Tales of Alavern

Tales of Alavern:The Man, the Queen and her Island

 

 

Prologue

 

The Great Mother stared down at the isles she had created so long ago. The long-lived women of the isles, her people, had suffered greatly at the hands of cruel tyrant men and so she had gifted them ferocious strength and skill in battle to win their freedom. Once their freedom had been won, she had closed the island off from the rest of the world through her power and gave the women one final gift. A magic pool, with which they could offer their blood and receive children that they would be able to raise in peace. She smiled down at the strong warriors that had grown from the pool, and had thought they would be able to live peacefully forever but something had gone wrong.

The children born from the pool had started becoming fewer and fewer over the years. Within the blink of a god’s eye, the children soon came from the pool no more. Her people would die out if nothing could be done, but the pool could not be recreated or re-energized. It had simply taken too much out of her during her creation. The Great Mother would not simply stand by and let this be though. Her people would not merely exist and die, they would live and thrive! She puzzled for another generation, trying to come up with a solution until the last of the children from the pool had become adults.

She had run out of time, and the epiphany she had sought after had eluded her. Without the pool, there could be no more children and without children, her daughters would wither and fade from the world. She watched with tears in her eyes as she saw one of her daughters approach the well and cut her hand, offering blood that would never form a child despite their sincerest wishes. There was no other way for a child to be born on an island without men…

Suddenly, the Great Mother had found her elusive epiphany! Men had been the ruination of her people before, why could they not become the hope of her people now? She sought her entire world for a man, asking the spirits of the lands to show her a worthy male but despite the magic and wonders of her world, too many of its people were still too primitive. Men the world over had thought their natural strength made them above women, who needed great skill to defeat them in battle. She could not find not find a worthy man in her universe, but her people needed her.

Desperate, she broke the taboo and dipped into the Source of All. She screamed in agony as she forced her power into another universe where it did not belong, but her scream turned to joy as she found a world with a man just right for her needs. She saw him, teaching a young girl how to punch and praising her efforts with kindness. This man was not only strong, but he was kind and fair too. What she was about to do to him was not fair at all, but she was desperate. She hoped he would find it in him to forgive her sin this day as she used her great power to pluck him from his home and place him on the isles of her people. He would be her people’s great hope, as long as he could survive them….

 

Chapter 1

 

Cyrus groaned, tasting sand in his mouth as he slowly came to. He found himself sprawled out face-down on a beach somewhere as he opened his eyes, feeling groggy and weak like someone just barely getting over a bad flu. He spit sand out of his mouth as he felt the tips of his fingers hit by gentle waves. The cool spray of the ocean washed over him as he looked over calm and beautiful blue-green waters of whatever sea. The weather was perfectly lukewarm as he struggled to get onto his feet, somewhere in the low 70s if he had to guess, and the heavy clouds in the sky shielded him from the rays of the sun. He wasn’t really used to dealing with humidity, having grown up in the desert city of Las Vegas, but between it and the color of the clouds it was clear that rain was inevitable today.

He looked around, seeing several boats on the water near an island a bit of a distance away and thick trees a short distance behind him. He tried desperately to remember how he had gotten there in the first place, but the last thing he could remember was working out alone in his room. He looked himself over and realized that he was still wearing the plain black t-shirt and simple workout shorts from his routine. He didn’t even remember passing out or falling asleep, so either he was suffering from some form of memory loss or he had been abducted. He hoped that he was safe and had just conked his head somehow.

He fixed his gaze on the calm waters of the ocean, ebbing and flowing until his attention was drawn by the rustling of trees from behind him. He turned in time to see two women emerge from the trees, both of them wearing some form of armor straight out of a fantasy game and carrying swords that completed the look. One of them had bright blonde hair while the other had fiery red hair, and both of them had stunning figures that were all curves and well-earned muscle. The blonde one pointed at him and began speaking.

“See, captain?” she said, turning her head towards the redhead. “A man. Just like they’re described in the legends.” The redhead glared at him while the blonde seemed to almost study him, as though he were some kind of ancient artifact. Cyrus nervously smiled, holding up a hand in greeting.

“Uh…hello there.” he said, hoping to come off as friendly. “My name is Cyrus. I’m from Las Vegas and…well, I can’t seem to remember how I got here. Could you possibly help me?” He looked at the women as the redhead whistled and several more women in the same armor came rushing out of the trees towards him, pointing honest-to-god spears in his directions. In truth, he felt a little conflicted.

He had always found strong, self-assured women to be extremely attractive but the literal threat to his life that they were making with their weapons was only reminding him of bad times that he had dealt with during his life. It was taking a bit more than he wanted to admit to keep his temper under control. He hadn’t done anything wrong and he was being treated like a wanted criminal, apparently just for his damned gender.

“Alexis, secure him. This is a grave and unprecedented matter, so we need to consult the queen before any further action is taken.” the redhead said to the blonde. The blonde, Alexis apparently, quickly rushed forward, producing a pair of old-fashioned metal shackles from behind her back. In one fluid motion, she twisted his arms behind his back and slapped the shackles on him. It didn’t really hurt, but Cyrus couldn’t help his growing irritation.

“You could have just asked me to put my hands behind my back.” he growled out, his anger bubbling to the surface and barely under his control now. “I get that I’m apparently not supposed to be here and you need to be careful around me but there’s a limit.” Alexis looked at him with genuine surprise on her face while the red-headed captain glared him down.

“Be silent, Cyrus from Las Vegas or I will make you.” the captain growled back at him. She snapped her fingers and the various women with the spears surrounded him on all sides, keeping their weapons trained from a tactically safe distance. “Keep the prisoner moving, and keep your guard up. There are too many unknowns to risk anything. Am I understood?” she shouted out to her troops, receiving a unified ‘Yes, captain’ in return.

Cyrus’s bare feet became coated with wet sand as Alexis pushed him, forcing him to move forward as his new guard moved together in a near perfect unison with them. As they moved into the trees, Cyrus did his best to wipe some of the sand from his feet using the grass but was thwarted from anything by the constant pushes forward from Alexis and the occasional prod with one of the other women’s spears. He grumbled his frustrations wordlessly and the captain shot him another glare.

“So what are your names?” he asked, uncomfortable with the silence. “I’ve already introduced myself, and I know that she’s Alexis…” he said, crooking his thumb over at the blonde.

“I said be silent, man.” the captain spit at him, spewing his gender out as though it were the most foul-tasting thing in the world. “You may speak only when questioned. Understood?”

“No.” he said resolutely, garnering looks of shocks and a few quiet gasps from the women surrounding him. “I had the common fucking decency to introduce myself, I’m being cooperative since you’re clearly part of some law-keeping force in…wherever the hell this place is but if you don’t start treating me like I’m a person instead of some rabid animal, I’m going to get real uncooperative real fast.”

The captain’s eye went nearly bloodshot with rage as she looked back at him, clearly unused to any sort of resistance or insolence from anyone but to his surprise she didn’t come after him. She kept her distance and took a very deep breath, held it in and let it out slowly before she even bothered to respond to him.

“You are a rabid animal!” she said darkly to him. “You are owed nothing! Worse yet, you are a man. The same scum who abused and assaulted our foremothers. We will not be silenced or deceived by you!”

“And how many men have you actually met before today?” he replied, still walking forward despite the fact that the captain had gone totally still. “Because based on the bits of conversation I’ve heard and your own words, I’m betting that I’m the first man you’ve ever seen. That any of you have ever seen. So don’t even think you can pretend that you understand a damn thing about me before you’ve even gotten to know me, captain.”

The entire guard company stopped for a second, stunned at his words and the audacity he had shown to their captain but at this point he was beyond caring. He was beyond sick of dealing with people judging him based on idiotic factors like his skin, gender or clothing. If they didn’t want to listen, then he’d meet this queen and sort this whole thing out by any means necessary. He kept walking as though his company hadn’t stopped dead in their tracks and they quickly caught back up with him. He felt one of them punch him in the back with a fist and smirked.

