by Lisa Daneils
Behind her, Cinthia could only manage to cry, “Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!”
Rhionnan turned and grabbed the woman’s arm. Pulling her through the door, they tumbled to the ground. Noticing that Cinthia’s dress was on fire, the queen moved quickly to smother the fire as the poor lady-in-waiting began to scream.
As soon as the fire was out, Rhionnan quickly placed a hand over the older woman’s mouth. “Shhhhh, Cinthia,” her voice was just barely above a hushed whisper. “They will hear you.” She tapped a finger against her mouth, only then becoming aware that she was bleeding.
Cinthia nodded up at her, the unfortunate woman’s eyes as wide as saucers.
“Very good. Now, come on. Quickly, before they realize we aren’t dead.” The queen grabbed Cinthia’s hand, helping her to her feet before pulling the poor woman along behind her. There was a line of trees not too far away, but the sound of something behind them was impossible to ignore.
One of the creatures that had attacked must have heard Cinthia’s screams as the shriek of something large resounded nearby. Knowing that the creature would try to chase them down, Rhionnan ran.
The shrieks got louder as they dashed across the open land. Silently praying, Rhionnan refused to turn around. Her legs were pumping harder than they had in several years, and she cursed herself for not having ignored her advisors who said it was unbecoming of a queen. Being under the constant threat of shape shifters meant that it didn’t matter if something was unbecoming—this was about survival. As this recent assault proved, just because it had been a while since the creatures had attacked didn’t mean that they were gone. She knew as well as anyone that they had just been biding their time to create a false sense of security.
It had worked.
Suddenly, a large form landed in front of them, its golden-red eyes flashing.
Rhionnan was shocked by the appearance of a dragon in front of her, but her body was too dedicated to the act of running away. There was no chance that she could slow down as they ran toward it. Only after the creature hurdled over them, shaking the ground beneath them as it landed some distance behind the running women, did it really register with Rhionnan just what had happened.
Her mind was trying to process what she had just seen, but the queen’s desire to turn and say something was not as strong as her desire to get Cinthia somewhere safe.
A few minutes later, they reached the forest, the sounds of shrieks cut off by an occasional roar punctuating the air around them. As soon as Rhionnan began to slow, her companion fell to her knees, her body seeming to have a difficult time drawing breath.
“Oh my!” Cinthia took a huge gulp of air. “Oh—my!”
“Take a moment to rest, but we can’t wait for long. We still aren’t safe yet.”
“What was that?” The poor lady-in-waiting had never been in serious danger in her life, and had rarely left the comfort of the palace. She was only there because she had insisted on keeping the queen company. No protests that Rhionnan could make would dissuade her, and now the queen was looking at her, the guilt at her own failing proving just how dire the circumstances were. “I never should have allowed you to come with me, Cinthia. I’m so sorry.”
The woman looked up at her, her body still heaving as she tried to breathe normally. “It’s alright, my queen. I was the one who was too stubborn to listen.”
Rhionnan walked over to her. “We can play this game later. Right now, we need to get somewhere safe.”
“I’m sure one of the knights will help us,” Cinthia said as she struggled to her feet.
“Perhaps, but we are a long way from them. That was no small tumble we just took. There is no telling how long it will take for them to get to us.” The queen did not have the heart to tell the lady-in-waiting that it was very likely that most of the people who had been traveling with them were probably already dead. The only reason the two women had survived was because they had been knocked away from the action. Even if any of the men had survived, they were a long way from the two women.
“Come on, Cinthia, we can find somewhere safe for now. And when it looks like things have calmed down, I’m sure we can meet up with them at a nearby inn.”
“Do you really think so?” The poor woman looked up at her queen, the hope clear in her eyes.
Praying to any divine that would listen, Rhionnan begged for one of them to ensure that she wasn’t made into a liar. “Of course, Cinthia. I’m sure it will be fine. This kind of thing sometimes happens on trips.”
“So you know what has happened?” Cinthia had allowed the queen to help pull her up, but had seemed unable to release her hand since. The lady clung to her queen like a frightened toddler clinging to her mother.
Rhionnan let her hold on because it made it that much easier to gently guide the poor woman forward. “Yes, but it is best not to talk about it until we get somewhere safe. We don’t want anyone hearing us and attacking while we don’t have anyone to protect us.”
This was something that the woman could understand. Pursing her lips, she nodded her head vigorously, her mostly grey hair bobbing comically around her face.
The queen began to walk as quickly as possible, not that they could achieve much speed with the poor lady both stunned and out of shape.
Then the one thing that Rhionnan was dreading hearing broke the near silence around them.
“Had I known it was you, I would have waited.” The voice was familiar, but the tone it had adopted was completely new.
Turning slowly, her eyes met the golden-red eyes that she had rejected years ago. Letting go of Cinthia’s hand, Rhionnan faced the one person she had been desperately trying to forget. “That is most unkind of you, Greyson.” She attempted to keep her voice haughty, but knew that it was too shaky to be as commanding as she could have wanted.
