Dragon Queen

[Kilyaeden]

Here I bring you an experiment I've been working on, feedback is appreciated.

Chapter 1:


Celyra queen of Astaria was sitting on her throne, her long and prosperous reign was coming to an end,the eldest of 3 daughters it was for this reason alone she had inherited her father throne expending all her life fighting against the inflexible customs of the kingdom but while she had outlived her younger sisters both had managed to have sons of their own. In her youth she had naively thought that her father's decision of marrying Rynera and Thesia to the lords who governed the frontiers of the kingdom would make sure their descendants were invested in the continuation of the kingdom and not in seeking power for themselves but now in her twilight years she could hear the rumours of many lords pledging their armies for one or the other in anticipation of the civil war that would precipitate after her death.

A more ruthless monarch would have had any potential usurper killed but she didn't had in her to kill her own blood even when not doing so could risk the spilling of so much more, a more pragmatic queen would have taken a king and bowed down to tradition content in being just the mother of the princes and the whisperer in the king's ear. But it had never been in Celyra's nature to be less than what she wanted to be and yet it all seemed so worthless now.
She knew that even  if she gave up her throne in favour of either Terion or Raegar her crown would never rest safely for both her nephews were but the pawns of lords who had long desired power and saw their chance in getting one or the other on the throne. Her last hope rested within the court mage Melgor who claimed he had found in his books a way to stop the inevitable.
     Melgor was a strange and taciturn men who despite his high position had never shown much interest in playing politics, his loyalty to the queen  was beyond doubt and it was this above all else why Celyra had agreed to this last desperate gamble to keep her crown but that had been more than 3 months ago, 3 months of council discussions and sleepless nights. 3 months without a single letter or news from Melgor or the knights who had accompanied him. Celyra looked up from her chair to her councillors and saw in their faces only worry and concern,  the rest of the court a mix of calculated interest and outright contempt. Her crown felt heavy on her head as her gaze travelled downward  to her frail and consumed body, to her hand clutching the throne like some ancient vulture,was this how it ended? Would she only be remembered as an old queen who grasped at power chasing fantasies?. Just in that moment she heard the trumpets signalling that someone was at the gates. Celyra got up from her chair feeling older than ever  her bones protested  as an aid helped her walk to one of the windows, there just crossing the castle gate she could see Melgor at the head of a procession of carts, 3 of them were linked carrying a giant heart followed by 5 carts with barrels of dragon blood
You are late!" she yelled from the balcony as she saw him cross the gates,trying desperately to fight the tears of joy in her eyes.
''A wizard is never late, he arrives precisely when he means to'' Melgor responded with a smile on his wrinkled face ''it is good to see you still in good health your majesty'' he continued while transporting up the throne room with a gesture of his hands, he helped Celyra back into the throne while the court was abuzz with chatter, a couple of the nobles in the back of the room could be seen exchanging coins. He walked back to the centre of the room and bowed '' As I promised I have returned with the key for the kingdom salvation''
Celyra didn't say anything but she felt relief wash over her, her advisors all looked relieved and a few of them even congratulated Melgor, the queen was about to thank him when he interrupted her "But I must warn you this method could have unforeseen side effects,as well as a rather garish requirement'' he said with concern in his voice while a servant entered the throne room with a cup filled with a red liquid and an indescribable piece of meat on a silver platter, it was a piece of the dragon heart, Celyra already pale visage became even paler when she understood what the wizard was asking of her ''everyone leave'' she said,none of her courtiers dared defy her. Only Melgor remained, Melgor and the piece of the dragon heart.
''I will do what I must for my people'' Celyra said while taking the meat between her hands,it had a slimy feeling to it and chewing it felt like trying to eat an old boot , she thanked the goods her teeth had survived the withering of her body or this whole enterprise would have been even more humiliating, the taste was that of copper and something she couldn't decipher and the blood was only better in the sense that she could finish it in a single gulp ''Remind me to ask the chef to find some spices for this'' Celyra said in a hollow voice fighting the overwhelming desire to regurgitate what she had just eaten,but somehow she kept it in. She excused herself for the night tasking Melgor with attending the feast in his honour, if she had to suffer so would him. The maids helped her into a nightgown and darkness embraced the queen as soon as she touched the pillow.
Next morning came with a rude awakening, a frantic slamming of her bedroom door and the bright light of morning sun falling on her bed through the great windows of the balcony. ''Whoever is out there either enter or seize this ungodly racket at once'' said Celyra with a voice that sounded to her ears stronger that it had been in years, Lara the head maid opened the door after hearing the voice of her mistress entering with a relieved look on her face ''oh your highness thank goodness we feared the worse when we didn't saw you leave your room at first light'' said the maid while hurrying to the queens side to help her out of bed. To this Celyra gave her a puzzled look while she left the bed, she was still a bit confused from last night but the light pouring through the windows gave her no room to argue she had indeed slept through the whole night, such a thing hadn't happened in ages, as the maids prepared her for the day helping her dress and brushing her hair Celyra could see a different reflection in her mirror, the change was subtle but it was there, her wrinkles had diminished and the skin seemed to be a little firmer on her consumed frame; she was now merely ancient instead of with one foot on the grave.
But as a cloud over the hills these thoughts left her, these men and women have had a thousand opportunities of removing her from the throne and they hadn't. The fact that civil war between her nephews might still be averted was in no small part thanks to their tireless efforts to keep the kingdom stable ''Well since we are all here I guess you have no other choice that to tell me what's the state of the kingdom'' Celyra said with a smile and a laugh that finally broke the spell of silence in the chamber, she first put her gaze on Lord kelps the master of commerce,after all Melgor's remedy might have proven successful but that didn't change the fact that it had costed the royal coffers a pretty penny. ''First of all let me tell you how relieved we are to see you in good health your majesty''said Nigel kelps while fiddling with some parchment he had in front of him '' it would have been a rather embarrassing affair having to explain to the new king that the royal treasury had finnanced your suicide'' he finalized with the sharp wit that was his greatest weapon.
Meridia her spymaster, who as always was rather miffed by the comments of Nigel ''while I would have liked our court wizard to be a little more subtle with his expedition I can't deny it's usefulness'' said her while straightening a wrinkle in her dress,a tick she had for as long as Celyra had knew her ''the neighbouring kingdoms are ablaze with rumours of what happened to you your majesty, on the south in Parvesh traders swear you ate the dragon's heart in one sitting and then turned into a 20 foot giant that is now ravaging the kingdom'' she looked for another parchment in her pile while rolling her eyes at the stories the commoner spun ''while in Naxran past the eastern mountain they swear you drank the blood and now look and I quote like an overstuffed leech'' she continued before looking the queen straight in the eyes  ''this rumours will no doubt be dispelled before long but for the time been they give the neighbouring kingdoms pause on moving against us''