“So queen, huh?” he said, chuckling at their new attitude. “That’s kind of surprising. Most monarchies in the world are gone now, or at the very least out of power. Usually they got kicked out via a bloody uprising due to abuse of their power.” he said very casually, eliciting yet another growl from the red-head and another punch to his back.

“Our queen is righteous and fair. She has earned our loyalty and our respect more times over than I can count. She is everything to us! Now shut up and walk!” the captain said to him, her patience clearly having been strained.

“I can only promise to do one of those things effectively.” he snarked back immediately with a grin on his face. “Though to be honest, I am actually looking forward to meeting this queen. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised and find out that I’m not the only one on this stupid island with any basic…sense of…manners..” he stuttered out as the trees quickly cleared out and he saw the beginnings of a beautiful city. His feet suddenly found themselves on expertly crafted stone streets instead of grass and dirt, and he found himself unable to move or speak even a single word.

“I told you shut up and walk.” the captain said to him, pushing him forward once again and nearly causing him to stumble onto his face. “Though I suppose I should be happy that the one you chose to do effectively was shut up.” she said to him, flashing her own smirk that he completely missed. His attention was completely focused on the city before him, a city unlike any he had ever seen before.

 

Chapter 2

 

Brianna, red-headed captain of the queen’s royal military police, kept her eyes fixed on the man they were currently escorting. She hated admitting the pride she felt at the man’s fascination with their buildings. The savage had probably never seen anything so well-constructed in his pathetic life. Without the tyranny of men and with the guiding hand of the Great Mother, her people had built a city on the largest of their isles that melded together perfectly with the natural environment.

Sandstone was used for the roads they currently walked on, and various other stones had been experimented with for the other buildings. The city was colorful, the buildings between the paths they walked on covered in various colors and stones like Jaspers. The only uniform part of them had been the blue roofs they had painted in honor of the Great Mother who freed their foremothers from oppression all those generations ago. Lamps, crafted from metals and illuminated through the use of a foreign magic brought to them before the Great Mother had encased their islands in a protective barrier began to light up as the sky grew darker from the lowering of the sun and the clouds in the sky.

Curiosity filled Brianna’s head for a moment as she observed the man taking all of this in, and she wondered if men still lived in hut and small houses made of sticks, mud and loosely connected stones. It would certainly explain his awestruck look very well, but there was something about the way he was taking this all in that had struck her as odd. They passed by several more streets before it finally hit her. It was the lights. This man barely even registered that the lights were there. They should have seemed an impossible marvel to him! How was this reaction possible? Was he faking it?

“This is some of the most artistically beautiful architecture I’ve ever seen.” he said to no one in particular. “Are those agates? How on Earth did you make a building with freaking agates?”

“Our buildings are that fascinating to you?” Alexis asked, somewhat mirroring Brianna’s thoughts. “All of the marvels of our island, and it’s merely the buildings that fascinate you?”

“Well yeah.” he responded plainly, looking over his shoulder at Alexis. “I mean the sandstone roads make sense from a cost standpoint but they’re a bit of an eyesore and the streetlights seem a bit too old-fashioned. They don’t really match well with the incredible sight of the buildings surrounding them. Now, they’d probably work well if you went with an Art Deco style, but…”

“Enough.” Brianna said firmly. “Alexis, gag him. If I have to hear him yammer on for even another minute, I’m going to break protocol and stab this man before we can consult the queen.” Alexis looked back at Brianna, giving a silent nod before producing a black handkerchief from a pouch on her belt and tying it into the man’s mouth. He made noises of protest that brought a smirk to Brianna’s face as she pushed him forward against his wishes. The noises vanished after a final groan of acceptance of this new fate of his and they continued their march towards the palace.

Word had spread fast when they first brought the man into the city and now the man and the guards surrounding him were the subject of gossip the entire city over. From windows and rooftops and occasionally even the sides of the street, women from all over were staring in wonder, dread, fear and more than a little curiosity over the first man to set foot on their islands in nearly a thousand years. Brianna couldn’t truly blame them, as this was the first worthwhile event to happen in just as many years since the Great Mother had erected the barrier to protect them, but gossip and whispers had always annoyed her.

She heard the man silently grumble and couldn’t help but wonder if he shared her distaste for spectacle or if he was just being sore about the gag. Either way it didn’t really matter, but she was keeping her mind distracted from her rising irritation as the whispers and gasps got louder and more frequent. Thankfully, the castle soon came into view. The pristine white building rose up well above the roofs, sporting its own blue roof that had been inlaid with gold, melted from long-abandoned treasure reserves.

It filled her with a sense of pride and anticipation every time she came to it to report to and occasionally merely visit her queen. Her heart had always been faster when she stood before the queen, though she chalked that up to nerves. She was always worried about whether she was doing a good enough job as captain, whether or not she was making her queen and friend proud of her. Worrying about it would solve nothing though, so she simply resolved to do everything to the best of her abilities.

The guards at the gate gaped at the man with the black cloth gag in his mouth rolling his eyes at their reaction. Brianna stepped up, snapping her fingers to get their attention back on their duties and wordlessly motioned for the guards to open up the gate. They gave her a quick salute and hustled to get the massive, beautifully ornate wooden gates open. The man’s eyes went wide again as he beheld the royal courtyard. Flowers and trees had been painstakingly planted to give the illusion that the courtway had somehow managed to occur naturally, like the palace and everything attached to it had somehow managed to grow out of the very ground without disturbing any of the plant life.

She pushed him again, making him walk forward as she saw one of the messenger girls dart out from behind the gate and make a mad dash towards the palace. Brianna smiled warmly, pleased she wouldn’t have to wait for too long for the queen to arrive. Once she had seen the situation for herself, they could decide what to do and this whole debacle would be over that much quicker. She would be happy to return to normalcy, where she would stop petty troublemakers and not have to deal with disgusting men on days where she should have only worked for half the day and then come here to spend time with her good friend.

Brianna stopped the company and their prisoner right before the steps into the palace proper, turning to her troops with a stern gaze. They all knew from experience to take up formal positions in preparation to see the queen, lining up in a particular formation that still left the man surrounded. Alexis stayed right behind the man, her hand keeping a firm grip on his upper arm as he let out a frustrated sigh. Brianna stepped up to the man, stopping inches from his face and spoke.

“Count the seconds, man. Once the queen has been informed of our arrival, your fate will be decided. These are likely to be the last moments of your life. If I were you, I would enjoy them as much as I could.” she said sternly, glaring at him with the coldest look she could muster. The man proved annoying once again when his only reaction to her was to slowly roll his eyes and shake his head slightly. Brianna clenched her fist and nearly lost herself to her urge to punch the disgusting creature in its smug face, but was stopped by the sounds of heavy breathing and frantic footsteps.

“The queen..is…expecting..you..Captain.” the messenger girl she had seen run inside earlier panted out in exhausted breaths. “She says…to come to the..throne room.”

“Understood.” Brianna said, quickly turning to face the girl with a practiced neutral expression. She motioned for her troops to follow her and they all escorted the man inside of the palace proper. Brianna had grown up playing inside these halls and knew them like the back of her hand. A left, a long walk down a hallway, a right and one final left lead them all to the throne room.

Brianna’s breath caught in her throat for a second as she saw the queen sitting at her throne, reading some parchment that carried in her hands. Her queen was a sight as always, her body just as well-toned as Brianna’s but with an air of infinite grace and elegance. Her long silver-white hair cascaded behind her shoulders and framed her pointed face perfectly. She was dressed in a barely formal gown, a sheer black with a golden trim pattern inlayed into it.

The queen’s breasts were barely visible through the fabric, as were the silver piercings that she had gotten in the ritual she had undergone when she ascended to the throne. The queen lowered her parchment, revealing the pale, pearl-colored irises of her eyes to everyone. Those eyes shot wide open as she took in the sight of their prisoner.

