DISCLAIMER : The characters of Xena and Gabrielle and some others belong in their entirety to Universal/MCA, Renaissance Pictures, and all the other powers that be. No copyright infringement is intended. I wrote this story at the urging of my muse; it should never be used for profit.
This story is a sequel to the story “Lord Conqueror of the Realm”. I strongly recommend you read it first because in this story there are references to events that took place in “Lord Conqueror of the Realm.” Here is where you can find it:
http://www.academyofbards.org/fanfic/w/warriorjudge_lordconqueror1.html
LOVE/SEX WARNING/DISCLAIMER : This story involves both love and sex (at times some rough/raw play with very mild BDSM elements – all consensual - nothing severe) between two adult women. If you're under 18 or if this type of story is illegal in the state or country in which you live, please do not read it.
SPECIAL THANKS : My humble most ardent gratitude to the excellent, most brilliant Beta readers Nancyjean and Alexandriaruth whom I can't thank enough.
Comments, thoughts, questions & feedback : MOST WELCOMED – The more you write me, the quicker I post – I mean it!
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Part 15
As the wafting snowflakes clung to her lapels and her billowing long robe, the Conqueror advanced with wide moderate strides towards the crowd of Amazons as her eyes beheld her wife and Queen unwaveringly, each footstep carrying her closer to the object of her love. She was thankful that during her ride to the Amazon lands her mind had been too preoccupied with thoughts about her Queen than to premeditate her conduct once she would have faced her wife and Queen again. She saw the Shamaness with the Amazon Queen's symbol of power in her hand about to bestow power upon her Queen. In the dark recesses of her mind she found it odd that her Queen was about to be given power that didn't come or originate from her. Princess Athena's words to her in Corinth about the Amazons adoring her Queen not out of reverence to the crown, which she had placed on the Queen's head, but solely because of who she was, gnawed at her and that sight on the high podium scourged her.
Mesmerized by the vision she had yearned for, for the past long agonizing moons, the Queen lowered her head in all humility and curtsied deeply until her knee nearly touched the snow covered floorboards beneath her in honor of her returning majestic Lord.
The vast crowd of Amazons who stood between them turned around as one in order to see before whom their Queen was kneeling. As they saw the Lord Conqueror, they all bowed before her as well.
Queen Gabrielle straightened back up to her full stature and fixated her pining gaze upon her Lord.
All present exchanged looks back and forth between the Conqueror and the Queen in perfect silence, almost holding their collective breath in anticipation, including the Shamaness, who stood on the high platform next to the Queen, with the Queen's Labrys still in her hand.
The Conqueror bowed before the Queen, “My Lady,” her alto voice thundered over the Amazons' heads and reached the Queen and lilted in her ears.
Oh, how she missed her Lord's voice and how she longed to hear more of it. Her legs almost trembled and all she hoped for was for her coronation to be over and the festive celebrations to commence so that she could stealth away and be alone with the love of her life.
The Shamaness passed on the Queen's Labrys to Queen Gabrielle, and the latter raised her Labrys high in the air and exclaimed, “To a strong and united Amazon nation!”
The Amazons cried out loud and rejoiced. The coronation of a new queen was a spot of light in a long dark tunnel. The ceremonial drums began their beating accompanied by the singing of flutes and the Amazons began to dance their traditional dances.
Queen Gabrielle climbed down the steps of the high platform, and as she reached the ground her Amazon sisters gathered around her and offered her their admiration and joyfulness and congratulations. All wanted a piece of the golden Queen.
Queen Gabrielle moved between them, giving each of them her attention, all the while aware of her Lord's presence. During the short cessations in between greeters, her eyes sought out her Lord, who stood rooted to her place regarding her constantly.
When there were no more subjects between them, the Conqueror and the Queen stood facing each other. There was commotion all around them, loud music and women dancing and laughing and chattering and drinking and eating, but between them there was stilled silence.
The Conqueror studied her wife's features and observed the shorter, new fashion haircut to the golden hair she cherished so much.
"Let us go to my hut so we can talk," Queen Gabrielle was the first to speak.
"No," the Conqueror replied and there was something gentle in her voice. "Your people need you now. You must allow them to admire and honor you."
Queen Gabrielle curbed an urge to lower her head in disappointment. "Where is Athena?" she inquired.
"She is at the Thracian borders with the Imperial Guard and soldiers of the eleventh legion. She is safe. I noticed that you are guarded by three Amazon warriors, one of them is the one who trained you," the Conqueror pointed out.
The Queen was surprised that her Lord could recognize her guards amongst a sea of Amazons .
Reading the Queen's expression, the Conqueror explained, "They are the only ones standing close enough to you at all times, and unlike all others around you, they don't look at you, but elsewhere, at the crowd. Do you trust them?"