Celyra nodded to Meridia there was no doubt that she have had a hand in disseminating this rumours if not outright fabricating them herself, the spymaster was nothing if not underhanded always preferring to use misinformation and misdirection to keep the enemies of the kingdom at bay,with external threats neutralised for the time being that left only the internal unrest her frail condition had created. Celyra turned her gaze to the high commander of the army Baelar the fearless an ageing warrior with a great white beard that contrasted with her clean shaved head,''what news have we from Dara commander'' she said knowing that with the turmoil in the south border at ease her nephew Terion  who was the lord of the ancient fortress had a golden opportunity to make a move with the army  that have been send to reinforce the garrison in the event of an invasion. ''The enemy has been repealed and the news of your improvement have convinced Emperor's Emir envoys to sue for a ceasefire'' he said showing the queen a map of the border and the troops that had been deployed there ''but the fortress suffered heavy damages during the siege and Lord Terion has requested that the reinforcements be allowed to remain and assist in the reparations''  Baelar finished with a scowl that was hard to decipher if it was aimed at the queen's nephew for refusing to relinquish the control of the army or for putting soldiers to do a mason's job.
But the queen could read between the lines of Baelar's words, Terion had managed to outmanoeuvre the high commander authority with a seemingly  reasonable request that kept the reinforcement army firmly in his sphere of influence, Baelar could have denied that order in behalf of the queen but doing so would have make him look paranoid or foolish and would have given Terion fuel to bring even more of the southlands nobles to his side, it was a long way to Dara but Celyra could that sooner rather than later she would have to pay a visit to her nephew.
With that the mayor problems have been addressed and the council continued with the daily running of the kingdom but Celyra only half payed attention to it, the chief justice Traiborn had some laws that needed to be revised and approved by her,  Astrea the huntmaster and commander of rangers was on a dispute with Nigel about budgets for the ranger corps that the queen was asked to weight in; the hours grew long and Celyra remembered why she hadn't missed being the centre of it, she could see how much her frailty had precluded her from helping her kingdom and as thoughts of the previous night returned to her she found herself oddly ravenous to the point she dismissed the council as soons as the bells of the great cathedral announced noon. She stood from her chair, her old bones protesting once more after so many hours of stillment, she made arrangements to meet with some of the councillors in the afternoon to hash out some details that required her attention and for the first time in a long while walked all by herself back to her quarters while Lara went ahead to get everything ready. When she reached her private dining chamber the food had been served and while Melgor was nowhere to be seen he had obviously given instructions to the servants judging by the piece of heart already on her plate and the cup of blood. The piece of meat still tasted as bad as it had done in the morning and still wished she didn't had to eat it raw, having to chew incessantly to reduce it to manageable bits was still a hassle, the cup seemed to empty as soon as it touched it's lips and before she could  utter a word a servant was already filling her cup from a small pitcher that contained exactly a second cup of blood and not a drop more, it seemed Melgor had decided to up the dose of her medicine and if the results continued as they had been this morning Celyra was more than happy to oblige. The mountain of roast, vegetables and bread in front of her seemed intimidating for the old queen whose appetite which had never been big had reduced itself as her body aged to the point that some nights she could only stomach but a handful of vegetables, yet as she worked her way through the food in front of her Celyra found long forgotten flavours returning to caress her tongue and before she realised the queen had cleaned every scrap from the plates in front of her, she should have felt sick and bloated after eating such a large meal but instead she just felt pleasantly sated almost like her body was demanding nourishment for its recovery.
After that she took a long bath, delighting herself on the warm water while her maids scrubbed away the soreness of her back and the tiredness of her muscles, when she finally left the tub she could have sworn her reflection was standing straighter that she had been in years, she dismissed it as a trick of the light although it couldn't  be denied Celyra felt more energetic that she had been on a long time, once she was dried and freshly dressed the queen went back to her study and the duties of state, it was dreary work but she had promised Traiborn she would look into the new laws and taxes he wanted to enact. She sat there reading the documents by the afternoon light that poured through the windows, the queen tried her best but between the beautiful day outside and the strange twin nubs Lara had found while brushing her hair Celyra's mind really wasn't in a state to get any work done. Feeling like she was a naughty teenager once more Celyra left a letter to prevent her maids from worrying and using a secret passage in her room sneaked herself down to the stables. The passage had but a single torch she had to carry and the steps were so narrow Celyra hadn't been able to use them in ages, as such the place was dusty and filled with cobwebs but none of that mattered to the old queen who descended the stairs with  confidence determined to do this one little fancy. She finally reached the end of the stairs and moving a wooden panel she set foot in the stables, the smell of hay,leather and horses greeting her like an old friend. As luck would have it the only person in the stables besides the servants was the huntmistress Astrea , the towering woman with fiery hair looked intimidating at first glance but anyone who had seen her with the animals could see the kindness behind her gruff exterior but more importantly for Celyra the girl had been raised in the castle by the former huntmaster Erik frostaxe so the queen had not only seen her grown into the exemplar woman she was now but back when Astrea was a kid Celyra had always been the one to give her an extra piece of cake or a cookie even when her father had forbid her from eating more.
"Good afternoon Astrea," Celyra said cheerfully as she entered the stable.
Astrea turned around to face Celyra her expression instantly changing from a frown to a smile, "Hello your majesty, I was not expecting to see you here today'' said the huntmistress surprised to see the queen had somehow sneaked there without her noticing  and more importantly without any escort ''I was hoping you could prepare my carriage for a little visit to town'' said the queen with the same conspiratorial smile she used to have when giving Astrea a cookie she was not supposed to eat '' it will be our little secret'' said Astrea with the same smile feeling like a kid once more. By the time the maids and the royal guard realised something was going on and ran to the courtyard Astrea had the royal carriage halfway to the outer gate with the queen laughing all the way.
The speed down the hill where the fortress of Astor rose dominating the surrounding countryside and towards the capital city of Haggelburg at the foot of the castle.
The royal carriage rumbled along the cobbled streets of Haggelburg, the crown jewel of the kingdom, the buildings rising up against the clear blue sky and the broad green fields dotted with sheep and cattle far off in the distance.Unlike many other cities in Astaria Haggelburg did not have a stone wall surrounding it, the city sprawled all around the hill of the fortress of Astor like the roots of some ancient and giant plant, smack in the middle of the kingdom it was a trading hub where products from all corners gathered here either to be sold or exchanged and transported to the other side of the kingdom, it was a city filled with life and movement, as the carriage made her way slowly towards the market square Celyra looked out the window marvelling at how much the city had grown, she couldn't remember the last time she had felt well enough to come here it was in that moment that she realised how much her old age had rooted her down turning her into a prisoner on her own castle, she looked at her frail and withered hand bowing to use this new vitality that had been given to her to the fullest.
By the time the carriage stopped in front of the market square it had drawn enough attention that a squad of the city guard were waiting for them, Astrea helped the queen descend and a tense argument followed as Celyra had to convince the squad captain that his help was not needed, in the end she couldn't convince them to leave but at least they compromised on remaining in the edges of the market square in case something happened ''Well, this will no doubt will make his way to Cullen so until our esteemed commander of the guard comes here to drag us back to the palace I say we enjoy what time we have'' said Celyra while starting to walk towards the stalls with Astrea close behind her
As she walked Celyra noticed a few people staring at her, the queen wasn't exactly a common sight in Haggelburg so the sudden appearance was causing quite the stir, in her youth it was not uncommon for Celyra to wander the streets and markets of the city with some of her courtiers in tow making sure the laws were helping the commoners of her kingdom, but as the years had gone by and specially after the death of her father the duties of state had demanded more and more of her time and by the point situations had stabilized so that she could dispose of free time again she had been either too tired or too frail to even take the small ride from the castle to the city. So now after so many years maybe it was to be expected that her people would look at her as if they had seen a ghost, she tried her best to ignore it but in the end she had to ask Astrea to lend Celyra her cloak to hide her face, once done that and with the statuesque Astrea drawing most of the attention the queen managed to lose herself in the infinite display of exotic goods and foreign luxuries the marketplace had to offer, in the end she only bought a couple of cookies from a sweet looking baker and ate them with Astrea sitting on a bench while they watched the people come and go.
They had a good time but as all good things once the sun hung low in the horizon and the merchants started closing their shops Celyra decided it was time to return, she wasn't looking forward to the scolding Melgor and Cullen were gonna give them but at least she had an afternoon of fun like the olden days ''I trust your majesty will protect me from the guard capitan wrath'' jok Astrea while she helped Celyra back into the carriage ''Only if you protect me from the court wizard'' answered the queen with a knowing smile.
Celyra settled back on the plush cushions inside the carriage and leaned back against the hard wood of the bench behind her as Astrea  pulled the reins and set off towards the castle, the city lights began to glow in the twilight and the curtain of the night slowly descended over the land, as they went up the hill the city became smaller and smaller as it lights grew ever fainter until they looked like mere fireflies over the green of the plains. When they finally crowned the hill and entered into the castle the torches already dotted the walls of the great fortress casting harsh shadows on the courtyard and waiting for them there were not only Melgor and Cullen but also Lara who looked extremely disappointed with her mistress.