“A man?!” she said, her shock as evident in her tone as it was in her eyes. “In my kingdom? How is this possible? Brianna, explain.” she asked, turning her gaze to Brianna. Brianna was caught up in her queen’s lovely eyes and had forgotten to take a proper position in the court like her soldiers had, but managed to shake herself out of it before her actions became too suspicious.

“Your highness. Patrols were going routinely and Alexis was combing the beaches for the usual troublemakers, when she came across this…thing’s unconscious form. Since a man hasn’t been seen on the island long before even our eldest have lived, she took note of his position and immediately brought me to him to make sure that she wasn’t mistaken in her assumption of what he is.” she explained calmly, gesturing to the man every now and then. “We never expected to ever encounter a man after the Great Mother gave us our shield, so we have no official procedure on how to deal with this situation. Hence, why I’ve had him brought before you.”

The queen brought her fingers to her chin in thought, gazing sternly at the man for several moments in silent contemplation. She raised her hand, allowing the lower-ranked soldiers in the courtroom to rise from their kneeling position and pointed a finger towards the man.

“Remove his gag. I would have him answer my questions.” the queen spoke in a tone that was soft yet somehow seemed to almost roar throughout the room. Alexis nodded and forced the man off of the floor, carefully untying her cloth out of his mouth and stuffing it back in the pouch on her belt. The man turned to Alexis with an odd expression on his face as he worked his jaw, most likely to get the stiffness out after having the gag removed.

“If we’re all still alive and conscious later, please remind me to ask why that thing tasted like melons.” he said in an oddly polite tone to her. Alexis responded by blushing hotly and pushing him towards the feet of the queen. Brianna gritted her teeth seeing the momentary mirth on his face at her response before turning his gaze to the queen. “So if you’ll allow me to predict a couple of questions you’ll want answers to, your highness; my name is Cyrus, I’m from Las Vegas and I have no idea how I got to your island. The last thing I remember before waking up on the beach is working out alone in my room back home.”

Brianna gawked at his brash tone and overly-casual demeanor, unbelieving that he would dare to speak to the queen in such a manner. Her queen, ever the example of poise, merely looked upon him with the slightest amount of annoyance showing on her face. Brianna stood poised to take the man down should the need arise and patiently awaited her queen’s response.

“I do not recall giving you permission to speak yet, Cyrus of Las Vegas.” the queen said to him, rolling her parchment up and placing it on the armrest of her throne before turning back to him. “But since you insist on speeding things along..”

“I’m sorry, what’s your name? You forgot to introduce yourself. Like I said, I’m Cyrus. Nice to meet you.” he said, cutting her off. Every woman in the room but the queen gasped at his arrogance and had risen to tackle him to the ground but were stopped by the queen raising her hand up. “Look, I’ve been cooperative ever since I woke up on the beach and I’ve been treated extremely poorly. Now I’m trying to be civil here and lead by example, but apparently none of the rest of your people have any basic manners. So I’m begging you here, could you please just show me even the slightest hint of decency?”

“Well, if you’re going to beg…” the queen replied, a confident smirk forming on her face, “I am Naomi, Queen of the Alavern Isles. Now since you plan on remaining ignorant, I’ll tell you this much. Our island is protected by a powerful barrier gifted to our people by the Great Mother. Nobody should ever have been able to find us from the outside. We don’t even show up on maps, so how exactly did you arrive here? Some ancient spell, or perhaps a pact with a dark god?” she asked, her smirk disappearing. Her face twisted in a cold glare and she leaned on the railing to bring herself slightly closer to him.

“Now, I am going to have to have you beheaded at dawn in front of all of my people if you do not stop lying to me!” she shouted at him, making the man go quiet. Brianna felt great pride in her queen, thinking the man had finally found humility in the face of her stern wrath but she was wrong. She saw the man’s face twist in rage as he stood up again, and was stopped from knocking him back down by Naomi raising her hand up silently again. She made herself ready in case the man tried to rush forward and attack the queen but was stunned by his actions once again.

“Oh hell no!” he shouted, loud enough that it seemed to echo throughout the entire palace. She watched him quickly crouch down and jump, tucking his feet up and swiftly moving his manacles underneath them. When he landed, his hands were now in front of him once again despite still being shackled together. He pointed at the queen, returning her cold glare with a fiery hot one. “Nobody gets to call me a liar anymore, your fucking crown be damned!”

 

Chapter 3

 

Cyrus stood there, trembling from the sheer amount of rage coursing through him as the women surrounding him stood there, tensed up and ready to strike. He knew that realistically, there wasn’t a way for him to survive the situation but was no longer able to care. Between his mistreatment at the hands of the captain, whose name was Brianna apparently, being treated like a freakshow or dangerous animal by all the other women who hadn’t been escorting him, and being shoved around for over an hour his anger had been brought to a boiling point for a while. Being called a liar despite his actions and behavior for most of this unfortunate visit had been the turning point and now he had to fight the urge to lash out and just hurt anyone he could reach.

“Really?” Queen Naomi said in a surprised tone from on high near her throne as rain began to pour heavily outside. “I threaten to have you beheaded and it’s being confronted on your truthfulness that has you acting like this?”

“Undeserved aggression and violence I’m used to, that just makes it fucking Tuesday and me fucking mean.” he told her bitterly as he turned back towards Brianna and pointed a finger at her. “You. Give me the fucking key to these cuffs. I’m leaving.” Brianna scowled at him, finally drawing her short sword from its scabbard and pointing it to him.

“You only leave this room unconscious or dead while I still draw breath.” she said defiantly to him. “If you want the key, you’ll have to take it from me man.” she spat out, glaring him down as he took a Philly Shell stance and clenched his fists. Brianna approached carefully, keeping her sword at the ready as she studied his movements. He noticed how her eyes moved over him and started flexing and twitching his right fist. Just as he predicted, her soldier training made her too predictable in a one-on-one match and she moved around, preparing to counter a right punch.

He smirked as he threw a quick flicker jab with his left hand, smacking her in the chin with loud pop and watching her head fly back. He knew it wouldn’t do any real damage without any weight behind the punch but it caught her off guard and he was able to dash in and ram her with his shoulder hard enough to knock her on her ass. She fell backwards with a thud, keeping a firm grip on her sword and exposing the tools on her belt. He growled, keeping a practiced distance from her as she got back up and cursing silently that he hadn’t been able to catch a glimpse of the key.

“A cheap trick.” the queen stated suddenly from behind him, “It won’t work again. Brianna is too fine a warrior for that.” Cyrus cocked an eyebrow, but refused to look at the queen instead of his immediate opponent. He said nothing to her, hearing her grunt in annoyance and smirking slightly to himself. He noticed the gazes of the other soldiers focus on the queen and watched them take up positions to block any possible escape attempts while aiming their spears at him once again.

Brianna charged at him, keeping her sword raised and taking a slash at him. He barely managed to dodge the blade as it took a clean slice out of his shirt and stepped in towards her, raising his fist to hit her with a harder punch this time when he suddenly felt someone grab him from behind, locking their arms under his armpits and preventing him from being able to unleash his attack. He turned his head and saw the blonde looking back at him, her expression now one of someone who was acting the part of a professional.

“So, your people are bullies, cowards, and novices.” he said, glaring at Brianna. “Doesn’t mean you’re going to beat me.”

“How dare you insult my people!” he heard the queen suddenly yell from behind him. He chanced a glance back and saw her face gazing down at him in pure rage, her eyes somehow changed from their earlier color to a dark red. “My people are not bullies, cowards, or novices! We are a proud people who have been living free from the oppression of men who abused and enslaved our foremothers! You will regret your lies and insolence, Cyrus of Las Vegas!” He merely smiled smoothly and turned his attention back to Brianna.

