Morgan Rice - A Rule of Queens

“His name?” Gwen demanded. “What was his name?” she asked, remembering her own attack at the hand of McCloud and feeling a new indignation rising within her.

“It was Baylor, my lady,” she said.

Baylor. The name struck a nerve in Gwendolyn. Baylor was one of the survivors of the Ring, a minor captain in one of the King’s guards, who had survived, unfortunately, with the others here in exile. He had been a rabble-rouser from the start, constantly expressing dissatisfaction with the Queen’s rule, perpetually drunk and instigating others. She should have known trouble was coming from him.

Gwendolyn held the girl’s face in her palm, and made her look in the eyes.

“I promise you justice shall be done. Do you hear me? Justice shall be yours.”

The girl finally began to calm, nodding through her tears.

Gwendolyn looked over to see Kendrick nodding back at her in understanding. On her other side stood Godfrey, drunk, wobbly, but standing there by her side in solidarity.

There came from the far side of the cave a sudden shuffling of feet, followed by a low, chaotic murmur, and Gwendolyn stood with the others and peered into the blackness of the cave, dimly lit by sporadic fires. The shuffling grew louder, and finally she spotted Baylor marching toward her, leading an unruly mob of men. He was clearly drunk, slovenly, unshaven, a portly man in his fifties, with a wild beard, a balding head, and scowling eyes.

He didn’t concern Gwendolyn; what concerned her were the hundreds of men marching behind men, all with a wild, cooped-up look to their faces.

“Nor shall we stand it one more day!” Baylor yelled out, and there came a cheer behind him. They all marched threateningly toward the entrance of the cave, toward Gwendolyn, and as they did, all around Gwendolyn her circle loyal to her got to their feet, including Brandt and Atme, and stood by her side.

Gwen stood her ground, blocking them, knowing she could not allow them to leave. Baylor came to a stop ten feet away from her, glaring back at her.

Gwendolyn looked over to see Kendrick, Steffen, and the others by her side, and took comfort in their presence. At her feet, she looked down and saw Krohn standing beside her, hairs standing on end as he faced the mob.

“Out of my way, girl!” Baylor yelled to Gwendolyn.

Gwendolyn merely shook her head, standing in place, not about to give in.

Krohn snarled back at the man, and the man looked down, nervous.

“And where do you plan to go with these men?” she asked.

“We plan to go outside, into daylight, to live as free men, not as refugees hiding in a cave!”

There rose up another great cheer behind him, and Gwen realized she was facing a full-fledged revolt. She realized she had allowed herself to be out of it for too long, to drown in her own sorrows, and she had not been perceptive enough of all that had been going on around her. She had allowed her people to become restless for far too long—and for a queen, restlessness was a very dangerous thing.

Gwen blamed herself. This last moon cycle, as they’d recovered, there had been day after day of her indecision, of lack of direction.

“And then where would you go?” Gwen asked calmly.

“Anywhere but here!”

Another cheer.

“We will not live as captives or as slaves!” came another shout, followed by a cheer.

“We will go out and buy ships, and sail back home!” Baylor yelled, to another cheer.

Gwendolyn shook her head, realizing how misguided they were.

“If you leave this cave in daylight,” she said, “not only will you all get spotted and killed, but you will get all of us killed, too. Even if by some miracle you reached the shore and bought a ship, you would get killed before you even set sail. You would never make it out of the harbor.”

“It beats rotting to death in here!” Baylor yelled.

The crowd cheered.

Baylor stepped forward, but Gwen sidestepped and blocked his path.

“I am sorry,” she said, “but you are not leaving this cave.” She raised her voice, and for the first time in weeks, assumed a Queenly tone: “None of you are.”

Kendrick, Steffen, Brandt, Atme, and Godfrey all drew their swords beside her, and a tense silence fell over the group.

“I am not going to tell you to get out of my way again, woman,” Baylor seethed, scowling at Gwendolyn.

“You will do as the Queen commands,” Kendrick said, stepping forward, “whatever that command should be.”

“She has not commanded us a thing!” Baylor boomed out. “She sits here, frozen, day after day, while we all rot!”

There came a cheer.

“She is no Queen to us anymore!” Baylor continued.

Another cheer.

“ You should have been King, like your father!” Baylor yelled to Kendrick. “But you stepped aside and let a girl take it for you. It’s too late for you now. I’m leading this group—and I’m telling you to get out of our way, or we’ll kill you, too!”

There arose yet another cheer, and Baylor began to step forward, reaching out to shove Gwen out of the way.

Krohn snarled, and Gwen could see him about to lunge forward and bite the man.

But first Gwendolyn reacted; she wanted to kill the man herself.

Gwen reached over, turned her wrist, grabbed the long sword from Kendrick’s second scabbard, and drew it. In the same motion, she stepped forward and held the tip to Baylor’s throat.

The cave fell deathly silent as they stood there, Gwen holding the tip to Baylor’s throat, he looking down at it, nervous.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Gwendolyn said firmly.

The cave was as tense as it had ever been, as Gwen felt all eyes looking to her.

“You are not going anywhere,” she added, “because I am your Queen and I command it. Those are my people that you are trying to lead. They are mine to command, not yours. You will not step outside this cave. You will not go anywhere before answering for your crimes.”

“What crimes?” Baylor yelled.

“You’ve attacked this girl,” Gwen said, nodding toward the girl still weeping by her feet.

Baylor frowned.

“I shall take anyone I choose,” he said. “I might even take you. Now lower that sword and get out of my way, girl, or die here with all your men.”

“Yes, I am a girl,” Gwen said steadily, her voice steel. “And my father was a King—and his father before him. I come from a long line of warriors, and I assure you my blood is the same as theirs. You, on the other hand, are a scoundrel and a rapist. I will stop you because I am your Queen—and justice will be done by my hand.”

Gwendolyn reached back, and in one quick motion, she plunged the sword through Baylor’s heart.

His eyes bulged open and suddenly, he dropped to his knees before her, and fell face first on the ground. As he did, Krohn pounced on him, snarling, tearing open his throat.

Gwendolyn stood there, holding the bloody sword, feeling shocked. Yet she also, for the first time in weeks, felt like a Queen again.

“Anyone who steps past me shall be killed on the spot. You will stay inside because I command it. Because I am your Queen.”

The mob looked to her, stunned, not knowing what to do.

Slowly, one by one, they turned and began to filter their way back into the cave. Gwen stood there, holding the sword out in front of her. She was trembling inside, but refused to show it.

Steffen, holding his sword, came up beside her.

“I’m glad to see my Queen back, my lady,” he said.

Gwen looked at them all, all those in her inner circle—Kendrick, Brandt, Atme, Godfrey, Aberthol, and the rest—and she could see the new respect in their eyes. And something else: relief.