The Unlikely Queens

2

We travel to the edge of the forest, Parandor territory. I look over the chief's shoulder to tell him to stop. I would not want to be responsible for leading Targanvors even farther into Parandor. They are already threatening a war by being on our side of the border.

"This will be far enough." I announce. Chief Mohatli slows the horse down to walking before we stop completely. I awkwardly move my left leg in front of me, bending it at an odd angle in order to avoid hitting the chief with my foot. I lean towards him in the process and smell the cucumber and mint radiating from his skin. I jump down from the horse and brush off my dress.

I look up at the chief, "Thank you for helping me. I am afraid I still would have been wandering without your assistance."

"Of course, Miss Dahlia." He smiles at me and I am ashamed to acknowledge how my heart begins to pound.

"You should be on your way," I look away from him, gazing across the grassy field at the rooftops of houses. I can see my home among them. "I wouldn't want any more strife between our people because of this."

"She is right, Your Majesty." Prince Nuhanu chimes in.

"I suppose this is goodbye, Miss Dahlia." Chief Mohtali reverently bows his head at me.

"Goodbye," I clasp my hands in front of me and give a short curtsy. "Your Majesty."

I turn and walk into the field, not missing the astonished expression on Prince Nuhanu's face at my gesture of respect for the man the King of Parandor himself calls "the King of all savages".

~

Years upon years ago, the first King of Parandor, King Edmund I, travelled here with one hundred of his loyal followers. They had come from the neighboring kingdom of Eriden. The King of Eriden at the time, Alexander II, had stolen the throne from Edmund. So, he brought his followers here to Parandor, where he could rule as God intended. At the time, Parandor was all rolling hills of vibrant green grass. It was quite a change from the beautiful, sunny place they had come. Nobody before King Edmund and his followers had lived here because of the frequent rain, powerful winds, and staggering cold in autumn and winter. But our people thrived here nonetheless and built our kingdom into the incredible place it is today. I have always loved my home with its gorgeous countryside and its cooler weather. Every Parandorian is proud to be so.

Even when the entire population considered fleeing to escape the arrival of the Targanvor tribe. They landed in our kingdom twenty years ago during King Tobias's reign. They did not come to take refuge here or ask His Majesty if they could become his subjects, but to live in the forest at the outskirts of the kingdom. The king sent out his favorite nobles, the Dukes of Literra and Ammar, to speak to the Targanvor. The dukes returned within the hour. The tribe spoke an odd, foreign language and the men were unable to communicate. Apparently, the Duke of Literra returned to court with the head of an arrow lodged in his shoulder, put there by what they believed to be the Chief of the tribe. King Tobias declared war on the savages and it has been hostile ever since. The fighting and killing has ceased in the recent years since the new king, Vincent III, negotiated and signed a peace treaty with the recently ascended leader of the tribe, Chief Mohtali.

I return home where my mother is embroidering by the fire. 

"Hello, sweetheart. Are you well? You usually return earlier than this from your stroll."

"I am fine. I got a little lost today, it was the strangest thing." I am unsettled that I have just lied to my mother and I dig my nail into the cuticle of my thumb. 

I hate having to be dishonest, but I can never tell anyone what happened to me today. Nobody would understand anyway, especially since I and everyone I know have been told since childhood that the Targanvor are senseless monsters that would not hesitate to have their way with a Parandorian woman. 

That's what makes the interaction today so puzzling. I wanted to be afraid, but they were not threatening at all. They did not want to make me run for my life, even if it meant getting more lost in the dense woods. If anything, I was...intrigued. Especially by Chief Mohtali.

He was so respectful and surprisingly handsome. I have never seen a man like him before and as I sit next to my mother by the fire, I think it might want to see him again.