“Here’s my proof.” he said as Brianna stepped forward, readying her sword for a strike. “Bullies, ganging up on one unarmed guy with an entire crew because you lack the fortitude or honor to fight one on one.” he said as though he were giving a class lecture as he reached for Alexis’ fingers and twisted them until she yowled in pain and was forced to let go. He stepped forward as Brianna had barely started her swing, blocking her arm with his whole body and headbutting her hard enough to cause a nosebleed.

“Cowards, constantly acting aggressive towards and afraid of someone who didn’t make even the slightest aggressive move or action until you finally pushed him too far instead of trying to get to know him or acting anything even remotely reasonable.” he said, delivering jab to Brianna’s nose and causing her nosebleed to intensify before swiftly turning around and delivering a blow to the pit of Alexis’ stomach to knock the wind out of her. Brianna roared and charged towards him, ready to swing her sword once she got in range.

“Novices.” he said, grabbing Alexis and shoving her towards Brianna. The two collided with one another and got tangled up for a moment, allowing Cyrus to easily step in and deliver a hook to Brianna. Brianna head snapped to the side, the blood from her nose spraying out a bit as she tripped over Alexis, sending them both sprawling to the ground in a pile. “Being too unfocused to coordinate their efforts and staying so close it’s easy to use them against each other, turning their numbers from an advantage to a disadvantage.”

He smirked as he caught sight of the keys to his manacles and swiftly grabbed them off of Alexis’ belt. He made a small show of unlocking his cuffs as the turned back towards the queen, smirking at her as he tossed the cuffs to the side and fixed his messy hair. The queen glared down at him, her expression seeming to house a small amount of curiosity alongside her quiet outrage and disgust.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I’ve made my point regarding them. Of course, since you’re the queen that means that you exemplify the traits of your people the most. The biggest coward, the worst bully and a novice so green I thought that you were actually just a shapely sea turtle when I first laid eyes on you.” he says, making a spectacle of laughing at her in the most condescending manner possible. “If you were even a fraction of the queen they had been gushing about on the way here, you would have fought me yourself instead of sending your royal punching bags after me.”

“You insolent, unworthy filth!” Brianna shouted from behind him, grunting as she tried to get back to her feet. “Our queen does not need to sully herself with the likes of..” she stopped her tirade dead as Queen Naomi raised her hand again, never taking her eyes off of Cyrus. Cyrus dared a glance back at the women and noticed that the other guards had helped Brianna and Alexis to their feet. The whole company was standing at attention, clearly awaiting word from their monarch.

“You have made your opinions quite clear, Cyrus of Las Vegas.” Naomi said as she started to bunch the lower parts of her royal attire in a pair of makeshift pants. “I shall strike a bargain with you then. I shall fight you myself, proving my people’s honor in the one-on-one battle you so desperately crave. If you win, I shall give you a craft with which you may leave my island. If you lose, however, you will suffer the same fate as you men suffered upon our foremothers all those centuries ago.” she said, spitting his gender out as though it were a curse word. “You shall become a slave to my people, serving whatever role is asked of you without question or complaint. You will answer every inquiry honestly, or suffer grave consequences.”

“Fuck you, queenie.” he replied, spitting out her title with the same venom she had said his gender with earlier. “That’s just a win-win scenario for you. Either you get rid of me or you make me into a thing instead of a person. You wanna strike a deal with me? Put up something that actually matters.” he said to her, pointing at the simple silver crown with inlaid sapphire currently resting atop her head. “If I win, then I get as much respect and authority as that crown grants you. If you win, then what you say goes. That way, each of us puts something meaningful on the line.”

Queen Naomi appraised him silently from her elevated position before grabbing an ornate blade from next to the throne and hopping down to the ground in front of Cyrus. She looked him up and down for a moment before stepping over to Brianna and removing her crown.

“Highness, no! He’s not worthy! You don’t have to agree to this, just let me and my troops handle this scum.” Brianna said, ready to say more until Naomi shot her a stern expression. Brianna went dead quiet, her eyes still holding great concern for her queen and friend and Naomi’s expression softened.

“You are a wonderful example of our people, Brianna. I know I can trust you with this.” she said to the captain, gently handing over the crown. “Our laws were not written with men in mind so there is nothing in them that prevents him from making this challenge as any of our people could if they were so inclined. Have faith in me, my friend. Uphold our laws and traditions as you always have. I shall bring us victory yet.” Brianna sadly took the crown, nodding at her friend and ordering her troops to form a sparring circle around the queen and her new opponent.

Naomi strode confidently up to Cyrus, unsheathing her blade in front of him. It was longer than the short sword that Brianna had used against him earlier and just as beautiful as he had found the buildings and the scenery. The blade was a sort of light metallic blue color, with gold and black wrapping around the hilt. The queen took her combat pose as the sparring circle was completed around the two of them, her muscles flexing and she changed her breathing pattern to something more suited for the rigors of a fight.

Cyrus couldn’t help but admire the beauty before him, her power and grace more evident that ever before with her form. He took his own stance, switching to a peek-a-boo style since he’d need to work hard to press in past the length of her sword and swarm her with attacks quickly. Her eye color had changed again to a less dark red, this color being closer to blood as she focused in on him. He steadied his own breathing before speaking.

“I suppose you’ve actually managed to prove me wrong, your highness.” he said to her. “If you’re the example for how your people are, then there might be hope after all. Why don’t you mark the start of our fight? You’ve earned that respect from me.” he said calmly, eliciting a slightly surprised reaction from her at his sudden change in opinion and demeanor.

“Very well then. Our battle ends when one of us is no longer able to get up from the floor under our own power and it begins…now.” Naomi said, thrusting her blade at him.

 

Chapter 4

 

Naomi watched, slightly impressed with Cyrus’s ability to dodge the sudden thrust of her blade albeit by the skin of his teeth. She smoothly turned as she passed him so that her back was never towards him to allow him to strike at her blind spot. The rain poured outside, like a cacophony of war drums as the two of them circled each other warily inside of the sparring ring created by her loyal warriors. Much as she hated to admit it, this man was a finely honed warrior in his own right. His unusual bare-handed fighting style had caught her most diligent and skilled warrior off guard with the way he struck.

She carefully thrust her blade towards him again, remaining in place this time to see how he would move and caught herself admiring the simple but precise movements of his sway as he leaned back just barely out of her blade’s reach. She saw his eyes studying her and she smirked. He had probably thought her to be some pampered brat like most royals she had read about outside of her island but her position hadn’t simply been inherited, it had been earned. She had undergone all of the education and training required of all of her people and excelled. She had proven her might in battle and gone undefeated for 10 long years. No matter what strange style of combat this man might possess, he would not catch her off guard.

He rushed towards her experimentally a couple of times but was repelled away by the elegant sway of her sword each time. She smirked, thinking he was simply delaying the inevitable until he started doing something odd. Naomi saw him swing his arms wide and she couldn’t help but flinch at the odd maneuver. He clapped his hands together loudly while stepping towards her. She flinched at the sudden noise and quickly stepped back, knocking into one of her guards who pushed her gently back into the proper edges of the arena.

Her rage flashed hot, embarrassed that she had retreated from such a cheap trick until she noticed an impressed look on the man’s face. He curled his toes up and lowered his stance even further, making a sincere smile towards her that made her redouble her guard. She was expecting him to pull yet another trick, but instead he began to speak.

“Wow. I was expecting you to either block or counter that. I’m impressed. I’ve never had an opponent not fall for the clap feint the first time they saw it until today.” he said, his tone sincere and surprisingly gentle. Her brow scrunched in confusion against her will at this sudden shift in tone. He had gone from outraged, to cautious and now somehow found a genuine joy in facing her. She had never faced someone like this before.