For a moment the queen felt once again like a little girl being found sneaking into the pantry, the feeling wasn't helped by the fact that her diminished 4.5 feet body made every single one of her courtiers tower over her, but she was not a kid anymore so she stood firm as tall as she was staring at the men in front of him ''I know what you are about to say, but I'm not some porcelain doll you need to keep constant watch over'' said the queen looking each of them in the eyes ''Capitain Cullen I did leave the castle with a suitable guard to protect me'' she said while Astrea did her best to go unnoticed ''Melgor you yourself said I was now in good health'' she continued before finally turning to Lara, her expression grew softer as she took the maids hand with her own ''and you my dear Lara, you know most of all I can now move by my own means'' she said. with a smile the maid didn't dare spoil. The courtiers gave up their anger with Melgor being the first to admit defeat ''you are right my queen but next time you decide to do such a thing please let us know, we only want what's best for you'' said the wizard in a conciliatory tone. '' I know my friend I know'' responded Celyra while moving towards the inside of the castle, the small matter of her misadventure now resolved.

[Kilyaeden]

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[Wookey]

Great start

[phil123]

Now the fun begins inside the castle. Hope to read what will happen next.

[Kilyaeden]

Here's chapter 2, thanks to everyone for their interest and as always comments and suggestions are appreciated.

CHAPTER 2:

It had been 2 months of frantic activity in the castle, as the recovery of the queen became ever more noticeable she had once again opened the court to visitors and nobles from all over the kingdom and beyond, many of her lords came to renew their vows and more that one pressed her servants to divulge the secret but Meridia ever mindful measures had insured that even the servants who fed the queen the heart and blood of the dragon were kept in the dark about it's true purpose.
Celyra for his part was all too happy that this public display was helping the kingdom stabilise itself as more and more nobles saw a succession crisis as a further and further possibility. With things now returning to a semblance of normality this had given Celyra time to think, she had talk long and hard with Melgor as the little nubs from 2 months ago had sprouted into two little horns similar to those of a dragon, the wizard hastily created an enchanted necklace that kept them invisible in the meantime while he plunged even deeper into his library looking for any scrap of information related to the knight who had become immortal after consuming the dragon's heart, this left the queen with many questions and no answers at all, this created in her a restlessness that only abated when after a particularly heated debate of the council Astrea decided to take her queen hunting.
In the depths of the Argol forest  a week's journey from the capital the royal family had a summer home and hunting pavilion Celyra hadn't visited in ages, a scouting party was sent in advance along with a small army of servants while the queen and the court prepared to leave.
The party consisted of Celyra, Astrea,Melgor, Cullen and Lara who despite the queen's many insistence that she could take care of herself refused to leave her mistress behind. Meridia was chosen as steward in the queen's absence and they parted in a small caravan of carriages,horses and supplies, as soon as they left the city limits and took the road of Bastonne they   were joined by Astrea's young lieutenant Kaelin and a squad  of rangers who would accompany them as protection.
Celyra smiled as she surveyed the lands around her, first the fertile plains surrounding the capital where small farms and fields of wheat dotted the landscape turning into a patchwork of greens and goldens and as the days went by the farms gave way to grooves where one could hear the shepherds moving their herds of pigs in search of truffles, then the grooves gave way to woods and then to dense pine forests where the road grew narrower but still strong cutting like a line of grey cobblestones through the vibrants green of the forest.
Astrea looked at her mistress with relief in her eyes, the queen seemed to be in fine spirits; the restlessness that had plagued her in the castle seemed to leave as they rode through the forest sometimes going ahead of the caravan to stop and admire some lake of clearing. It was clear to see been able to ride once again was a great source of joy for the queen, she had changed her usual dresses for a pair of riding pants that did a great job of accentuating the returning fullness of her legs and a blouse that did a something similar with her now healthy skin, golden hair with some wisps of grey completed the image of a mature but energetic woman to the point it was hard to believe this was the same queen that just mere months ago seemed like she was breathing her last breaths.
"I have missed this so much!" exclaimed the queen. "You wouldn't believe how many times I've wished for these woods or the plains or the mountains! I used to love riding out on horseback with my sisters.
Her voice had a tone of nostalgic longing, Astrea shook her head smiling at the memories of her mistress. In truth she had only vague recollections of Rynera and Thesia, her father used to tell her stories of how in his youth the 4 of them were inseparable running all around the castle and the surrounding hill, but by the time she arrived at the castle both the princess had been wedded to powerful lords on the borders of the kingdom, Astrea had some childhood memories of the king making great feasts everytime Rynera or Thesia came to visit but back then she was more interested in sneaking up to steal cookies from the kitchen than in paying attention to this feasts.  But as time went on this feasts became more and more rare and after Celyra ascended the throne they stopped completely, there were still visits but as the years went by those waned as well, the last time Astrea had seen the queen sisters was when their bodies were brought to be buried in the royal crypt, she could never forget the sadness of his father in that day.