His eyes were narrowed as he looked at her. The rapidity of his movements reminded her of just what she had lost, and quicker than she could blink, he was looking at her with a mocking expression. “Not unkind at all, human. Shouldn’t this be considered a small mercy? After all, you were the one who said you never wanted to see me again. I have spent the better part of a decade striving to fulfill that wish.” The sneer on his face lasted only a moment before he stood and began to walk away.
“Greyson!” she called out to him. The prince showed no signs of hearing her, but the queen knew that he would hear every word she said, even from a few miles away. “Thank you.”
“Unnecessary,” he said.
“It is necessary. I—”
Before she could say anything else, he shifted into a large dragon and burst through the trees.
The gasp from Cinthia reminded the queen that they had not been alone.
“My queen, you know that beast? Is he our enemy?” There was a look of confusion in her eyes as the lady-in-waiting tried to understand what she had just seen.
Taking Cinthia’s hand, Rhionnan shook her head and continued to walk back toward the edge of the forest. “No, Cinthia, he is not the enemy.”
“But—but—he shifted!”
“Yes, but he is not a shape shifter. He is a dragon shifter. Quite a different beast entirely.” The words tore at her heart, but the queen refused to let it show.
“I’ve never heard of such a thing. How do you know he has not lied to you? Such disrespect!” The lady-in-waiting was obviously beginning to recover from this latest shock.
“You shall see when we return to the road. If he is here, it means that we are safe for the immediate future.”
“If that were true, why has he not killed all of them? Surely he is no friend of ours. Such manners!”
“He is far more adept at killing them than we are, but he is alone. As you do not expect me to eat an entire feast in one sitting, you cannot expect him to kill all of our enemies. I’ve no doubt he has killed all of the shape shifters who attacked us. That should be enough for now.”
“But if he is our ally, then he would seek to destroy al
l of them to help save our people.” Her voice was firm. “And if he were our ally, he would not speak to you with so much disrespect.” Cinthia had begun to huff, almost as if she had forgotten about everything else that they had just experienced.
Rhionnan smiled for a fraction of a second, and she hoped that her friend could forever remain so simple. It took the mind off of other much harsher things. “I did not say he is our ally, but neither is he our enemy. I’ve never met anyone who hates the shape shifters more passionately than Greyson does. As for his manners, I deserve far worse.”
“What?” Cinthia sounded like she couldn’t believe the words. “All of your subjects should treat you with respect, even if you are a woman. You are the queen!”
Closing her eyes for a second, the queen tried not to laugh. “He is not human, and definitely not one of my subjects. Greyson is the heir to the Golden Kingdom.”
“I’ve never even heard of it.”
“That is because we were not allowed to participate in the contract between the humans and the dragon shifters in any real capacity. But the deal that our realms made with the foreign kingdoms was that their heirs could marry any of our princesses that they chose. In exchange for protection from the shape shifters.”
“Oh!” As if a lightbulb had gone off in her head, Cinthia began to speak a little more rapidly. “He’s one of those princes? And you already know him?” She began to bounce as she walked. “I suppose I should be happy that you haven’t gone for any of my choices! Imagine you and—”
“No, dear Cinthia, I’m afraid you have it all wrong. They may marry any princess. I am no princess now.”
“But you are a queen! Isn’t that better?”
“It means that I do not count.”
“But you already know him.” Cinthia did not seem like she could give up the idea now that it was in her head.
“He would more likely choose you over me at this point. I already broke his heart once. There is no chance that he would ever give me a second chance to hurt him.” In her head she noted, And he shouldn’t. He deserves someone much more capable than a human.
“What? What do you mean by that?” Cinthia frowned and tried to keep up with the queen.
Placing a hand to her temple, Rhionnan replied, “Please, my dear Cinthia, my headache is so much worse now after all of these events. I cannot speak about it now. Please. Let me think so that we can return home in safety. We can talk once we get there.”
A hand patted her shoulder. “I understand, dearie. The path to love is always marred by difficulty. We can talk about your Greyson later.”
It wasn’t quite what she wanted to hear, but the queen was grateful that at least for now she would not be forced to talk about the prince. A tear rolled down her cheek as they passed under the giant hole that Greyson had left in the canopy. Keeping a few steps ahead of Cinthia, the queen ensured no one could see her crying for the first time in almost a decade.
Chapter 2
A Queen’s Role
Helping Cinthia climb all the way back up the hill was more than enough to keep Rhionnan’s mind occupied for the short term. The constant slips, trips, and stumbling were understandable since the hardest thing the poor woman had climbed in years was the stairs in the palace.
“It’s alright to hold on to me, Cinthia. I’ve helped bigger men who were injured.”
“But if I fall, I don’t want to drag you down with me.” Her eyes were about ready to release a flood of tears. “You should just leave me here. I will understand.”
Shaking her head, Rhionnan pressed on. “We aren’t far from the top, and as I’ve said, there is no point in time where I would ever abandon you.” Looking up the hill, she knew that there was really only one way to get the poor woman to stop being so adamant about leaving her. Cinthia probably hadn’t even noticed how close they were to the top. Hoping that their situation was not so dire, Rhionnan called out, “Hello! Is anyone up there?”