“Your trick will not work on me, man.” she said, trying to muster venom in the word again but only managing to sound annoyed at him. Her curiosity about the creature before her was now at odds with her desire to see her opponent laying defeated on the ground before her. She grit her teeth, determined to push past her emotions. She swung her sword at him in three elegant swipes, but his low profile and surprising agility kept him from taking any real damage. Worse yet, he had managed to close the gap and make her sword’s reach a hazard instead of an advantage. She braced herself, ready to dodge an attack from below, but the man had decided to pull another trick.

He shot out his right hand and snapped his fingers right next to her ear. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t help but flinch and turn her head at the sudden noise. He had expertly used human nature to create a small blind spot. She attempted to position herself to block his attack, but not being weighed down by a weapon allowed him to attack much faster than she had been prepared for. Though she managed to move enough to avoid a direct heavy blow to her side, he still caught her elbow in a powerful swing of his fist.

She grit her teeth and allowed the momentum of his attack to carry her away from him so that she was back in a better range to use her sword again. She ignored the pain flaring in her elbow and took up her stance once again. She stomped hard on the ground, feinting her own attack and silently relishing in the fact that the man had fallen for it. He was rushing towards her and she swung her blade in a wide arc. He managed to bring his arms up, and the thick muscles on them managed to keep the cuts surprisingly minimal. Naomi followed up her slice with a kick to his side, delivered with the skill and grace of an expert dancer.

She heard him hiss in pain as he was kicked away from her and she made a small flourish with her blade. Her kick had managed to knock him into the guards at the edge of their ring and her people cheered for her while roughly pushing the man back towards the center. She attempted to slash at him again, aiming this time for his abdomen but he managed to grab her sword mid-swing. She didn’t have time to be surprised as he pulled the blade and her towards himself, delivering a swift punch to her face that made her head snap back. Before she could even register what had hit her, he slammed two more quick punches into her stomach.

“You’re good, but I don’t suck at fighting either.” Cyrus said, flexing his arms to check the damage her earlier sword swings had caused. She growled under her breath when she noticed that he was barely bleeding. His earlier merriment was gone, replaced with an intense focus as he kept his eyes locked onto her. “Your weak link is, you trained as a soldier and this isn’t a war. This is a damn fight.”

“Do not presume to lecture me, Cyrus.” she replied, growling out his name with all the venom she could muster. “I am Queen Naomi of the Alavern Isles, and you shall learn your place!” she said, rushing forward and making an impressive sweeping motion that was almost like ballet. She allowed the momentum of her spin to carry her towards him, much lower to the ground than he could punch effectively as she kicked her leg out to sweep his feet out from under him. She had used the move against plenty of opponents, putting them on their backs where she could pin her sword against their throat to end the fight.

A roaring pride shot through her as she readied her follow up, but as her foot connected something went horribly wrong. He slid his legs into a strange position and although her kick connected with the man’s shin as flawlessly as ever, his leg barely budged under the weight and momentum of her kick. She had been thrown completely off balance with this unexpected failure and couldn’t recover before his hand shot out and grabbed her sword from her. She gasped in shock and slight horror as he reeled his arm back and tossed her weapon away from the arena and out of reach for the rest of the fight. If she were to break the ring, he would be the victor of their battle by right and no outside assistance for either side was allowed during a battle for the crown.

“Rule one of boxing, steady feet. At this rate, it seems my place will be standing above you at the end of this fight.” he said with an air of eerie calm, causing the queen to simply lose it. She howled in rage as she bolted up from the floor and swung her fists out with all the power and rage in her body. She managed to catch him off guard with the sudden change from grace and poise to berserk ferocity, landing several solid blows on his face that left small cuts as he tried to dodge them. She felt the tide of battle changing in her favor once again and barely registered the murmurs of panic and fear that swept throughout her guards.

“You will never stand over me! I am Queen! My people need me and I shall never fail them!” she shouted at the top of her lungs as she rained blows down upon him. She was assured of her victory, savagely pounding on him over and over again until she had noticed something strange. The man wasn’t moving at all. He simply stood there with his arms covered in a bizarre stance that made it impossible for her to land anything significant on the sides of his head or his chin.

“I admire your spirit, and your dedication…” he said as she continued to rain down blows upon his guard, “but you’re overlooking a basic fact here.” Naomi stopped her assault, stepping back to allow him his chance to speak as her final act of courtesy in this fight. Once her arms stopped moving, they suddenly felt like they were being weighed down by large jars filled to the brim with water. “I’m not the one breathing heavy here.”

She looked over towards him, taking note of his firm stance and his oddly calm breathing as he kept his focus on her and she suddenly realized that the heavy breath of combat was coming entirely from her. In her rage,she had thrown everything she could at this man and he took it all. The terrible reality that he could actually defeat her in her current state washed over her like a violent tide and she felt the weight of her crown on her head once again. She shuddered to think what would happen to her people if she truly lost the crown to this man and steeled herself for one last assault. She would defeat Cyrus of Las Vegas. There was no other choice.

She sucked as much air into her body as she could and took up a proper bare-handed pose against him, watching him change his stance once again into something else she had never seen before. She forced herself to swallow her nervousness and charged forward at him, keeping her calm and holding her breath as she aimed precise strikes at him. He managed to sway his body and weave between every blow she threw at his head, but his torso was too wide and his new guard made his body an easy target for her blows. She chased him down as he tried to circle around her, placing blows against his body and receiving blows from him to her own body in return.

She felt her air start to run out and began to get desperate. She aimed blows at his lungs and kidneys, but he blocked every shot to anything that would do any damage to his body using his elbows. She couldn’t help but to admire the hidden sophistication behind his unique fighting style and a part of her began to wish that their first meeting had gone a different route. Her people could use hand-to-hand skills such as these, and she became determined to win this fight and make him teach what he knew.

His breathing was becoming more ragged as well, but Naomi had run out of air to hold in and was forced to stop attacking to take another breath. Her lungs burned with the effort of her exertions and she felt him step in towards her and land something heavy into her stomach. She found it impossible to keep air in her body and knew she would have to try something desperate and pray to the Great Mother for victory when she threw it.

“Fall, damn you!” she screamed as she threw her last desperate attack, aiming straight for his chin. Her punch flew true and for a moment her victory seemed assured as his head snapped back, but she realized all too late that she had not felt her fist impact with any real weight against him. She caught a glimpse of his eyes, boring into her own as he landed from a small hop that he had used to avoid her attack.

“Gotcha.” he said firmly, spinning his body around with a similar grace to her own. She prepared her legs to dodge the attack but noticed too late that his feet weren’t moving to kick her. She heard a crack like thunder as his fist impacted the side of her head and her world went blurry. She couldn’t even feel it as she saw herself hit the ground, impacting it hard enough to cause her body to bounce slightly. The last thing she saw was Cyrus of Las Vegas, standing over her with his fist still in the position he had bested her with and the face of her dear friend Brianna, calling out to her as her world went black.

 

Chapter 5

 

Brianna looked on in horror, the crown she had been asked to hold onto dropped the moment Naomi’s head hit the floor. Her troops surrounded the now unconscious form of their queen and her heart stopped for a moment as she checked Naomi for vital signs. She released a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding as she saw that her lifelong friend was still breathing and struggled to keep tears of relief from her eyes.

“I win.” the man said softly from behind them all. She and her troops all whipped their heads around to the man who had just defeated their queen, bleeding from various cuts and breathing heavily from the exertions of battle. The rain outside began to settle, as if the battle that had ensued had been fueling it all along. He looked down at the ground, noticing the crown that Brianna had dropped in her rush to check on the queen. He walked over and gently picked it up off of the floor, staring at the prize he had won with eyes that seemed to perfectly match the jewel that had been laid into the crown.

She heard one of her troops suddenly roar out and turned to see her point her spear at him with murder in her eyes. He looked on at her unflinchingly, his eyes silently saying he would continue to fight despite the shape his body was currently in. Her troop growled out, baring her teeth and took a step towards the man, ready to rush him down until Brianna called out to her.

