The Last Warrior Queen

Chapter 37

I was in a surprisingly good mood as I entered the training arena. Knowing that both Ann and Diana would be with me during these many months of war made me relax a little. I spotted Halvor, Gala and some of the nobles talking on one side of the arena. The arena itself was filled with about twenty warriors, all holding weapons and looking bored.

I decided to head into the building by the weapons to change quickly. I easily found Diana’s clothes and pulled out a pair of trousers and a tunic that looked like they would fit me. I found a door to a small room that I guessed was used to change. I quickly removed my hair comb and gown and changed. I folded my clothes neatly and found a servant just outside the building to take my things back to my room.

I casually walked over to the weapons rack and pulled a sword. I made my way across the area towards Halvor and the others. I could hear them arguing.

“We should start with three and have her work her way up” Halvor said.

“I think she can handle more. We don’t have time for her to start small. We should start with seven or eight” Gala replied.

I stopped in my tracks and turned towards the warriors in the arena who all bowed when they noticed me. I saw Eric was among them, near the front of the group. I glanced back and Halvor and they were all still too busy arguing to notice I had entered. I walked back and took my position across from all the warriors. I closed my eyes and saw the fight. When I opened them I realized that I could take on all twenty with relative ease. Even I was surprised by that.

I took a fighting stance and nodded to Eric, who nodded and signaled to the other warriors to get ready. Without warning I moved forward and began my attack, disarming one after another. Spinning and dodging in perfect time to the dance that only I knew. Soon I had sliced my way through all twenty and emerged through the crowd victorious.

I turned to see the twenty disarmed warriors stunned at what had happened. Eric had a huge grin on his face and I couldn’t help but smile back at him. I glanced back over at Halvor and Gala who were both slack jawed and speechless. I walked over to them and waited for one of them to say something. Finally Gala said “Well at least now we know she can handle twenty elite warriors. Do we have any more?”

Halvor shrugged and said “These are some of my top warriors, but I guess we can keep adding more to see what she’s capable of.”

Gala looked at me and asked “How many do you think you can take?”

I shrugged and said “I honestly don’t know. I never know how a fight is going to go until right before it happens.”

“Hmmmm, right. Come with me then.” Gala said. I furrowed my brow in confusion and Gala took my sword and handed it to Halvor, who also looked confused. She turned and led me through the castle, down towards the kitchens. We walked through a narrow hall that looked like a dead end. She pressed a stone and the wall slid open.

My jaw dropped as she led me into a large room filled with stuff. It mostly looked like an old storage room, but I could see right away that many things were valuable. Gala began rummaging through stuff muttering to herself “Where did I put it?”

Finally she pulled out a large chest. “Ahh here it is! After 200 years you forget where you put things” she chuckled. She waved her hand across the top and the lock unlatched. She lifted the lid, revealing what looked like clothing.

I peered over her shoulder to get a better look. She turned to me and said “These belonged to one of your ancestors. Her name was Vanna and she was Queen of Oran. She was the first known to display the gift of battle and was known as the Warrior Queen. She reigned about 400 years ago if I recall…” Gala appeared lost in thought for a moment and then shook her head with a smile. “Anyways, these are the clothes she wore into battle. On her death bed she asked me to take them and keep them safe.” Gala said as she pulled a long cream cloak with the green Oran crest across the back out of the chest.

“You were with the Warrior Queen when she died?” I asked.

“Oh yes. She had lived a long full life, but her passing was still very sad. My son was devastated when she died.”

“Your son?” I asked.

“Oh yes, my son was married to Vanna.”

My eyes practically popped out of my head. “Wait your son was married to my ancestor?” Gala chuckled. “Yes, it appears I’m your paternal grandmother, although you would need to add a lot of greats to be accurate.”

I stood there with my jaw dropped. “So then did you ever see her fight?” Gala shook her head. “Witches and warlocks are a funny bunch. We live a very long time and tend to wander a lot. We generally keep very few familial ties, so it’s difficult to keep track of people. I found out my son had married a queen and so I went to visit. She was quite old by then and had they had grandchildren of their own. My son told me of her gift, but I never saw her display it myself. When I was in Oran it was during a time of peace, and I was only there for about three months before Vanna passed. I left soon after. However, I did get to see one of my grandsons sparring a few times. I’ll never forget the way he moved. Just like you.”

I nodded as Gala took more things out of the trunk. “So is your son still alive?” Well I guess he would be my grandfather.

Gala shook her head sadly. “No, warlocks don’t live quite as long as witches, only about 200 years to be exact. He passed long ago.”

“And do you have any more children?”

Gala smiled and said “No. Witches and Warlocks only have a short time when they can reproduce, similar to regular humans, only about 20 years. My time for having children has long passed. But after my son died I ended up here in the Northern Kingdom. I think of all the kings as my sons, Halvor included, that stubborn boy.” I nodded, embarrassed that I had ever thought that Halvor was in love with her.

“Now, let’s air these out and have you try them on” Gala said with a smile.