"I do," the Queen replied earnestly. Her heart kept on pounding in her chest and a part of her still couldn't believe she was speaking to the Conqueror.
"Then I shall wait for you in your lodging and afford you time to enjoy the festivities," the Conqueror said. She didn't wish for her presence to take the Amazons' attention and adulation away from her Queen. She knew that the Amazons would behave differently in her presence and she wanted her Queen to enjoy their genuine and authentic gestures. However, the Queen suspected that the Conqueror was reluctant to remain and celebrate with her because she didn't approve any of it.
And with that, with the last remnants of daylight about to become extinct, the Conqueror bowed her head before the Queen, and the Queen curtsied before the Conqueror and the latter made her way to the Queen's hut.
Inside the Queen's spacious hut, the Conqueror started a fire in the hearth. She took off her robe and hung it by the door. She then turned around and surveyed the Queen's hut. Her gaze fell almost immediately on the cot positioned not far from the Queen's bed and she wondered who it was that had been sleeping in the Queen's hut for the past moons. It couldn't have been a lover, for a lover wouldn't have slept in a cot but in bed with the Queen. She believed, therefore, that the reason for the cot's presence was perfectly innocent. Her Queen's fidelity was never doubted. She removed the bow and quiver, then her helm and armor, and sat by the fire waiting and listening to the sounds of the celebrations outside.
Close to midnight, the sounds subsided and the door to the Queen's hut was opened. The Queen walked inside, took off her cloak and hung it by the Conqueror's robe and laid down her Labrys, while the Conqueror rose to her feet.
They each walked to stand across one another at the far opposite corners of the hut. A period of quiet ensued, in which the Conqueror ran her eyes over the Queen. In the soft glow of the firelight, as she leaned to the side against the wall with her arms folded over her chest, the Conqueror saw the changes to the Queen's figure. She noticed the changes in muscle tone, the distinctly defined biceps and the stronger curved shoulders.
"You look… different," the Conqueror finally broke the silence, "And you've cut your hair."
The Queen immediately cast her gaze downwards. When she had dreamed of the day that they would be reunited, she'd never imagined them being so distant, like strangers almost and with walls standing high between them.
"Do I still please you?" she asked with a soft quiet voice and almost dreaded the Conqueror's response.
The Conqueror unfolded her arms and straightened her lengthy form to its full stature, no longer leaning against the wall. "You are just perfect," she replied, her voice burdened with something unreadable.
"I thought you considered me to be perfect before," said the Queen and lifted her gaze back up to hold the Conqueror's.
"You were," the Conqueror said then paused before she went on to say, "Now you are perfect in a different fashion."
They stood in silence and beheld one another for a few long moments, their bodies, hearts and souls consumed with reticent, bridled and unfathomable exhilaration and anxiousness.
The bond between them wouldn't allow them to stay apart any longer. Instantaneously, Lord and Lady sprang towards one another and closed the gap between them in unsurpassed speed. When their bodies collided, it was like a collision between two titans, between the sun and the moon, between two worlds.
Their lips locked in a powerful kiss at once. Their tongues darted out of their own devouring mouths and entered the mouth of the other. The need for connection of bare skin against bare skin was too immediate, too excruciating, too demanding. Their hands couldn't suffer any delays posed by thwarting buttons and laces and buckles. They began pulling at the intolerable fabrics that stood in the way of their desire.
Queen Gabrielle's blouse was torn and the Conqueror's large hot hands cupped her breasts. No matter how much contact they shared, nothing seemed to be enough. As their bodies pressed together, as their mouths fed off each other, as their hands frantically roamed over shoulders, over necks, over backs, over buttocks, their hunger was too insatiable to satisfy. It was like trying to put out fire with fire.
Craving to be filled, the Queen fumbled in urgency with her Lord's leather belt buckle. She pulled her Lord's leather trousers down just enough to take out her long thick shaft. To give better access, the Queen, standing on her tiptoes, lifted up her leg and moored her thigh against her Lord's hip.
The Conqueror ran her palms down from the Queen's breasts and swiftly lifted up her long skirt. One hand grabbed a firm soft, bare buttock while the other held her member to be guided into her Queen's pulsating, wet depth.
It was then that all the anguish of unbearable pain and longing rushed to the surface. Her Lord's touch in light of her persistent silence for the past five moons scathed her and tore up the Queen's soul to the point where her tears could be held back no longer. In mute defeat, the boiling drops streamed down her cheeks. Her body, she thought, would never forgive her soul for this.
Gabrielle placed her palms against the Conqueror's chest and began to push her away. "No," she whispered.
But the Conqueror gave no indication of having heard her.
"Stop," the Queen asked louder than before and increased her resistance.
But the Conqueror's raw desire deafened her to Gabrielle's pleas. Her hands kept at their task. In her haze, she felt her Queen struggling against her, trying to fend her off and push her away. It was then that she realized just how physically stronger her Queen had grown.