“No!” she shouted to her troop. “This was a battle by law. He challenged, our queen accepted and..” she paused, choking for a moment on the words she knew she had to say. “He has won. He is…our king now. To attack him is treason. Do not dishonor yourself like that.” she said, seeing the conflict in her troop’s eyes as she looked between her captain and her new king. Several tense moments passed before the soldier begrudgingly lowered her spear, hands trembling with the effort it took to keep herself in check.

“King? I didn’t want to be king. I just wanted to be treated with some decency.” he said quietly, sounding incredibly dejected for someone who had just won a throne. He looked down at the crown, seeming to contemplate what he had just won. “Hey,” he spoke after a few moments of silence. “I don’t know how we’re going to work this out in the long run but for now I’m just going to roll with this. I need to treat my wounds and I need to rest. I’ve been exhausted since you found me this morning and all of my adrenaline is about to run out.”

Brianna stood up, not wanting to leave her friend but mindful that her duty had to be to the crown, regardless of who wore it. She could resign from her post later, but for now there was a duty to attend to. She walked up towards her new king, bowing towards him with the respect he had fought to earn just now.

“Make sure that the queen gets any medical attention that she needs. She’s too tough to die, but I don’t want any permanent damage left over from this fight either.” the king commanded. Her troops silently bowed and worked together to move Naomi’s body as gently as possible out of the throne room. She felt beyond conflicted about the state of events, but was at least appreciative that he seemed to care about Naomi’s well-being to the point of making it a royal order to see that she was given care. She would do as her station dictated of her and serve his request with all the protocol she knew of.

“My king. My soldiers will see to the queen’s….to Naomi’s well-being. Please, allow me to escort you to your chambers.” she said to him, then looked at him with shock when he held the crown out to her.

“I told you, I wasn’t looking to be anybody’s king. I’m just Cyrus, okay?” he said to her, his eyes weary and laden with guilt. She looked towards the crown, tempted to take it and run but she managed to gently push it back towards him. That small act had been completely sincere, and for the first time she was starting to regret how she had treated this man.

“You have won the crown, and it cannot simply be given away. There is law and protocol that must be followed.” she said in a softer version of her usual professional tone. “Though if you wish only to be called by your name, I can easily follow that Cyrus.” She saw him sigh, noticing now just how badly he had been hurt. Bruises were starting to form in places and mixed with his many cuts. The battle had been much closer than any of them had realized and if he was to be believed, he had been fighting with a handicap the entire time.

“Alright, I understand. Could you please show me to those chambers now? I need to lie down before I collapse.” he said to her. She nodded to him and began to escort him down the many halls of the palaces. Since he now held the crown, protocol dictated that he was to be housed in the royal chambers. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with the thought of him in her friend’s bed but rules were rules. The two of them garnered many stares from the various servants of the castle, dressed themselves in simple light blue tunics but the new king didn’t even seem to pay them any mind.

“The royal chambers, sir.” she said with an air of respect as she opened the door for him. “The beds in the palace are the finest our society has ever produced. I’m sure you’ll rest well in them. Shall I send a physic to tend to your wounds?” she asked him as she saw him eye the bed with an almost primal hunger. He glanced at her and stood there in silence for a moment, forcing her to await a response.

“Yes please. Thank you, Brianna.” he said to her as he sat himself upon the bed. He saw all the energy drain out of his body instantly. She gave him one last quick bow before closing the door to the room and hunting down the nearest servant.

“You, are you a physic?” she asked. The servant girl shook her head no and Brianna sighed. “Well go find one. The rumors of a man in the palace are true. He’s currently waiting in the royal chambers and the crown has commanded that he receive medical attention. Once he has gotten it, allow him to rest undisturbed for a few hours and then make sure that food is brought to him. Am I understood?”

“Y-yes Captain.” the servant girl said nervously. “Captain, are we in danger? A man hasn’t been on the island since..”

“I’m aware.” Brianna said, cutting her off. “I can assure you that the man shouldn’t be a threat. Now, the crown has ordered him taken care of and you have been given instructions. Go.” she said sternly. The servant bowed to her and quickly ran off. Brianna sighed, feeling that she had done enough of her duties for one day and decided to head off to see Naomi. She knew that her troops would have taken their queen…former queen straight to the head physic, due to the nature of her injuries and prayed that she would arrive to good news.

Several other servants quickly jumped out of her way as she hurried down the many corridors to the eastern wing of the palace where the non-royal residents resided. She overheard the servants spreading rumors as they walked and shot more than a couple of them a dirty glace on her way. Normally, she would feel the need to stop and discipline them for discussing rumors instead of fulfilling their duties but today had been anything but normal.

She saw her troops standing outside of the head physic’s room, at attention as they had not been given orders past taking Naomi to receive care. She quickly and silently dismissed them all with a wave of her hand and entered the room where her friend had been taken. Her heart soared as she saw Naomi sitting upright on the bed and speaking with Megara, the head physic. Megara turned towards Brianna, wisdom shining in her violet eyes. Her hair, while it had started to grey, was a strong, short chestnut brown and overall the woman held an air about her that commanded respect, alongside a mature aura that seemed to flow from her.

“Captain.” Megara said, bowing her head slightly. “Would it be fair to assume that you came to check in on Naomi’s condition?” she asked. Brianna winced, hearing her friend referred by her name instead of her title now. She knew that she would have to get used to it, but that didn’t make the reality less painful at the moment.

“I am.” she said to Megara before turning to Naomi. “My queen, how are you feeling?” she asked. Naomi looked down, shivering and trying to clench her fists.

“I am queen no more, Brianna. You know this better than any other in this kingdom. Your knowledge of our laws and customs rivals that of most scholars. Though I fear for our future now that crown lies…” she fell silent as tears began to fall from her eyes. Brianna gently brought her friend into a hug, careful not to aggravate the injuries she now carried.

“Ah yes, the man who has become king. An event that hasn’t happened since the time of our foremothers. Tell me Captain, what is he doing now?” Megara asked, taking a seat nearby and crossing her fingers together.

“As long as the orders I gave are being faithfully carried out, he will be receiving attention from one of your understudies, head physic.” Brianna replied, looking back at the woman out of respect despite wanting only to keep her attention focused on her tormented friend.

“Well he had best be respectful to whoever got stuck with that or, crown or no crown, I’ll beat him senseless myself.” Megara said, trying to make light despite her grimace.

“I have single-handedly ruined the paradise Great Mother gifted to us. I have doomed the kingdom.” Naomi said, devastated. Brianna sat next to her friend and gently held her hand, taking the breath necessary to say the unbelievable words that were about to come out of her.

“Surprisingly, I don’t believe you have.” Brianna said, garnering looks of surprise from both Naomi and Megara. “I know, what I said seems impossible but…his actions and words are nothing like the men that we have all read about. The moment he held the crown, he said he did not desire it. That his struggles in battle had been not for any prize, but for simple respect.”

“That is impossible. It must be a trick.” Naomi replied, squinting in confusion at her friend.

“I do not believe it is. He ordered you to be given care immediately after the battle, then asked to be taken to rest. He ordered that I simply call him by his name and did not even attempt to put on the crown despite holding it in his hand.” Brianna explained.

“But do you truly believe that he will continue this attitude? That he will not give in to the tyrannical urges of men that our people have been warned about since time out of memory?” Megara asked, intrigued by the conversation.

“None of us can know what the future holds but…he has earned my respect, for now. We shall see if he is worthy to keep it. Now…what care does Naomi need? I’ll see that she gets it.” Brianna asked Megara.

“Despite the ferocity of the battle that was described to me, Naomi’s injuries are rather limited. The blows she suffered will leave some bruises, but we can heal those in a matter of days with our baths and a few medicines. She will suffer no long lasting effects outside of soreness by the time morning comes.” Megara replied.