They continued the slow march through the forest until the sun sinked in the horizon and the first stars started to appear. Kaelin and the rangers got to work setting up camp while Astrea and Lara unpacked what they would need from the crates of food on the back of the caravan. Cullen for his part insisted on standing watch while  Melgor got to his carriage to retrieve the queen's medicine for the night,apparently he trusted only himself to keep the dragon's heart safe during the journey. Pretty soon all was set up with the tents in a circle around a bonfire where Lara was keeping a close eye on a hearty stew.
For the first time since the wizard has returned from his expedition the courtiers got to see the dragon's heart once more or at least the piece of it the queen was currently eating, the meat had a golden colour to it and despite the time that had transpired since the beast death it still looked as fresh as the day Melgor presented it to the queen, although judging from Celyra's expression it taste wasn't a particularly good one, with the formality concluded the queen finally joined the circle of people that were seated around the fire waiting for the stew to be ready.
A few minutes later the stew was served and the group sat down to eat, Astrea and Cullen took their places next to the queen, it was a strange informal affair where the rigid protocols of court were not necessary, Celyra took advantage of it by eating with a delight and quickness that was definitely not fit for a queen,this caused a piece of stew to end up falling in Celyra's cleavage which caused the generally serene Melgor to crack a knowing smile "be careful not to feed the fish too much my queen " he said between repressed laughters which earned him a murderous glare from Celyra, a slap from Lara's spoon and a chocked laughter from Cullen, Astrea for her part could only give the wizard a puzzled look. "Eric probably never told you this story, but when Celyra came of age her father made a grand celebration as was tradition, lords and dignitaries from everywhere came to celebrate bearing gifts for the princess,  one of those was an ambassador from Syrdinia  on the other end of the storm sea and he brought as gift a glass box with a winged fish, turns out those guys can jump when they get startled " said Cullen while trying to keep her laughter down " and the fish chose that moment to jump straight into the princess cleavage" finished him with a barely suppressed chuckle. "It was slimy and the thing wouldn't stop wiggling but I couldn't made a scene in front of all the guests so I had to stood there with the fish floundering between my breasts until a maid took it and put it back in it's box" said the queen with her face red as a cherry " Thesia always teased me about it saying the fish died of sadness because he couldn't live in my breasts '' finished Celyra giving Melgor another glare.
Melgor gave his queen a sympathetic look and sighed "you know it's probably true your grace" he replied, the two shared a laugh and everyone else joined in, even Astrea found herself chuckling despite the fact it was a pretty disgusting memory. When the laughters died down they stayed in silence looking at the bonfire,  Celyra was the first to get up and bead each of them goodnight which prompted the rest to do the same, Astrea threw a few more logs into the fire and she too went to bed realising maybe for the first time how the queen's diminishing had put a strain to the relationships of the whole court without anyone noticing.

