If you weren't weakened by that gut wound, you might have overpowered me."
Elly had fallen to a knee, and Celia dared to hope she might be defeated. Then she stood with a smile. "But if you weren't rusty, you might have avoided the second stroke."
Now Celia realized there was a rent in the robes over Lina's hip, and blood soaked through the cloth around it. "Even you can't stand up to her?" she asked despairingly.
Lina shook her head. "This is just a scratch. The fight's nowhere near finished. That ridiculous length of her blade is something I'll have to work around, though."
"I think I'll enjoy this," Elly said, drawing back her sword. "Cyril, watch the teenagers until I take care of this one, and kill them if they try to run."
The monstrous young women resumed their battle, darting back and forth too fast to track except when they slowed down for an instant. Each deafening clash of their weapons sent shockwaves across the room, and made Celia wonder how long the guard could stand not to intervene even at their queen's orders. After a particularly frenetic series of ringing blows, Elly flipped away to land standing atop the back of the throne. She sported a new cut on the shoulder of her dress, but Lina bore one above her elbow too. "Hahahaha, this is great! Fighting Gunther, then Cyril, and now you... I haven't felt so alive in a long time!"
"You and Cyril fought?" Lina asked. "Guess it's a be
tter explanation for you getting wounded that badly."
"Why do you fight so hard? Do you truly think you can save these kids? It's unlikely you can beat me, but if I did start losing, Cyril here would step in no matter my own wishes. You are a respectable opponent, but even you don't really stand a chance."
"Perhaps I should dispose of them now, before your conviction wavers?" Cyril suggested.
Elly's gaze dropped uncertainly, but then she said, "Sooner or later makes no difference when it comes to the inevitable. Do what you want."
Celia backed up while the golden man strode towards them, heart racing faster than before. They said Cyril was as strong as Elly if not stronger, and his stoic look hinted that he wouldn't show the same hesitation to finish them she had. Her mind scrambled for something to say. "Wait!" she cried as Elly and Lina met again in an impossible to follow whirlwind of cloth and steel. "You guys don't have to fight—Elly, don't you realize how alike you and Lina are?"
To her great relief, they paused. Of course, they were nowhere near out of the woods yet. "How so?" the queen asked, raising a hand for Cyril to stop as well.
She had said that without planning the next step, but luckily it came to her. "You've both led false lives, her fighting and massacring in her love's stead, you compelled to do things unnatural to you by your crisis of identity. I wouldn't be wrong to say you regretted it, right Lina?" The warrior turned healer nodded. "Why murder to preserve your secret, when it's clear in your heart you have no desire to? Perhaps you should embrace not bearing royal blood, and live an honest life from now on."
"And give up being queen?" Cyril asked stonily. "I too opposed her deceit before, but she persuaded me. The country needs its strong ruler, and I support her continuing in that capacity."
"I understand. I'm not asking you to relinquish the crown. But have you considered maybe you could reveal yourself to your subjects, and ask for their support?" Elly furrowed her brow with doubt, but thankfully didn't stop her. "I know you gained a lot of popularity for your words after beating Gunther. And what was that speech about, but moving past outdated ideas? There may not be a better time to propose doing away with another dated tradition, like adopted royalty not being allowed to inherit."
Cyril frowned. "You seek to defy the law of God?"
"Did God personally tell you this decree?" Edge asked. "It might well just be another rule made up by men, as they like to do."
"The forces people call gods exist," Lina added, "but from my experience tend to be less picky than clergy would have you believe. Besides, God hasn't smitten you yet for falsely claiming the crown, right? Which would suggest he can't be that strongly opposed to it."
Elly whispered, "If my reign truly is such an affront to God, let him correct it." She turned away, her voice breaking. "But if I reject the law of divine right now, will all I've done to preserve it be for naught? Killing so many, making my father who didn't know I knew I was adopted think I had become a disappointment, allowing these assassinations to continue..."
Lina placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly. "There's nothing blameworthy about changing your mind, if you realize there's a better path than the one you've been on. Better that than staying on a course you know to be wrong just because you're used to following it."
The queen faced them again, a touch of moisture in her eyes. Though she still wore the same intimidating clothes, she no longer looked half as frightening. "Damn, I can't win this argument with you. I suppose we're overdue for a change. Let's just hope the people will accept it."
"So you'll call off your assassins?" Celia asked.