“I left him more injured than he left me, and he still defeated me.” Naomi added bitterly.

“Enough dwelling my dear. There will be time enough for solutions later. For now, I’m ordering you to take a long, soothing soak in the baths and get some bed rest.” Megara said firmly, getting up from her chair. “Captain, if you would be so kind as to take our former queen to her bath?”

“Of course. Thank you, head physic.” Brianna said, receiving a courteous nod from Megara as she helped Naomi off of the bed. Her friend’s legs seemed to want to give out at first, but quickly steadied after a moment and the two of them headed out towards the baths together.

“Are you ashamed of me, Brianna?” Naomi asked sullenly along the way.

“Not at all, my queen. You fought bravely and with honor, even when your weapon had been taken from you. You have nothing to be ashamed of.” Brianna replied.

“I am your queen no longer, my friend. Please do not torment me with what I have lost this day.”

“You may no longer be queen of the Alavern Isles, Naomi but you will always be my queen.” Brianna told her with a smile. Naomi looked towards her with surprise that slowly melted into a smile as she wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her tightly.

“Come Brianna. It’s been some time since we’ve taken a bath together and I would like to speak of pleasant things for a while before we must deal with our problems again.” Naomi said softly as Brianna opened the doors to the royal baths for her.

“As you command, my queen.” she replied with a warm smile.

 

Chapter 6

 

Cyrus exited his sleep reluctantly as he felt someone’s hand rocking his body and heard a voice saying something to him. He opened his eyes, looking up at the young woman currently moving him with her hand. She wore the same blue tunic that he had seen on many others while Brianna had been escorting his room and had raven black hair tied back into a ponytail. She gasped softly and backed away as he sat himself up and groaned, looking at him as though he were a bear coming out of hibernation. He couldn’t help but think it a fair analogy considering how much he hated getting woken up and chuckled softly.

The servant girl remained silent and he flexed and stretched his body out, noticing only now that his shirt had been taken from him. He looked at the wrappings covering his wounds and assumed that someone must have taken his shirt off and treated him after he had passed out. He blushed a little, remembering he hadn’t even managed to stay awake for three minutes after Brianna had left him before the bed’s siren song lulled him to peaceful oblivion. He couldn’t even remember if he had dreamed or if he had actually fallen unconscious instead of merely asleep.

“E-excuse me, man from outside…” the servant girl said nervously to him, shaking a little as she held some clothes out to him. Both of them were black, as his tee shirt had been but seemed to be made out of some fine material. He gently took them from her, trying to flash her a gentle smile.

“My name is Cyrus.” he said gently to the young woman. “And thank you.” She looked at him, taken aback for a moment as shock replaced her earlier nervousness. He could only imagine what must be going through her head at the moment, having grown up on tales of terrible men and the terrible things they would do if they ever came near her and suddenly meeting a man who turned all the tales into fiction.

“Oh, uh. Of course, Cyrus.” she said, giving him a bow. “The physic who treated you as you slept said that you would need fresh clothing and some food. We are told you are here under authority of the crown, so please let any of us know if you require anything further.” She gestured to the small table with two chairs that had been set up by the large glass doors that led to the balcony. On top of it was a small, cooked chicken and some vegetables on a simple plate with a fork. Just smelling the food made his stomach loudly grumble and the servant girl made a small squeak of fright at the sudden noise that Cyrus couldn’t help but laugh at.

“Sorry about that. My stomach decided it needed to be heard.” he said to her. She silently bowed in response, looking at him nervously once again before making herself scarce. He looked at the clothes in his hands and shrugged, changing into them quickly as he recalled everything the young woman had said to him. He admired the way Brianna had told the servants that he was here under authority of the crown. It wasn’t a lie, but it didn’t allude to the fact that the crown now meant him. She was clearly far more cunning than her temper had led him to believe at first, telling her people the information they needed to hear in a way that wouldn’t cause any form of panic amongst them.

He stood up and went over to the table, his mouth watering at the smells emanating from the plate as he took a seat. The chicken had clearly been roasted over an open fire and he wondered how it would taste as he grabbed the fork and stabbed into it. The first bite had flooded his mouth with a simple and delicious flavor that made his appetite turn from hungry to ravenous. He began unashamedly tearing into the chicken, glancing over at the vegetables every now and again as he did so.

He had always been a meat and potatoes sort of person, but he didn’t have access to the vitamins he used to balance out his nutrition here on this island. There was no telling when or if he would ever be able to make his way home and it was doubtful to him that they would have vitamin supplements on this island based on the technology he had seen so far. He grimaced as he chewed on a bite of chicken for a bit too long, talking himself into eating the veggies whether he wanted to or not and rationalizing it as much as he could until it finally overcame his picky eating habits.

He was pleasantly surprised at the flavors that hit his tongue and even his usual issues with the texture of most vegetables had been overcome through their method of cooking. He couldn’t help but feel that the veggies his parents had made him choke down all those years ago had been a pale, tasteless imitation of the food he now ate in between ravenous bites of chicken. Before long he had finished all the food on his meal and noticed an honest-to-god goblet laying on the table nearby and picked it up. He sniffed the red liquid inside and could immediately tell it was wine, placing it down with a grimace on his face.

He had spent his entire life avoiding alcohol, despite his parents’ best efforts to encourage a little social drinking, mostly due not enjoying the flavors.He had tried nearly everything under the sun, from cocktails to spirits but there was never anything that appealed to him. Later on though, drinking had become something that had destroyed his grandfather’s relationship as well as the careers of more than a few promising young fighters he had been training. He had sworn it off entirely and gently pushed the cup away from him, hoping to be able to find some water or milk or something if he got thirsty later.

He patted his belly, full and satisfied from his meal when the door to the room suddenly opened up. Turning towards it, he suddenly found himself facing the queen once more. They looked at each other with equal shock, taking in the appearance of the other. The results of their fight were plain to see but it was the queen’s attire that caused his mouth to hang open. She stood there in the doorway wearing a silken robe, her hair finely braided instead of the loose draping it had been earlier. Her eyes changed color again, shifting from a dull green color to a bright pink.

She huffed, slamming the door closed and stomped towards him in a way that was at complete odds with the constant grace he had seen her display earlier. She looked around at the room, scowling the entire time and he assumed that she thought he had trashed his room but the worst he had done was leave his shorts on the floor after changing into his new clothing. She huffed again, pouting in a manner he couldn’t help but find a bit cute as she turned back towards him.

“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded, thankfully not yelling at him as she crossed her arms. “You may have defeated me and taken my throne, but this is still my room!”

He looked around again, taking better note of the ornamentation. Several ornate weapons hung from the walls, as well as a fantastic vanity and even a small bookshelf containing several scrolls. There was a large wardrobe that he hadn’t even thought to look into, assuming it had been empty and that this had just been a guest bedroom until he finally remembered Brianna’s words to him. She had said these were the royal chambers. He groaned, burying his face in his hands as he slowly shook his head.

“I apologize. I simply asked to be taken somewhere to rest and Brianna brought me here. When she said it was the royal quarters, I thought it was just because I was sleeping here now. It never occurred to me…” he said, stopping mid-sentence as he looked over towards her. Her glare had died down somewhat as she digested this information and he took a look outside. The clouds were still heavy, and the moon couldn’t be seen but it was very clearly late based on how the sky looked. The rain from earlier had become a soft, soothing drizzle that pleasantly coated the island.

“These are the royal quarters.” Naomi said to him, seeming less upset than before. “Normally, when someone ascends to the throne there is a period of a few days where the previous occupant moves their belongings out of the room and the new occupants’ belongings are brought in.” she explained to him, suddenly seeming like more of a teacher than a queen. “It has been quite some time since the throne has been passed on through battle. Normally the previous queen will choose her successor from a pool of worthy choices and the transition happens over a period of weeks. Obviously, there wasn’t really time for that in this case.”

