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.
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 7
"Satrina, have the healer sent to my chambers," the Conqueror said as she strode into the Imperial chambers. Her wild ride back to Corinth , which she had been anxious to reach, had caused a few of the stitches to tear.
"Right away, Majesty," Lady Satrina said, turning on her heels and disappearing into the dimly lit corridor.
After a short while she reappeared before the Conqueror, who was carefully taking off her cloak and her armor.
The sight of blood, some fresh and some old, was the first to catch her eyes. "Majesty," she gasped, then added in a haste, "Where is her Majesty the Queen?" when it suddenly dawned on her that the Conqueror wouldn't be in need of a healer if the Queen had been present.
"She will remain with the Amazons for a while," the Conqueror said and slumped into her armchair.
Lady Satrina thought it highly unusual and unprecedented that the Queen would remain elsewhere while the Conqueror was in Corinth . A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.
"Come in!" the Conqueror exclaimed.
Lady Satrina helped the Conqueror with her garments and cleaned her wounds, while the latter concisely told the healer how she had come by them and the treatment she had received.
Once the Conqueror's wounds were properly cleaned, stitched and dressed, the healer left to return back to his night's sleep.
"Forgive me, Majesty, but I didn't expect you so soon. I shall have the chambermaid change the bed linens at once and…"
But the Conqueror didn't let her finish, "No!" she exclaimed, than lowered her tone of voice and went on to say, "Leave the sheets as they are. Just have some supper brought up."
Lady Satrina thought that the Conqueror's adamant objection to a trifle matter such as changing soiled sheets was bizarre as well and it only added to her mounting curiosity. Nothing about the Conqueror's unexpected return that night made any sense to her, but she knew better than ask. She simply trusted her own instincts that something grave had happened.
"Have the meal brought up, and tomorrow morning inform Nobleman Timaeus of my return and tell him to meet me in the study after breakfast."
"Very good, Majesty. Would there be anything else?" Lady Satrina asked.
"In three days' time, the governors of Thrace , Macedonia and Moesia will arrive at the palace for inquiry. Make arrangements to house them here, only not in the finest quarters. Choose the most common of chambers and make them as less comfortable as you can," the Conqueror ordered.
"Yes, Majesty."
"That would be all," the Conqueror excused her.
"Good night, your Majesty." Lady Satrina curtsied and left the Conqueror's presence.
After the supper had been brought to the Imperial chambers, the Conqueror opened the Queen's closet and took out one of the neatly folded silk nightgowns. She went to their bed and carefully spread the nightgown over the Queen's side of the bed, and as she was doing so, her gaze caught sight of the Queen's hairbrush resting atop the nightstand beneath a burning candle. She picked it up and closely inspected it in the light. She was nearly ecstatic when she found five golden hairs stuck in it. She carefully untangled them so as not to tear any of the precious treasure and brought them to her lips. "Gabrielle," she whispered in somber delight. She put them in an old small jewelry box and slipped it into her inside pocket. She then lay next to the nightgown she had spread and draped her arm over it. She rested her tired head over the Queen's pillow and took in the lingering scent.
The next morning as the Conqueror was sitting at her desk in her study, Nobleman Timaeus knocked on the door.
"Enter," the Conqueror called.
The Nobleman limped his way into the study and bowed before the Conqueror. "Your Majesty," he greeted her, and was wise enough not to inquire as to the Sovereign's disability.
"Nobleman Timaeus," she said and gestured an invitation for him to sit down with a wave of her right hand.
"Your Majesty has returned sooner than expected," he said and did his best to overt his gaze away from the Conqueror's arm that rested in a sling. "How good it is to see you again. May I welcome her Majesty the Queen as well?" he asked while he grabbed the armrests of his seat with both hands so to support his weight as he heavily seated himself down.
"Her Majesty is staying with the Amazons for the time being," the Conqueror replied and leaned back against her seat.
There was something unkind, almost hostile in the Conqueror's tone of voice that made the old Nobleman realize that the Conqueror wasn't pleased with that situation and so he decided that a change of subject was necessary.
He cleared his throat. "As your Majesty can see, to the right," he said and pointed to the right side of the Conqueror's desk, "I have kept the documents that require your Majesty's signature, and to the left," he continued, pointing to the left side of the desk this time, "I have kept all the documents I have signed in your Majesty's name."