The obstacle had to be removed. The stygian Lord imposed her superior strength. She caught the Queen's shoving hands by their wrists and secured them behind the Queen's back with a single hand.
"Please, don't," Gabrielle pleaded when with her hands held in the Conqueror's vice grip, she found herself utterly defenseless.
With her free hand, the Conqueror pried open the Queen's silky thighs, and relished how in spite of the fact that they were now stronger, they maintained their softness still. However, she did notice that the collar wasn't there. The scent of the Queen's arousal reached her nostrils. The hand that was arresting the Queen's wrists tightened its grip and pushed the Queen's wiggling body against hers. She moved her crotch forward so to plunge herself into the Queen.
"Please, don't. You're hurting me," the Queen cried when she sensed the Conqueror's shaft nearing her.
The Conqueror thought it would only take a few inches closer and a few quick thrusts into the warm succulent womanhood of her Queen to achieve what had been deprived of her for long moons. Release was within her grasp. She had half a mind to admonish the Queen that she'd been her Lord and that that had simply been her right.
"You like it," the Conqueror growled.
"Please…" the Queen asked.
"No!" the Conqueror finally stopped just when she was about to take the Queen. "Not like this. Never like this!" She scolded herself, utterly aghast.
She released her Queen immediately, then retreated and turned around to stuff her shaft back in her trousers and to allow the Queen privacy to cover herself. When she slowly turned back to face the Queen, she saw her tying the laces of her nightgown.
The Queen saw something on the Conqueror's face, which she had never seen before, profound shame and horror.
"I could have…" the Conqueror began to say, mortified.
"No, you couldn't have. I knew you would stop yourself and you did," the Queen answered.
And then silence and distance stood between them again.
"You have never denied me," the Conqueror chose to say eventually.
It all became too much for the Queen bear. "I haven't heard a single word from you for five moons. I wrote to you as often as possible, begging you, imploring you… I bled my soul onto those parchments."
The Conqueror stood somewhat aloof.
"You broke my heart," the Queen whimpered and her voice carried upon it every shred of pain she had suffered ever since her Lord had left her.
The Conqueror had no words to offer. Her heart was aching as she was now forced to bear witness to her Queen's sorrow and grief and suffer her own as well.
It was quiet again in the Queen's hut, and the Queen's tears dried.
"It is late," the Queen stated matter-of-factly, "You look tired," she added more softly.
"I haven't slept much - since I left Corinth ," the Conqueror revealed.
"Let us go to sleep, then," the Queen said and took her Lord's night garments, which her Lord had left there when she had returned back to Corinth , out of the closet. She placed them atop the table for her Lord to take, and slipped into bed.
After the Conqueror had changed into her night garments, she stood in the middle of the hut with her gaze moving back and forth from the Queen's bed to the cot.
Her Lord's conflict wasn't lost on the Queen. She wanted nothing more than to extend her Lord a warm welcome to her bed, but that night, she wanted to be asked and so she avoided presenting her Lord with either an invitation or a relief.
The Conqueror's unrivaled pride didn't stand a prayer that night, for she had longed for her Queen's warmth for far too long. "Am I still welcome in your bed?" she asked gently and not without a grain of dithering.
The Queen pulled up the fur covers and looked intently into her Lord eyes. "You are."
The Conqueror blew out the candles, leaving only the illumination of the burning hearth. She laid her fatigued body down next to her Queen, and rested her heavy, weary head upon the pillow, thinking how wonderful it was to inhale her Queen's sweet and familiar scent again.
They each were immersed in deep thoughts, and though exhausted, sleep evaded them. They listened to the familiar, comforting breathing of the other.
"I didn't expect you'd arrive here," the Queen spoke quietly and after a long pause she added, "So soon."
“Three nights ago, before dawn, I woke up with a distinct onerous feeling of dread which is hard for me to explain to you. I woke up knowing it had been Amazons who'd been behind it. It was like solving a puzzle in my dream, and I sensed in my blood that you were in grave danger. It was then that I left Corinth .”
“It was the night Queen Melosa was murdered in her sleep. Could it be that you felt my distress all the way from Corinth ?”
The Conqueror lips formed a sad smile at her Queen's remark. It was as if they were desperately clinging to any shred of closeness that still existed between them and it grieved them to learn they had to resort to cherish so little.
More time had elapsed before the Queen spoke again. “What is happening here? I cannot understand it.”
“Our lives are in grave danger on Amazon soil.”
“How do you mean?”
The Conqueror moved to lie onto her side and rested her weight on her elbow. “These killings… they're not about politics and they are not about the Amazons. This is about us. We are the targets.”
“I don't understand. So far only Amazons were murdered. When we were attacked, no one knew we were coming here.”