“I see.” Cyrus said, tapping his fingers against his chin in thought. He hadn’t expected the oddly democratic form of monarchy she had just explained to him, having been under the impression that this whole island was some warrior society where the strongest were in charge. It was a pleasant surprise to him to see he was mistaken. “So I’m guessing the ability to legally take the throne through battle was put into your people’s constitution as a failsafe then. In case someone abused their power and needed to be dethroned without the need for a revolution?”

“That…is absolutely correct.” Naomi replied, looking at him with features that told him she was a little impressed he deduced that. “I suppose it would also be wise to tell you that you cannot simply make new laws and expect them to be so. While you have the power to declare edicts, those cannot clash or ignore existing laws. In order to make a new law, you must craft it and then present it to my…your people.” she said, wincing as she corrected herself. “They will vote on it and if seven-tenths of the people agree to the law, then it goes into effect.” He nodded, paying attention to every word she spoke as she went over to her vanity and started brushing her hair out.

“A democratic monarchy. Very interesting.” he said to her, leaving the table and sitting himself upon the bed. “But more pressingly, what should we do about…well, the room situation?” he asked her. “A man hasn’t been king since your people gained their freedom ages ago, so it’s safe to say that we’re going to be dealing with a lot of new territory for everybody.”

“I…I suppose you’re right.” Naomi said, placing her brush down and staring at the countertop. “You are the rightful holder of the crown and these are the royal chambers so…” she choked on her words a moment, feeling suddenly sad about her loss all over again. “I shall leave. Ask to be placed into the soldier’s barracks. The beds there are…serviceable.”

She stood up to leave, shaking slightly as she looked over her room again for what she thought could be the last time. She started to walk, trying her best not to pay attention to her new king until she felt his hand grab her and wrap gently around her wrist. She turned towards him sharply, on her guard for what she thought might be another attack but was caught off guard when she saw the guilt and sorrow in his eyes.

“Look,” he started, “like I told Brianna, I wasn’t looking to become a king or rule over anyone. So as far as I’m concerned, you’re still the queen and this is still your room. Okay?”

“You are the monarch, whether you like it or not.” she responded, seemingly torn between wanting to tear her arm away from him and seeking comfort in their contact. “You cannot be made to sleep anywhere besides the royal chambers, which is here. That is law.”

“Well then it’s a dumb law, because it’s hurting you.” he said, eliciting a look of surprise from her. “Look, let’s just…” he sighed, pausing as he searched for the right words to say. “We can figure this out tomorrow. Right now, it’s late and we both need sleep. We’re both adults, so let’s just…share the bed this one night and we can figure out where to go from here tomorrow. Agreed?” he asked her.

She looked at him intently and he could tell from the familiar look in her eyes that she was searching for some trick or angle. He recognized the look from wearing it so many times himself whenever someone would actually treat him decently for a change when he wasn’t in the boxing gym he worked at. Her face went through a few different expressions, her eyes changing color along with it until she finally turned back to face him with soft golden eyes and a look of calm on her face.

“Agreed.”

 

Chapter 7

 

Naomi sat at her vanity, carefully undoing the braid that Brianna had put her hair in after their bath together. She couldn’t help herself from stealing glances in the mirror at Cyrus behind her. He had taken his shirt off after taking the dishes from his earlier meal outside of the door for the servants to take away at some point and was currently stretching his body out in full view of her. He had explained that his stretches were meant to reduce how sore he would be from their earlier fight, but that wasn’t what had kept her attention on him.

His body wasn’t nearly as powerful-looking as she had suspected it would be. While his arms were thick and well-defined with trained muscle, his stomach actually had a slight layer of fat on it. His chest was broad, matching his wide shoulders well and giving him the air of someone strong but gentle. What had surprised her most about seeing him without a shirt had been the body hair and the scars. He assured her that the hair was normal for an adult man, embarrassing her with his laughter when she had asked if he had glued it to his body as some sort of trophy. The scars, however, he had been very reluctant to talk about.

Injuries indicative of all sorts of wounds covered both his front and back. She had thought them merely leftovers from past battles, but he had informed her that very few of the scars had come from a fight. He refused to tell her more as she asked what else could have possibly happened and while she wanted to respect his need for privacy, her curiosity burned powerfully within her mind. She watched him finish his stretching and crack the balcony door open, watching the gentle rain with a serene, distant look on his face.

“Could you leave that open?” she asked him as she untangled the last of her braid. “The sounds of gentle rain might help sleep come easier tonight, given the unusual circumstances we have both agreed to.”

“Not a problem.” he said, flashing her a small smile before needing to cover a yawn with his hand. She watched him go around and extinguish the lights in the room like she had shown him earlier, which left only the light illuminating her vanity. The crown she had owned just a few hours earlier sparkled in the new lighting, drawing her eye to it. He had placed it in front of her, claiming that it still belonged to her and she simply didn’t have the will to continue arguing with him about it anymore.

She forced her gaze away from it as she grabbed her hairbrush once again, straightening her hair out to make sure it wouldn’t tangle in her sleep tonight. She watched him form, the lighter of her vanity illuminating him softly as he went over to the bed and tucked himself in under the covers. Naomi felt her face heat up watching him so intently, realizing that she had agreed to share a bed with him for the night and what that would normally entail.

“Good night.” he called out softly to her as he curled up underneath the covers. She took a deep breath, forcing her face to return to normal as she finished brushing out her hair and stood up. She extinguished her vanity’s light and turned back towards the bed, noticing that he seemed to already have his eyes closed. She sighed in relief, knowing he wasn’t watching her as she shed her silken robe. She stood in the room covered now only by a pair of peach-colored string panties as what little light from the sky outside reflected off of her silver nipple piercings. She walked over towards the bed, flinching when she saw Cyrus freeze slightly as she came near.

She wondered for a second if he was gazing upon her body and the thought made the heat return to her face, burning her cheeks a much brighter red than they had been before. When he didn’t move further, she took it as a sign that it was merely reflex and quickly crawled over him onto her own side of the bed. As she pulled up the covers to climb underneath them, she found she could make out his many scars even in the dark. As she climbed underneath the covers, she found her eyes drawn to them and reached out to touch him.

His whole body tensed as she absently ran her fingers over his back, contemplating the secrets that he had kept to himself. If these scars hadn’t been made in battle, then what else could there be? Perhaps an accident involving a group of animals? If that were the case though, she doubted that he wouldn’t just state that outright. Her attention snapped back to reality as she saw him shivering slightly underneath her touch and the question came naturally to her lips once again.

“How did you get these?” she asked softly, not really expecting an answer.

“You really wanna know that bad?” he answered quietly, catching her off guard. She laid there silent for a moment, her fingers never leaving his back before she managed to find her voice again.

“I do.” she replied softly, drawing closer to him. She felt him tense up again as she did but refused to back away.

“I wasn’t always a boxer.” he started, his voice seeming more weary than she had heard it in the short time she had known him. “When I was a kid, I was pretty scrawny. Worse yet, I was really book smart. I got picked on a lot by other kids, mostly older boys. They’d gang up on me and beat me down until they were satisfied, laughing and mocking me the whole time. It only got worse as I got older, and the few times I actually started to fight back had just ended up with me being punished for it because I was one kid and they were a bunch so it was easier to punish me for the fights.”

She gasped softly, unable to imagine a child being beaten and punished for trying to defend themselves. He shifted in the bed, turning himself around to face her and his entire expression shifted as his face turned bright red.

“Why are you naked?!” he shouted, trying to back away in a panic. She cocked her head in confusion, grabbing his arm to keep him from leaving the bed.

“I am not naked, and you are not wearing a shirt either. Now finish your tale.” she said, her commanding tone present once again. He floundered a bit, his face still bright red as he tried and failed to come up with words for a moment. He surrendered quickly and let himself be laid back down on the bed, trying to keep his eyes from wandering over her body.