"I shall review them," she said nonchalantly like it was the last thing in the world she cared about. "The Realm thanks you for your services, Nobleman."
"Is there any other way I can be of service to your Majesty?" he asked.
The Conqueror wasn't sure whether the old man was anxious to return back to his home in Athens or not, but she didn't really care.
"There is," she stated and watched his thick disheveled grey eyebrows rise in surprise. "I have summoned the governors of Thrace , Macedonia and Moesia to appear before me. They are expected to arrive within three days. It would please me if you attended the inquiry. It won't hurt to have another pair of eyes and ears."
When it came down to it, she trusted her own counsel the most and relied on her sagacity almost absolutely. Truth was the inquiry was but an excuse to keep him in Corinth . With her Queen far away, it was his company she sought.
He got a sense that the Conqueror who sat opposite him across the desk that morning didn't resemble the Conqueror with whom he had shared a drink before she had left to the Amazon lands, but the one from the times before the Conqueror had married the Queen. He could see ire slithering under her skin like worms. "Of course I'm at your Majesty's service," he gave the only answer he could.
Meanwhile, at the Amazon village on the training field, Queen Gabrielle approached an Amazon, whom the Shamaness had discreetly pointed out to her at breakfast. The Amazon was practicing alone with a staff on one of the far corners of the field. She was younger than the Queen. By her mannerisms one could tell that she was reserved and unassuming. Her gestures were modest and her big brown eyes that concealed much more than they revealed never tarried on anyone for more than a few fractions of a moment. Unlike most Amazons, her clothes covered most of her body, and in that regard she was conspicuous .
"Majesty," the Amazon bowed before the Queen, as soon as the latter stood face to face with her.
"What is your name?" the Queen asked, although she had already known it, and looked at the Amazon's brown, smooth and shortly-cut hair.
"Mitylene," the Amazon answered as she downcast her eyes.
"That is a lovely name," the Queen extended a gentle smile.
"Your Majesty is very kind," Mitylene responded, her eyes still avoiding direct contact with the Queen's.
That avoidance reminded the Queen of herself. She recalled thinking during her years of servitude that not looking into a person's eyes would prevent them from paying attention to her or taking more from her than had already been taken, as if by looking into another's eyes she was endangering or forfeiting her soul. Seeing the way that the Amazon standing in front of her was dressed made her conclude that Mitylene's body could portray an accurate and detailed description of her horrific history. It occurred to the Queen that she didn't remember the Amazon ever bathing with them.
"I like the way your hair is cut. It complements your delicate face."
"Thank you, Majesty. I cut it myself."
"Well, it is lovely." Despite the Queen's efforts to catch Mitylene's gaze with her own, she was not successful. She knew from experience that it would take some time. "I wonder…Would you do a favor for me and cut mine to look like yours?"
Apparently, the Queen's request came as a shock to Mitylene, for as soon as she heard it her big eyes widened and connected with the Queen's. It was then that Queen Gabrielle really noticed how hallow they were, like two big empty holes where a soul should be.
"Of course, Majesty."
“Do you think it would suit me?” the Queen asked and wove her fingers through her hair. She knew that allowing a stranger to get close to the Queen of the Realm with a blade might establish trust in Mitylene.
“ Your Majesty is very beautiful. Everything will suit you,” Mitylene said.
“Thank you. Will you do it now, please?” the Queen asked and even before she had received an answer, she sat on the ground.
Mitylene hesitated for a few moments before she took out her dagger and sharpened it over a whetstone.
Not far away, Princess Athena was standing and watching her mother, and as soon as she saw Mitylene kneeling behind her mother with a dagger in her hand, she grasped the hilt of her sword and readied her arm. If they had been anywhere else but the Amazon Lands, a stranger's hand holding a blade so closely to the Queen would have been chopped off by an Imperial Guard in a blink of an eye. When she saw the Amazon cautiously cut away her mother's hair, she released her grip; but just as a precaution, she left her hand lightly touching the hilt.
Gold strands of hair floated downwards, tickling Queen Gabrielle's skin as Mitylene cut away. Queen Gabrielle pinched one strand and molded it between her fingers. “I have noticed how well you wield a staff. Would it be too much if I asked you to teach me?” she asked.