"They weren't mine. Chancellor Reginald originally sent them without my knowledge thinking to protect my secret, though I gave him permission to resume doing so after stopping him before. But one of the merchants he targeted somehow traced it back to him, and since his wife was killed during an attempt on his life, took revenge on the chancellor in a suicide attack. Hence my foul mood at my most seasoned advisor being dead, and not knowing if we'll find a competent replacement for him."
She had been about to ask if there would be any comeuppance for Reginald after the unwarranted deaths he'd caused, but that question was irrelevant with him already being gone. "I'm sure there are other qualified people for the job."
"In any case, I'm sorry for the trouble I and those under me have caused you." Elly extended a hand. "Will you accept this apology from a humble new monarch?"
Too glad all this was over to hold a grudge, Celia shook it with a smile. "I do, and hope we can move into the future as friends."
"Friendship might be a bit to ask of a queen," Edge said.
Elly shook her head. "Just because I'm called Queen now instead of Princess doesn't change who I am, and I'm grateful to you for steering me off a misguided course. I'll happy to consider you my friends."
"One other question. How did you glow purple before the fight?"
She looked down at her hand. "One of my rings lets me do that." As by mental command, one of them emitted a pink light which covered her body. "Not the most practical magic, but it's a fun trick."
#
The next morning, Elly asked as many people as could fit to gather before the castle. From above the front gate, clad in a white dress sparkling with jewels, she delivered her fateful speech. "People of Eden," she boomed in a voice worthy of a leader with Lynn and Cyril behind her, "I have a confession to make. For many years you have been deceived, and I sincerely regret that it was so. In truth, I am not related to my parents by blood." Muttering rose up to fill the air, and she waited for it to die down a bit before continuing. "Because of their difficulty conceiving, they adopted a baby girl who would grow up to be me. But they raised her to be heir, to inherit my father's crown and guide this nation, and I believe myself to be their child in spirit if not flesh. Will you allow me to serve you as your ruler, as my parents wished? I know you're thinking about the law of succession, and I too feared to defy it. But God hasn't struck me down yet, has He? Perhaps this is His test for the kingdom, to see if we can stand together in the face of uncertainty. Does God teach us to give up? No, and as such I will not stand by and watch the land I love fall into chaos. I intend to lead us into a prosperous future, natural heir or not! Will you ride with me?"
After a tense couple seconds, a man near the front raised a fist. "Long live the queen!"
"The queen speaks wisely!" another said.
"We'll follow you Queen Eleanor, even to the gates of hell!" a young woman chimed in.
"Eleanor! Eleanor! Eleanor!" the crowd went, and a bright smile played across Elly's face.
Watching from amid the people, Edge said to Celia, "Looks like it worked—here, at least. It's yet to be seen if the rest of the country will accept it. Nonetheless, I'd say it's a good start."
"And I'd agree. What now for us? Will you move on to bodyguarding others, and will Lina go back to being a healer?"
"Actually," Lina said with a grin, "after talking a lot last night, Elly asked me to be the new chancellor. I haven't answered her yet, but I'm thinking I might accept."
Celia started. "You, chancellor? There must be tons of people in line before you."
"I'm sure. But Elly thought it would be good to have another girl near her age around, and to provide a balance to the perspective of older advisors. And I am fairly experienced in a similar role from helping Sergio back then, so it's not the wildest idea. I'd have to tell my master first though, but this would probably give me opportunities to help more people than just healing them personally. For a long time I thought I was damned because of my past, yet it seems there might be value to be found even in a monster like me after all."
"If you do accept, congratulations on your new post." She looked to Edge. "And you? By the way, I never did remember to ask you... who was that girl you confessed to having lewd thoughts about?"
He smiled nervously. "Well, she's tall, and wears a big sword... and is happy-go-lucky and isn't you. I wa
s talking about a fellow bodyguard I met on a job. You're a good friend and I respect you, but I think her attitude suits courting me more."
"Oh."
"I was thinking about something else, though. I know you and your father probably don't need a full time bodyguard, now that the storm has passed, but do you think maybe I could get into your business as a partner? I need more money to impress my girl, bodyguard work isn't cutting it."
She cupped her chin in thought. "Well, there's no way we can trust you with big deals right away... but I bet Dad could find something for you to do that's potentially more lucrative than watching backs. Let's go home and ask."
They wished Lina luck and left the capital under the warm sun, their prospects finally looking up again.
Cover design copyright © Mario Teodosio http://marioteodosio.com/
Author Billy Wong is an avid fan of heroic fantasy, with a special love for strong female warriors. He draws inspiration from the epic legends of old, and is on a quest to bring over the top deeds and larger than life heroes back to prominence in today's literary world.
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