A couple of days later they finally arrived at the hunting pavilion with the last lights of dusk. The building was a grandt 2 floors manor of stone and wood that blended almost seamlessly with the surrounding wilderness, it's many windows reflecting now the orange of the sky, as soon as they crossed the small stone  wall that marked the limits of the state an army of servants made themselves present at the gate to take care of all the supplies and baggages, soon everything was packed away and everyone had a room in the spacious building. Celyra in particular was delighted that as soon as she opened her room she could smell the fragrance of a hot bath waiting for her, Lara made a small congratulatory smile when she saw the queen reaccion ''I imagined your grace would want a bath after so many days on the road'' she simply said before a trio of maids joined her to scrub all the dirt and weariness out of the queen's body, she practically felt like a new person afterwards, once she was done  drying Celyra took a moment to get a good look at herself. The woman that started back from the mirror looked like she had just celebrated her 50th birthday,  the wrinkly lines on her face had softened giving her an air of maturity and her hair once again shiny and abundant was the colour of golden wheat with faint traces of grey in the middle.  Her body that once had looked like dried leather over a pile of bones had recovered much of its meat,  her legs no longer seemed like twigs about to snap and had healthy roundness to them with the barest hint of muscles underneath,  her arms had similarly filled although there still seemed to be a flabbiness to them she wasn't happy with, her breasts that once had been her most desirable feature had also began to reappear although they still had a long way to go. All in all she looked like a woman who had never much cared for physical activity and although that hadn't bothered her in the past the recovery had lid in Celyra a fire to be more that the queen she had been in the past, and she knew exactly what needed to be done.
That night they had a welcome feast prepared with animals that the rangers had caught in advance and although delicious both Cullen and Astrea seemed eager to catch their own prey the next day. There was drinking and merriment as they all discussed what would be done the next day, Melgor excused himself from participating saying he had studied to complete but after much begging and nagging he acquiesced to join them in the afternoon for a ride, Celyra for his part was unusually quiet,  the thought she had in the bathroom still swirling in her mind but every time she thought of asking Astrea for help she stopped herself, in the end she decided to wait for a better time and just tried to enjoy the feast as much as possible.
The next morning dawned crisp with a clean sky that stretched as far as the eye could see the smell of blooming flowers carried by a soft breeze. The hunting party saddled to leave , hunting dogs barking excitedly all around them, both Cullen and Astrea put fresh strings on their bows and eyed each other. It was plain to see they were going to compete in this hunt without a single word needing to be exchanged between them.
Celyra for her part looked at this nascent rivalry with amusement in her eyes while she petted the many dogs running around them, once everything was checked and ready they finally parted in a cacophony of hoof beats and barks. They rode through the forest for a while, the horses hooves clopping rhythmically against the earth, the forest seemed to stretch on forever, they moved in silence simply enjoying each others company, the queen thought this could be a good moment to bring up the prospect of training given that 2 of her 3 potential teachers was there but Astrea's focused expression dissuaded her from saying anything. While Celyra had to be constantly looking down to guide her horse through  the maze of roots and rocks, Astrea seemed to do it almost on instinct with only one hand on the reins while the other remained firmly close to her bow;it was plain to see she was in her element now. Cullen for his part while not as skilled as Astrea in the forest one could tell he was a skilled rider for the way he remained perfectly straight atop his mount using his legs more than anything to guide it.
After a few more minutes they finally reached the lake with  the rangers' marks clear to see, they let the horses drink their fill before tying them and hiding themselves in the first line of trees.
They waited patiently as the rangers brought the animals to them, Celyra couldn't stop looking at Astrea, she looked calm as the surface of the water while the tension on her arms betrayed she was ready to jump at any moment,  the sun that filtered through the brush making her red locks seem like they were made of fire.
Celyra still remembered when Eric had brought her to live in the castle, a scrawny little girl her face hidden behind a curtain of fiery red hair that cling to the huntmaster pants as if her life depended on it, at that time her father Caledor was still the king and her just the first princess despite being well into her 40's. She immediately  took a liking to the little girl, although the same could not be said from Astrea to her. She had been so frightened and timid, she didn't wanted to separate from the huntmaster but Eric had persuaded her otherwise, "It'll be fine," he said, "but until I return I need you to take care of strider for me", that had been the way Eric had managed to convince Astrea to stay while he parted on an expedition to the north,  the little girl had agreed with tears in her eyes.
From that day forward she practically lived in the stables, spending all her non-study time taking care of his father's favourite horse, or at least watching how the stable's servants took care of it and learning along with them.
It had been there in the stables where Celyra had first managed to form a bond with the shy girl. One her father's hunting dogs had recently become a mother and Celyra had made a point of visiting the stables every day using the secret passage  in her room to give the animal some table scraps and play with the puppies, it has been during one of this afternoons that she had seen Astrea looking at her from one of the corners of the stables,  the glint on her eyes and the way they  followed the movements of the puppies making her intentions clear as day " you can come play too" said Celyra patting the floor next to her "daddy says I shouldn't get attached to the dogs your highness " said Astrea in an overtly formal manner,  it was obvious Eric had also told her to show deference to the princess " well my father didn't wanted me to come here either " so it could be our little secret " said Celyra with a mischievous smile.  The girl seemed to think it for a minute before finally getting close to the princess,  Astrea took one of the puppies and watched it lick her hand giggling like this was the best day of her life.
The next day when Celyra got to the stables she found her little playmate had made some new friends as Astrea was not alone anymore but surrounded not only by the puppies but also by every other child that lived there in the castle, the princess had to use all her command skills to divide the 5 cookies she had brought between the more than 10 kids there.
Pretty soon just as one of the puppies followed Astrea wherever she went, so too did the girl follow the princess. Suffice to say that when Eric finally returned from the northern expedition both him and the king had some chosen words to say to their respective daughters.
The sound of hooves approaching broke Celyra from her memory as a pair of deers broke through the tree line on the other side of the lake and that's when Astrea and Cullen jumped into action. They moved in unison as if they were playing a role in a play, Celyra could see how their arms and backs seemed to come to life as they tensed their strings and shot.
Both arrows hit truly,  Astrea's got her target clean in the eye embedding itself in the animal skull while Cullen's ended up deep in the chest of the deer barely missing the heart, the creature staggered for a minute before finally collapsing " it seems you are the winner this time huntmistress " he said overly formal like they were on a royal tournament instead of a friendly hunt " I'm sure you will get a chance to settle the score in the jousting lord capitan " answered Astrea playing along.
Soon enough the rangers appeared on the clearing alongside the dogs, they congratulated both Astrea and Cullen as they all prepared to make lunch with one of the deers and some wild quills the rangers had caught on the way. Soon enough the animals were skinned and roasting while everyone took the moment to relax and drink a bit in celebration of a hunt well done.
The lunch was a mostly informal affair done with hunting knives and hand, the rangers were a little awkward at first not wanting to get too familiar with the queen but Astrea soon break the ice presenting everyone and before long they were excitedly telling Celyra stories of  the things they had done or seen all over the kingdom from the storm coast on the west to the frostback mountains in the east.
The shadows of the trees were long by the time the party finally returned to the pavilion, in the entrance was waiting Melgor who apologised profusely for not joining them in the afternoon and promising to make it up to them the next day. That night the celebration was decidedly more subdued than the one from their arrival,  the day had been long, everyone congratulated Astrea and Cullen and soon afterwards they had all retired to bed.
Celyra had trouble sleeping that night, her mind seemed to be wide awake despite the tiredness of the day. She kept replaying the image of Astrea taking that shot in her mind. The way she was positioned, the tension of her muscles,  the concentration on her eyes; a thousand details she hadn't paid attention in the heat of the moment now came back to her in crystal clarity, that kind of strength was the thing Celyra wanted to possess yet today she hadn't been able to advance towards that objective by even a single step, she knew what she had to do yet she couldn't take that first step, a part of her still afraid her councillors still saw her as a frail woman who could do nothing on her own.
The next morning came too early for Celyra's liking but at least she had made up her mind,  that morning she asked Astrea to sit next to her, she talked about her idea of training, Astrea seemed to doubt for a minute but she saw the determination in the queen's eyes and bowed to teach and help her as much as she could. Solving that matter got a load out of her chest which kept her in good spirits as they departed with Melgor.
The old wizard took them far away from the paths they had taken the day before during the hunt, he took them deep into the woods past lakes and groves. It wasn't until they heard the hooves stepping on stone that the company realised Melgor had been guiding them through an old road so choked with vegetation as to be practically indistinguishable from the forest floor.
They followed the old road to an ancient ruin deep in the heart of the forest, a half crumbled tower still remained in the middle of a clearing as well as most of the walls and some other buildings too ravaged by time and the encroaching vegetation to be certain of what their purpose might have been, even in its current state it was clear to see it must have been an impressive fortress in its glory days  " this is a guard post, one like hundreds of others that existed in the time of the Appanti empire " said Melgor to the question nobody had asked yet. He guided them through the ruins showing them the walls of the tower rich with carvings,some eroded into obscurity while others were still readable, one of the most impressive was a series that seemed to depict a war between dragon riders. Celyra knew the story,an empire that could control dragons but fell into a civil war over who would be emperor, one of the pretenders in desperation got a mage to cast a spell that broke their ability to control them and the beasts now free torched the empire to the ground, a grim reminder of the fate Celyra herself had almost plunged her kingdom into "thanks for showing us this Melgor,  I always thought the king's road was the only surviving structure of the old empire" said Celyra while tracing the face of one of the carvings.
They remained there a time more Melgor showing them more surviving carvings,  one in particular showed the full length of the empire where one could clearly see how cities all over Asteria and the neighbouring countries must have been built on the ruins of imperial cities, it was evident the wizard had an extensive knowledge of this people and the queen couldn't stop herself from wondering if it had been here where he had found the story of the immortal knight.
In the afternoon Melgor took the company back to the pavilion after showing them other strange things of the forest like the strange rock circles left behind by a religion long forgotten, the dinner that night was long and talkative as they exchanged stories of weird happenings and old legends before going to bed. Astrea stayed behind to tell Celyra their training will commence with first light tomorrow.
The third and final day of their little trip dawned with a soft rain as if the forest itself was mourning their departure, in days like this Celyra liked to take her time enjoying breakfast and listening to the rain hit her window but her teacher will not allow it, knowing she had been the one who had asked for these she followed Astrea's instructions without a word. They soon were in the back of the pavilion where an archery range had been built many years ago,Astrea had prepared a longbow she gave to Celyra who grabbed it with some clumsiness,  then she took out her own and showed the queen how the motion of drawing the string and tensing the bow was supposed to be done. Celyra never took her eyes off her and Astrea saw she was a quick learner as the queen switched her grip to mimic that of Astrea,  then came the drawing. Celyra tried with all her strength but the bow refused to bend, she continued until she could feel her arms tremble from the effort but the stupid string would not move an inch, finally she let it go panting of exhaustion while she looked at Astrea completely crestfallen.
Astrea could clearly see where the queen's error was but using the same method her father had used on her Astrea let Celyra tired herself out before intervening " if you try to use just your arm you will never make it " said Astrea while she crouched slightly to take the queen's hands between her own and guide her through the correct motion. Celyra could feel her body tensing as Astrea moved the string keeping her hand firmly enveloped in hers, she could feel how not only both her arms were straining but also her back and even the muscles in her chest were all working to draw the bow, she focused on this feeling to avoid thinking on Astrea's warm hands clasping her own, her firm body so close to hers she could feel her smell of pine and leather, how her steady breathing tickled her ear. She was so focused on not noticing these things that she didn't realise she had actually managed to draw the string,  Astrea's hand and hers let go making the string snap back into position with a powerful chord that brought Celyra back to reality.
"Now you do it" said Astrea, completely unaware of the queen's blush.
Celyra tried again and repeated the process, she concentrated on the pulling rather than her failing arms and was able to draw the bow on her own although she could only reach a quarter of the bow length before her arms gave up and she released the string ''that's more than good for a first time, it usually takes years to develop the strength to handle a longbow'' said Astrea flexing her arm for emphasis ''for now we will repeat this motion and then we'll start with positioning and aiming'' finalised the huntmistress.
They continued practising until noon, each time Astrea corrected a different thing from the position of the feet to the squaring of the arms as she saw Celyra get more comfortable with the drawing motion. By the time they finally stopped Celyra could barely feel her arms and shoulders but she could draw the bow to the halfway point which Astrea said was enough to start target practice in the evening.
Celyra and Astrea  had lunch just the two of them. Melgor had buried himself in books once more and had asked not to be disturbed while Cullen thought the rain and mud were the perfect environment to drill the rangers into urban combat so he wouldn't be joining them either. The food was a simple combination of chicken roast and vegetables, Astrea had insisted they ate light to not slow down their training, Celyra was happy with her enthusiasm but given that even moving the fork and knife made her arms hurt after the morning training she didn't know how much more she could take.