“Not at all, Majesty,” Mitylene answered with a small voice wondering as to the Queen's odd interest in her.
“Shall we say a little before supper?” The Queen noticed Mitylene stopped cutting, and so she brushed her fingers through her short hair for measure and to shake away the strands that had been cut away. It felt very differently.
“I will be here, Majesty,” said Mitylene and returned her dagger to its scabbard.
“Thank you for cutting my hair for me and agreeing to teach me,” the Queen said and walked over to Mysia to continue with her training.
That day, as Queen Gabrielle and Princess Athena ate their supper; the latter couldn't help but stare at her mother's new haircut.
“Do you think it would please my Lord?” the Queen asked and shook her head to indicate her hair.
“Oh, I think you would please her Majesty even if you wore a sack over your head,” Athena said and made her mother laugh and cry at the same time.
“When my Lord and I were in Chin for Princess Lao-Ling and Lady Satrina's marriage ceremony,” Queen Gabrielle began to say like she was narrating a yarn, “my Lord took me to purchase fabrics at the greatest silk market there. My Lord picked up the most magnificent and the most expensive fabric from the most renowned merchant in the whole of Chin. My Lord ran her fingers over the silk and then through my hair and said: ‘The finest silk in Chin isn't as soft as your hair.'”
To Athena, the Queen's tale spoke more of her longings for her Lord than anything else.
That night, after she had met with the Shamaness and Mitylene, as the Queen lay in her bed thoughts of the Conqueror possessed her and she didn't fight them but welcomed them. Memories of the last time they had made love consumed her, and how sweet and exciting it had been when the Conqueror had grabbed her by her hair, like reins as she mounted her. She was happy that her hair was long enough to be gripped still and she cried herself to sleep. It rained that night.
***
In the Great Hall in Corinth , servants were polishing the Conqueror's oak-made throne and dusting the upholstery while others carrying burning torches lit up the iron torches set on the walls and the Corinthian style pillars, one by one.
The Conqueror strode into the Great Hall dressed in black leather trousers and a thick velvet and silk dark blue cloak with golden threads adoring its rim over her shoulders, and her crown on her head. The rhythmic knocks of her heavy boots against the marble floor echoed in the vast space. The servants momentarily stopped their tasks and bowed before her as she made her way to her seat.
Meanwhile, Lady Lila along with her family, her husband Agrippa and their two sons arrived surrounded by soldiers of the Imperial Guard. The family was nervous, for never before had they been escorted into the Great Hall by the Imperial Guard. That dubious pleasure was reserved for prisoners. Inwardly, Lady Lila hoped that she would soon see her sister sitting on her throne so that her distress would come to an end.
As she had been ordered, Lady Satrina had housed Lady Lila and her family in the most modest chambers in the Corinthian palace. The chambers she had picked were the furthest from the Great Hall and required a long walk to get there. The longer the walk the more nerve wracking it would be. That had been the Conqueror's purpose and design.
As soon as all preparations were over, the servants left the Great Hall and Nobleman Timaeus entered. He took his place standing to the Conqueror's left. When the Conqueror realized the long stand might be hard on him, she ordered a chair be brought to him.
Upon entering the Great Hall, Lady Lila's heart nearly stopped when she saw that the throne next to the Conqueror's was vacant. Her sister was not there to protect her and she suddenly remembered something that she had once heard in passing by a fellow nobleman, that being close to power is never safe.
“Your Majesty,” they all bowed and curtsied as soon as she addressed them.
“I trust you've all heard about recent attacks near the Amazonian borders,” the Conqueror said.
“We have, your Majesty,” replied Lady Lila with a small tremor in her voice.
“My spies tell me that you might have a hand in it. What have you to say in your defense?” the Conqueror said. It was a lie intended to examine their reaction to the accusation.
Lady Lila felt the blood rushing away from her face and her mouth becoming suddenly dry. Fear paralyzed her faculties. “Where is my sister?” she blurted out. Her common sense clearly left her as well.
“You don't ask the questions around here, and you'll do well to address her Majesty the Queen by her title,” the Conqueror warned.
Lady Lila knew that should she be warned again then she ought to be grateful.
“My apologies, your Majesty. With respect, your Majesty, we had nothing to do with it, nothing at all,” Lady Lila denied vehemently.