“Some of the Amazons knew, or could have guessed. Queen Melosa first approached us in Corinth because eight Amazons, including Queen Melosa's consort, were murdered only near the Amazon's borders, making it look like someone wanted to instigate war. That made it a political matter that merited the Realm's involvement. That was a sure way to get me there, to get us there. Those arrows shot the day we arrived in the Amazon lands weren't meant for Princess Terreis.”
“I stood closest to her and you closest to me.” The Queen sounded haunted as the events of that day flooded her. She was too anxious to remain lying prone on her back, so she turned to face the Conqueror and mirrored the Conqueror's position.
“With the bad weather and poor visibility, the perpetrators missed. Consider this, the arrows never ceased, not until I was hit, and with the great distance and the heavy rain hindering their sight, they probably surmised I was dead when they saw me lying on top of you.”
“By the Gods,” the Queen gasped.
“The Amazon Lands are where I am most vulnerable. That is why the perpetrators chose it,” the Conqueror concluded.
“Because no soldier of the Realm is allowed on Amazon Lands, rendering you exposed and unprotected.” Queen Gabrielle's mind was reeling with the gruesome revelation.
“I left the day after we had arrived, leaving them no time to devise a new plan,” the Conqueror construed. “They needed another way to lure me back here, so that they could make another attempt on my life, and what better way is there than killing an Amazon Queen, a leader of a province of the Realm .”
The Queen covered her mouth with her hand and her eyes widened in horror. “Why kill Queen Melosa and not me or Athena? That way their victory over the Realm would have been complete. Was it because she never left my side, do you reckon?” she asked, then added thoughtfully, “And when she wasn't here I was protected by either Mysia or the Imperial guards.” Her eyes wandered to the cot. “It was Athena who has slept here with me,” she explained with a small voice and averted her gaze back to her Lord.
The Conqueror suspected as much.
“That might be one of the reasons but not the main one. If either you or our daughter had been killed, I would have brought my army and slaughtered every living thing residing here and obliterated this village entirely till there would have been no stone upon stone left. With the detachment of Imperial Guard already there, they wouldn't have escaped the carnage. The world knows I butchered a Nobleman for putting his hands on you. What do you reckon all would think I'd do to those who killed my Queen? The perpetrators knew it as well.”
A chill ran down the Queen's spine. Was the Shamaness right? If the world stood between them would her Lord destroy it?
“Why didn't they try shooting arrows at you again when you returned? There was still daylight and the snow was sparse,” the Queen asked.
“Because, like you, they didn't expect me back so soon. With the time it would have taken Athena to reach Corinth and the time it would have taken me to get here, they must have believed I wouldn't be back here for at least seven days,” the Conqueror replied.
“Being so wickedly calculated… such pure evil…” the Queen whispered.
The Conqueror couldn't help but wonder whether her Queen had ever thought that way about her.
“Let us consider what we know. By the patterns of the shooting, there had to be at least three of them. Queen Melosa assured us that no one could have known that we would be returning with them when we were first attacked, but that is hardly conclusive. When I leave Corinth , especially with you and our daughter, people take notice and know. On the other hand…”
“They knew the inside of the Amazon village well enough to navigate in it by night and knew which of the huts was Queen Melosa's hut,” the Queen finished her Lord's thought.
“Indeed,” the Conqueror muttered.
“Three of my sisters…” the Queen sighed, staggered.
“Can you guess who they might be?” the Conqueror asked.
“I cannot imagine. Who here hates you or me so much?” the Queen said, shaking her head. The events of the past days were beginning to take their toll on her.
“Do you trust me?” the Conqueror asked.
“I do,” the Queen replied.
“Tomorrow at first light have the entire Amazon Nation assembled at the center of the village. We shall address them together. Do not eat or drink anything here that you haven't handpicked yourself.”
“Poison?”
“Hmmm…” the Conqueror answered and nodded her head. She then got out of bed and went to make sure that the window and door were properly latched. She then pushed the table to barricade the door and next she dragged the closet to block the window as well. When she was done, she returned to bed and lay next to the Queen again.
“It's a good thing that at least one of us is a light sleeper,” the Conqueror remarked as she pulled the covers over them.
They both began to laugh and for a moment it felt like nothing stood between them and their discord vanished. They both knew they had much to converse about, but it would have to wait till the threat was lifted.
“Will you hold me in your arms?” the Queen whispered.
The Conqueror opened her arms, allowing the Queen to cuddle against her and when their bodies were pressed together, the Conqueror wrapped her arms around her wife and encompassed her in a tight embrace.
Basking in her Lord's protective warmth, the Queen fell asleep.
Before drifting off to sleep, it occurred to the Conqueror that her wife and Queen hadn't spoken the words 'My Lord' to her, not once.