The meal ended with a cup of hot tea, Astrea poured it for Celyra while the latter sat down on a couch with her head reclined on the back, still completely exhausted from the morning's session '' you should go laid down your highness, rest is an important part of training'' said Astrea as she gave her a tea with some medicinal herbs to help with the discomfort ''I will go do that then'' said Celyra relieved to have a moment to catch her breath. She ended up taking a bath with Lara massaging her tired arms before she finally got to bed for what seemed like a really short time before she was called again to continue.

Celyra went back to the range, this time Astrea had arranged a couple of targets and arrows for them to practise with. She once again took Celyra's hands with her own and showed her how to keep the arrow steady and use her index and thumb to help with aiming, Celyra couldn't deny she enjoyed this part of her lessons more than anything else so far, this time when Astrea let go of her Celyra was able to keep the string tense on her own,  she took aim and fired, the arrow sailed through the air embedding itself in the outermost layer of the target. "Not bad for a first shot " said Astrea beaming at her "don't fret if you miss some, the path to mastery is blanketed with missed shots my father used to say'' Astrea finalised before tensing her own bow and shooting a perfect bullseye,  Celyra watched intensely at how she positioned her shoulders to take the shot.
"Now try again" said Astrea "keep your shoulders square to the target and fire, try to put the arrow exactly where I did" said Astrea.
After another half hour Celyra finally managed to hit one of the targets, the arrow flew straight and true right through the centre. It was her first after more than 30 shots, most of which had ended up going wide from the mark of Astrea's shot, she was covered in sweat and could hardly feel her arms but she had done it. The smile on Celyra's face for this accomplishment made Astrea's heart flutter " I think we can call it a day, wouldn't want you to get hurt from pushing too far your majesty " said Astrea trying to keep her composure.
The last night on the pavilion was a celebration just as grand as the arrival had been although with a slightly sadder note to it, they ate and drink, Celyra while exhausted tried to get in the spirit of things, this had been a much needed diversion but a part of her already yearned to return home,  besides her training with Astrea had shown her how far she was from her objective and she was eager to put her plan in motion.

[jhunter]

Interesting build up, nice flow. Nice work.

[Wookey]

You are pulling a great story together K+

[phil123]

Great start and looking forward for more.

[Kilyaeden]

Sorry for the delay, here's part 3. As always comments and suggestions are appreciated:

Whack sounded a practice sword hitting a  dummy made of wood and straw. It had been one month since they had returned from the hunting trip, one month since the queen had gathered Cullen, Astrea and Meridia and laid down to them her desire and plan to be trained by all of them. It had seemed ludicrous at first but Astrea had sided with the queen and Celyra herself had showed them a schedule that allowed her to train without interfering with any of her royal duties,  it was clear the queen had thought this through, defeated and outsmarted Cullen and Meridia agreed to help with the condition that they would stop the queen if they felt she was pushing herself too hard, Celyra agreed and with that they got down to training.
Cullen had been sceptical about the whole thing but a month into it he had to concede that Celyra had been right. She had stuck to her training and the results were plain to see, any trail of the queen's frailty had disappeared, her body was now packed with compact muscles that gave her a lean and graceful figure.  ''Ok that's far enough for today your majesty'' said Cullen clapping his hands together to get Celyra's attention, the queen stopped mid swing and turned to face Cullen while resting the sword on the ground, her face was starting to sweat and some of her hair had escaped her ponytail giving her a frazzled look 'is it time for fencing already?'' asked Celyra as she cleaned some of the sweat with the sleeve of her shirt ''Indeed, if I let you continue hitting that doll you might get the false impression that you can swing a sword'' said Cullen with a cheeky grin while grabbing his own sword and shield and moving to the fencing circle. Their training area was a rather utilitarian thing, a couple of wooden dummies with different armours and a circle for sparring all secluded away on a side of the hill between the exterior wall and the castle, the queen herself had suggested it since it used to be a hiding place of her youth and she knew it was away from any prying eyes.
Cullen moved to the left and Celyra to the right, their swords started ringing against each other, the queen was as always a quick learner but too eager in her attack, she tried a diagonal slash but Cullen put his shield when she was halfway through the motion trusting his sword into her bosom which provoked a yelp from Celyra ''you still move your shield too far back to maintain balance'' simply said Cullen while returning to his original position, the queen stopped for a second to rub the sore spot before taking the offensive once more. This time she kept a wider stance using lunges to prod at the captain's defence while keeping her shield firmly up
Cullen saw the change in strategy and couldn't help but smile approvingly, but still this was supposed to be  a lesson, he waited for Celyra's next lunge and the second she did he quickly deflected with his shield and sweeped the legs, planted as she was the queen had no time to move so she ended up stumbling in one leg before recovering her footing 'do not anchor yourself to the ground either,you must learn when to plant yourself to strike and when to keep your feet quick to dodge'' he said showing Celyra once again how to keep her stance flexible to plant herself wider or retreat her legs quickly depending on the situation.
The queen observed his movements before positioning herself once more and going on the offensive. This time Cullen had to concede ground and they started circling each other, Celyra was being more cautious now, Cullen could see she still opened her defence but not enough for him to get a clean hit. The queen alternated between slashes and lunges trying to keep the captain on the defence; Cullen tried to sweep the legs once more after a particularly committed lunge but Celyra managed to jump back at the last second.
They kept at it for what felt like hours, the midday sun hanging heavy over them forcing  their eyes closed as sweat poured down their faces. Cullen was starting to feel tired as he moved the queen trough counters and parrys, in the end he tried a faint but was a second too slow, the practice ended in a draw with both blades in the others neck ''seems like you can swing a sword after all'' he said putting an end to that day training.