Seconds later, several figures looked down at them. Of course, Rhionnan should have called out sooner, but the years had made it nearly second nature for her not to yell in these situations. The shape shifters waited for that so that they could finish off survivors.
In addition, the queen did not know how many of their procession had survived. The last time she had been attacked like this, more than half of the men had been killed.
Wanting to spare Cinthia any more pain and suffering, Rhionnan had finally called for help, hoping that the attack had not been as bad as she had feared. The sight of the men rushing to help them made her heart sing for the first time that day.
It had not been a complete bloodbath.
Before Cinthia could say anything, men were taking her arms and guiding her back up to the top. Rhionnan insisted that they help Cinthia first because she was unable to climb on her own.
“But, Your Majesty, you are hurt,” one of the men said, his eyes moving over her, trying to figure out how badly she had been injured.
She waved a hand, little flecks of blood flying with the gesture, “You know that it isn’t fatal. Please see after Lady Cynthia.”
“I don’t think that she needs any more help.” His eyes moved over to three men trying to assist the poor woman, who was now blathering at the unexpectedness of the sudden rescue.
“You may be right there. Then see to the injured.”
“That would include you, Your Majesty,” the man said.
“Sir Newman, I can assure you that I need no assistance.” She began to climb up the slope, and the man began to work beside her. “What happened to Mr. Black?”
“I’m afraid they killed him when they struck the carriage. And the horses. It’s amazing that you survived. In the commotion, no one saw what happened to the carriage. From what little I did see, the creature that struck you came from the hillside, so I’m not sure how it managed to knock you over it.”
The queen nodded. “I am sad to hear that they killed him. He was a good man. How many good men…” her voice trailed off. With a sigh, she continued, “They must have attacked us from both sides. One going after the horses, the other crashing directly into the carriage. The force from that must have broken the harness as it threw us over the side of the road.”
“But… why? If they wanted to use you for ransom—”
“They would need me alive, yes. Unfortunately, once they shift, the poor creatures are no longer able to understand reason. There is no guarantee that they wanted to use me for ransom, and if they did, there is no guarantee that they would remember once they changed. We are just unlucky enough that they were able to hold it together to attack us. How many have survived?” They were nearly to the top, and she wanted to be able to prepare herself for the sight.
“The majority of us, Your Majesty. Before any of us could really react to the initial assault, a large… dragon appeared out of nowhere and absolutely decimated their numbers. Several of them tried to flee, but the creature quickly dispatched them as well. That one must have really lost its mind if it was attacking its own.”
“He wasn’t one of them,” Rhionnan said as they crested the hill. Hoping to avoid any questions about how she would know that, she asked, “Have you set up a place for the wounded yet?”
“Are you admitting that you need help?” There was a wry smile on his handsome face.
The queen chuckled, “I suppose if one of my knights is going to insist that I be checked out, I will have to finally acquiesce. But no,” she added, “I’m not admitting anything.”
He sighed and shook his head as he removed his helmet. The knight’s black hair swayed in the gentle breeze. “Someday that stubborn streak of yours is going to get you killed.” His clear green eyes surveyed the damage, which wasn’t nearly as bad as could have been expected.
Rhionnan was already stepping forward. “It hasn’t killed me yet, and we’ve managed to secure all of the remaining cities and protect the towns. If keeping the people safe means my death, so be it. But I’m not
about to be given special treatment just because of my birth.”
“There is so much wrong with what you just said,” Sir Newman walked along a couple of steps behind her. “But that is precisely why the people love you.” Suddenly he reached out and took her arm. It was something that would have gotten a man killed under previous rulers, and certainly would have been punished in other kingdoms. Accosting the monarch was unacceptable. But Queen Rhionnan did not run her kingdom like anyone else. Sir Newman pulled up her sleeve and began to look for the injury as he spoke, “If you won’t seek medical attention, at least let me see—ah. Come with me for a moment.” He looked into her eyes.
The queen looked back, a wry smile on her face. “You just can’t leave well enough alone, can you?”
“If you won’t take care of yourself, someone has to. Besides, what good would it be to have you pass out and be unconscious for days because of blood loss? Stop being so stubborn and let’s get this fixed.” Gently, he pulled her over to a small area where other wounded people were being tended. People turned and saw the pair, but they were too busy with their own tasks to do more than smile and nod. Perhaps it was the fact that the queen seemed immortal after everything she had been through, but her reappearance seemed to be taken more as a given than a surprise.
Carefully, he held out Rhionnan’s arm, “See? This isn’t going to heal on its own.”
Jutting out of her arm was part of a needle. “Huh,” Rhionnan muttered, “I must not have gotten it at a good angle.”
“That’s all you can say?” The knight’s eyebrows rose up. “I swear, sometimes I think you aren’t quite human.”
Rhionnan laughed, “I’m just used to dulling pain.” Giving him no time to respond, she said, “Just pull it out. It’s not like it will be any worse for it.”