“Your actions in the past demonstrated animosity towards her Majesty. Did you think that disturbing the peace in my Realm would be yet another venue to embarrass her Majesty?”
“Majesty, I no longer bear any ill feelings towards her Majesty,” Lady Lila was desperate to appeal to the Conqueror's reason.
“Is that so?!” the Conqueror questioned in disbelief and rose to her feet. The mere sight of her sister-in-law and her youngest, who had been the ones to tell Princess Athena of Queen Gabrielle's past as a body slave, made her blood boil. She stepped down from her throne and closed the gap between them.
“I will never shed blood, not even the blood of those women,” Lady Lila hastily repudiated as she felt the Conqueror's ominous glare burning holes into her. In her state of fright, clear thinking was beyond her and she had little control of what came out of her mouth, and it only worsened as the distance between the Conqueror and herself grew shorter.
“Those women?! And what is so wrong about ‘those women' I wonder.”
“Nothing, your Majesty. Nothing at all,” she waved her hands sideways hysterically.
The Conqueror elected to change the subject entirely in order to play with Lady Lila's mind and thus catch her off guard. “I had my secretary go over your records.” The Conqueror paused to observe Lady Lila's reaction.
She became confused, not being able to follow the Conqueror's line of questioning. She looked at her husband with scared eyes for help, but he kept his downcast and mutely left her to fend for herself.
“Our records, Majesty?”
“What did I tell you about asking me questions, Madame?!” the Conqueror raised her voice.
Lady Lila recoiled.
“Would you preferred it if I took you to the dungeons and continued the inquiry there?!”
“Pardon me, your gracious Majesty. It will not happen again.” Lady Lila could feel the earth shake beneath her legs.
“My secretary tells me that some funds seem to be missing, funds which were supposed to be paid as taxes to the Realm.” The Conqueror uttered her words slowly as she walked around to stand behind the trembling Lady and her deserting family. She knew denying her subject the sight of her would render her subject incapable of anticipating her actions or study her expressions, thus making her even more helpless, and without the illusion of some sense of control.
“I know nothing about it, I swear on my husband's head,” Lady Lila answered.
The Conqueror scoffed.
“Your wife doesn't seem to put too much value on your head, sir,” the Conqueror whispered in his ear but loud enough for Nobleman Timaeus to hear.
Lady Lila's children felt shame at that moment and it was evident on their faces. The Conqueror was pleased to see it. Retribution, she reckoned, for the shame Germanicus and Lady Lila had made her Queen and her daughter feel.
“Do you know what happens to those who steal from me, Madame?” the Conqueror asked. It was a rhetorical question, for everyone knew that the penalty for stealing from the Realm was the severance of fingers and confiscation of all possessions in favor of the Realm's exchequer.
“I do, Majesty. I shall have my secretary go over our books with your Majesty's secretary to inspect any discrepancies. I assure your Majesty that for any funds that are missing, tenfold will be paid,” Lady Lila said as she searched her mind for the cause for any such discrepancies. She would later find that her eldest had been the one who had dipped into the exchequer and had helped himself to the missing funds. “I swear to you, your Majesty, that it is all but an error done with no malice.”
“So you haven't paid for mercenaries to attack the Amazons, have you?” the Conqueror continued to inquire.
“I did no such thing, your Majesty. If I were to pay mercenaries to kill those women, I would hardly pay them from the taxes the province of Macedonia owes your Majesty. I would pay them with my own funds,” she argued.
The Conqueror, of course, already knew that. “'Those women' again,” she pointed out and walked to stand in front of Lady Lila again. “What is it you have against ‘those women'? You can tell me the truth. I don't care much for them myself.” It wasn't entirely untrue. However, the only reason the Conqueror said what she did was to plant false confidence in Lady Lila.
Still nervous, Lady Lila might have suspected as much but either way she had little choice, if any. “Their way of life… without men… it is - ” but then she stopped her speech abruptly and covered her mouth with both hands as if to keep her words from coming out of her mouth, but it was too late already and she knew it. If her sister had been present, she wouldn't have been so frightened and her judgment so crucially impaired.