They put the gear back in its box and then sat to share a lunch, the queen had to admit it had been fun and not nearly as painful as she had expected. They both sat on a bench, enjoying the shade provided by the trees along the edge of the practice field, Celyra stretched her arms and legs while removing her cloth armour leaving the thin blouse beneath which made the captain very aware of how much the queen had recovered her old figure drenched in sweat as she was. Spring was advancing into summer and that only meant the training would get harder as the days progressed. She grabbed the ladle Cullen had left in a water bucket nearby and took a long gulp before putting her hands in the cold water and splashing her face.
Cullen simply watched from the side panting heavily from the heat and the long training,to see the queen like this was strange for him to say the least, she now looked not older than 40, her hair having returned to the golden of yesteryear and her face practically devoid of wrinkles, this was the queen as Cullen remembered her when he first joined the guard as a young lad, yet here she was again as if time had not passed at all, truly Melgor's treatment was a miracle like none other.

It was diensteg which meant training with Meridia, unlike Cullen the spymaster had created her training ground within the castle itself, using a huge chamber on some long forgotten wing she had crafted a whole obstacle course for the queen to develop the agility and acrobatics Meridia drilled into every one of her agents,at first it had been little more than making Celyra run around the chamber to build resistance and teaching her the basics of jump and movement but as time went on Meridia added more obstacles in Celyra's course. One of the newer additions was a wall of wood the queen was currently in the process of climbing while Meridia kept a close eye on her which was slightly hindered by how Celyra's current position and the leather armour she used for this trainings did a great job of emphasising how nice the queen's buttocks had become from all this training. ''That explains the marriage proposals'' thought Meridia while she watched Celyra reach the top of the wall before sliding down with a rope and continuing to a series of hay bales that she jumped and rolled over to finish once more at the beginning of the track ''your time has improved your majesty but we still need to work on your climbing,you are still not using your legs properly'' said Meridia while walking towards the wall, she started climbing and now it was Celyra's turn to admire the spymaster's posterior.
She watched as Meridia alternated using both her arms and legs to climb, so fast that she almost looked like a spider; Celyra was spellbound watching her go up like it was nothing. She reached the top in less than half the time it had taken the queen and then returned to her with a satisfied swing in her hips that made Celyra think very unprofessional thoughts about her spymaster. "It's not fair your legs are longer than mine " said Celyra pouting to try and hide the crimson in her cheeks " that might be right,  but it's not the reason why I climbed faster " said Meridia with an even tone and a small smile, she was after all only 5,60 to the queen's 5,30 and given that mass was not the only thing Celyra had been gaining on the last month she doubted the difference will remain for much longer " besides is unbecoming of you to give such excuses " Meridia finalised before guiding the queen back to the begging of the track.
They continued going long into the night,  by the end of it Celyra was a sweating mess who could barely feel her legs. "I think that would be enough for today,  wouldn't want Astrea to get jealous " said Meridia with a smirk in her face " you are enjoying this don't you" said Celyra trying to catch her breath  "Immensely your majesty " replied the spymaster while helping the queen back to her feet.


Freytag had quickly turned into Celyra's favourite day, training with Cullen provided her no small amount of time outdoors but a portion of the hill within the walls simply couldn't compare with actually getting out of the castle. Leaving before first light and crossing the redfork bridge just as the dawn peaked over the horizon turning the black of the fields into goldens and greens was a sight she could never get tired off and of course it was the company, Astrea rode at her side always pushing her to go a little faster, to leave the road a little earlier and cut their way through the woods. But eventually they reached the rangers post, this one little more than a tolling station for those using the king's road but as all posts it had barracks and most importantly a shooting range. There they practised for hours Astrea still preferred the hands on approach of correcting Celyra's mistakes by taking their hands together and guiding her through the correct motions which caused the queen delight and blushed confusion in equal measure. But conflicted feelings or not she could not deny it was effective,  Celyra was now able to draw the longbow completely and while she couldn't hit centre nearly as often as Astrea most of her arrows now landed within the second circle of the targets.
Seeing this Astrea had increased the difficulty bringing smaller  targets for her to shoot,  at first most of her shots started going wide but by noon she was consistently getting her arrows into the targets although only one lucky shot had managed the bullseye.
She kept trying until she heard Astrea sounding the dining hall bell, she put her bow back in its leather case and picked the basket Liara had prepared for them. She found Astrea in the dining hall talking with the old ranger who manned this outpost, she waited patiently until they were finished and then she left with Astrea to have lunch.
They generally ate outside under a great oak not too far away that overlooked the red fork as it travelled fast towards the sea of storms, it usually was a quiet affair where they simply enjoyed the view and each other's company but that day Celyra felt compelled to break the silence " I really have to thank you for indulging me in this training" said the queen as she absent mindedly nibbled on the lamb pie the cooks had prepared for them " think nothing of it your grace, if it wasn't for your help I would have ended up as a lady in waiting" answered Astrea while taking a big bite out of her own pie, she started chewing with a look of delight on her face until it hit her what she had just said,  she tried to swallow hastily and ended up half choking before she could speak again " not that I wouldn't had been honoured to be your lady in waiting " she added clumsily trying  to correct herself.  Celyra just smiled amusingly while taking a napkin and cleaning the smudges of food from her cheek " I'm not completely sure we could have gotten you in a dress for long enough to be honest " she simply said while continuing with her cleaning.  In that moment Astrea took Celyra's hand with hers, their eyes crossed, deep brown to vibrant green, it was but a fleeting moment and before they realised it had already passed, Astrea took Celyra's hand away from her while a small blush coloured her cheeks `` I'm sure you would have found a way" said her trying to laugh it off.
After the lunch they returned to the castle in a strange silence, neither of them  sure of what had just happened, as they approached the gates Celyra put her hood back on, after all this training was meant to remain secret. They left the horses in the stables and with some half hearted goodbye the queen disappeared through the secret passage back to her room.
That night's sleep was not peaceful for the queen, her dreams were filled with images of Astrea and Meridia in rather compromising situations, she could feel their hands touching her,exploring,caressing like none had done in a long time. When morning came she woke up in a puddle of her own sweat and unlike her normal routine she bathed alone to try and douse the fire that now burned inside her but all it did was confirm that the waking world lacked in comparison with the things her mind could conjure.
The training was particularly tortuous that week, only when sparring with Cullen could Celyra clear her mind if only for a moment, her sessions with Astrea and Meridia felt more and more awkward to the point she was tempted to call the whole thing off; it was almost a relief when the note came speaking of troubling rumours in Terion's court, she decided a visit to her nephew was long overdue.
Her original idea was to take with her a party of her bests knights along with  lieutenant commander  Lamar stronghart and arrive in force to Dara, to assert her position as queen to all the nobles of the southlands and stamp any attempt of rebellion before it could even form in their heads, but Meridia had managed to cool down Celyra's initial idea. In the end they had settled out in a rented carriage posing as a merchant caravan with an escort of hired mercenaries and Meridia's own agents masquerading  as merchants. Half the reason this voyage had appealed to the queen was to spend time away from the court,away from Meridia and Astrea to put her emotions in order, but as always the spymaster had managed to convince her otherwise and now she was trapped on a long journey with Meridia as her only company.

It was a gruelling 3 month journey from Haggelburg to the fortress of Dara in the province of Aldaluz and back, to keep the queen's secret safe Melgor had drastically reduced her intake of the dragon's heart so that what she needed for the journey could be kept to a small chest and a single barrel of liquid hidden among the many of the caravan, this gave Celyra a measure of peace that evaporated as they travelled southward, the green plains and meadows of the kingdom's heartland being replaced by thorny bushes and jagged stone spires.
The summer sun beat down on them mercilessly as they advanced through the winding roads of Aldaluz passing canyons, craigs and the odd tree that cling to the arid landscape for dear life. The carriage became Celyra's own personal hell as she was trapped for hours on end on an enclosed space where the boiling heat meant not only that they wore lighter dresses but that the sweat made the already thin fabric cling to Meridia's figure driving her crazy, to make matters worse the spymaster love for perfumes meant that even when Celyra was trying her best to keep her eyes firmly away from Meridia her smell was always there whispering dark promises into her mind.
Meridia seemed to notice the queen's discomfort, by the tenth day of their journey she had switched her dress for a cotton tunic that kept her covered and had changed her preferred perfume for a citric essence that kept the carriage smelling like an orchard of oranges in the sun. By the two weeks mark something changed,  Meridia insisted the queen changed her dress for a blouse and pants, Celyra acquiesced not understanding what Meridia's plan was but it all became clear when during a stop at a creek the spymaster took her away from the caravan to a secluded spot nearby. She discarded her tunic to reveal a blouse and pants of her own  " your majesty it has come to my attention that Cullen has only taught you how to fight with a sword " said Meridia while she raised her arms to her face and instructed Celyra to do the same " but there will be times when all you'll have to defend yourself will be your fists " continued the spymaster starting to circle the queen and throwing practice punches to teach her how to keep her guard " so for the duration of this trip I will correct that oversight " Meridia finished throwing a kick that got Celyra right in the knee.

Celyra wobbled from the assault  but managed to keep herself standing while throwing a punch of her own which Meridia effortlessly dodged while countering with a hit to her ribs " don't let your guard down" Meridia admonished while jumping back to avoid the queen's next attempt.
They kept at it for what felt like hours,  unlike Cullen there was no gentleness to Meridia's training, she punished Celyra everytime she dropped her guard or overextended trying to reach her. It was brutal but the queen refused to give up, in that space there was no distraction,  no intrusive thoughts about Astrea or Meridia,  just her and the opponent.  By the end of it she was covered in bruises but there was a smile on her face and her head was clear.
They returned to the carriage in a pleasant silence and moved on, Meridia used their time  on the road to tend the queen's bruises and gave her tips to improve her fighting. The closeness of the spymaster didn't bother Celyra as it had done before as she tried to absorb her teachings.

The fighting exercises became a daily occurrence, each time Celyra felt herself getting better,but still she couldn't yet claim victory. ''I defeated you at the river being an old sack of bones, this time will be no different'' said Celyra while throwing a flurry of blows to keep Meridia on the defence, in the two weeks they had been training the queen had swiftly realised she had an advantage on raw strength and tried to capitalise on it '' your memory must still fail you your grace, the way I remember it was you who got outwitted by a teenager'' answered Meridia moving to the side and connecting a kick on the queen's exposed side. Just like that time it was a trap, Celyra's side suddenly tightened as she absorbed most of the blow and used the opening to sweep Meridia's remaining leg. The spymaster felt to the ground and for one second she was there once more, on that boat in the Klent where she thought she had captured the big price, only for the rug to be pulled from under her as the queen's men appeared on the river banks pointing at the crew with a thousand arrows, she remembered the queen's smile as she offered her not only a pardon but a position at the castle.
As Meridia felt to the ground she saw Celyra's hand rushing towards her, she pivoted in midair grabbing the queen's outstretched arm in a lock driving them both to the ground '' close enough, but I have learned some new tricks since then your majesty'' Meridia said with a smile on her face as she helped the queen back to her feet.
That night they stopped at the town of Almhazon, a small village that was nonetheless a famous stop for merchants for it's volcanic lake that worked as an enormous hot spring, the agents quickly got to work selling a part of the merchandise they had brought to keep the cover while Celyra and Meridia procured themselves a room in one of the inns that had access to the lake, it was a beautiful place built in the Astarian style all stone and wood with calligraphy on the walls and many of the furniture on parveshian design, the dinner was similarly lavish Almazhon status as a trading town was in full display. From pork of Bastonne to fish of the storm sea, there was even cactus diced up as  vegetables, it was rather spicy and on more than one occasion Meridia herself ended up beat red after taking a bite.
The moon was high on the sky when they got to the hot springs,  the nights grew cold on Aldaluz and the hot water was like a balm on Celyra's bruises, her eyes got lost for a moment on Meridia's long tattoo. It was a river snake that swirled around her arm and ended on a helm that covered her shoulder, it's deep blue colour accentuating  Meridia's bronze skin "people will start talking if you keep staring like that your majesty " said the spymaster while shooting a wink at Celyra, this made the queen go cherry red as she averted her gaze " sorry, I just had never seen your full tattoo" answered Celyra meekly, the excuse sounded hollow even to her '' now now there's no need to be coy, I'm sure Astrea would be more than willing to share'' continued Meridia walking towards the queen, the swinging of her hips making ripples in the water. Celyra stood there shell shocked by her implications, for a moment she just opened and closed her mouth trying to form sentences as her face grew so red it seemed as if all the blood in her body was now on her cheeks ''obviously reading all those reports day and night has caused you to start seeing things that are not there'' finally answered Celyra trying her best to put more distance between the spymaster and her. Meridia kept on walking until she had cornered Celyra against one of the walls of the hot spring ''Oh I see what's in front of me I assure you'' retorted the spymaster while pinning Celyra against the wall, they both stood there eye to eye. Celyra was petrified,her eyes darted from Meridia's deep purple eyes to her pillowy lips that were now sided into a playful grin, she could feel her heart beating rapidly on her chest so loud she was sure the spymaster could hear it too; she debated between doing what the fire inside her begged and what she felt was the right thing ''we both know you are the stronger of us,you need only push me away'' came Meridia's voice as if from a long distance. She could feel her hands clasped with Meridia's own against the wall of the spring, her arms felt so heavy, she couldn't push Meridia away so she moved forward. Their lips connected, for a second Celyra's body went stiff until she felt Meridia's own accepting her, their hands separated as they both embraced in a passionate kiss, it was Celyra's first and she never had imagined it could taste so sweet.