The Conqueror circled Lady Lila's family like a shark in bloodied water. She then stopped to stand next to Agrippa, Lady Lila's poor excuse for a husband. She looked the flaccid man over from head to toe and scoffed, “It would seem it is you, Madame, who lives without a man. Her Majesty the Queen, on the other hand, lives with a Lion who masters the earth. In that regard also, she is your superior." The Conqueror picked and stabbed where she knew it would hurt. Exploiting others' weaknesses for her advantage was her trade.
Lady Lila and her wretched family hung their heads in shame, for the truth always has the power to humble if not humiliate.
“You will leave my sight immediately and will leave my home first thing tomorrow morning, but you will be available for further inquiry. All funds that are missing will be paid tenfold at your own expense. Do not let me wait past a fortnight, for you have just spent your last credit your kinship to her Majesty the Queen has extended you. Do you take my meaning, Madame?” the Conqueror spoke determinably.
Lady Lila all but sighed in relief that the ordeal was finally over.
“Yes, your Majesty,” she nodded her head.
“I have sent a battalion to the border between Macedonia and the Amazon lands. As further punishment, you will feed them at your own expense for the duration of their stay.” These were the final words the Conqueror had for her.
“By your will, Majesty,” she said and curtsied before she and her family left the Conqueror's presence.
The other two governors appeared for questioning before the Conqueror that evening. Both fervently denied any knowledge and partaking in the attacks committed against the Amazons.
Late at night when the interrogations were finally over, the Conqueror invited Nobleman Timaeus for a drink in front of the fire at her study in order to hear his impressions.
As they sat together and discussed the events that had taken place in the Great Hall earlier, Nobleman Timaeus couldn't help but notice that the Conqueror was imbibing spirits at an accelerated rate and quantity. He had never seen her drink so much, not even at banquets after any of her many brilliant victories, and it unnerved him. There was something very wrong happening, he knew without a doubt.
“Noblemen Simonides and Arkilis seemed sincere in denying their involvement,” he offered his opinion.
“So it would seem,” the Conqueror grumbled and filled her seventh goblet.
“Nobleman Arkilis nearly fainted when your Majesty asked him about his affair with the stable boy he keeps,” said Nobleman Timaeus and rubbed his forehead. “I had no idea…”
“Fear is a great incentive to truth telling. Most of his riches come from his wife and she is yet unaware of his dalliances. I wanted him to be as frightened as Lady Lila was during her interrogation. My questioning method is predicated on the premise that when one is busy fearing, one is too busy coming up with convincing, well-thought-of lies,” the Conqueror said, and enjoyed the comforting, numbing warmth of the liquid as it made its way down her gullet.
Nobleman Timaeus thought it was getting darker in the Conqueror's study. From the corner of his eye, he could see the Conqueror's large shadow cast on the wall behind her being augmented like something uncanny. It was as if her very presence in the study swallowed and absorbed the firelight.
“I am glad that her Majesty the Queen wasn't present to see her sister's shame,” he said.
“Lady Lila should thank the fates for that one, for had my Queen been present to hear these venomous words I would have fed that silly sister of hers her conniving, serpent-like tongue,” the Conqueror hissed and downed the content of an eighth goblet.
Lord Timaeus fought an urge to cringe in his seat. The Conqueror's brooding mood, her drinking as if there was no tomorrow, and her threatening words made the hair on the back of his neck stand. He became worried, and out of great loyalty and admiration towards his Master he decided that even if the Conqueror were to dismiss him so that he could return to Athens , he would come up with an excuse to remain in the Corinthian palace to keep an eye on her, so to speak.
A servant entered the Conqueror's study with an urn filled with spirits in his hand to replace the empty one on the table.
"Tell Lady Satrina that tomorrow morning I will see the Imperial sculptor first thing in the dining hall," the Conqueror ordered.
"Yes, your Majesty," the servant said and bowed before he left.
The Conqueror had forced Nobleman Timaeus to stay with her till the wee hours of the night, asking him to tell her about his wife and their children, till she tired herself and stiffly went up to the Imperial Chambers, where she plummeted onto the unchanged sheets next to her Queen's gown.
The next day, when the Imperial sculptor appeared before her, the Conqueror commissioned a real size statue in the likeness of the Queen to be made with the finest alabaster marble. She assigned an empty well-lit chamber in the Imperial suite, not far from the Imperial bedchamber, for the task.