Short story

Spoiler warning.

If you read further than this line, you will read a MAJOR spoiler for the chapters of my unfinished story 'If I could turn back time' that I posted. You are warned.

Later on it is found out that there are actually people on the planet B'Elanna and Seven are on. As I was writing, a bit of history came to me. The idea was that at some point this bit of history would be told to the Voyager crew. But the scene grew more and more. To the point that it's no longer something that can be mentioned in passing, but is now a short story by itself.

Ironically enough, the short story has no spoilers for the main story, other then the spoiler I had to tell you to explain the existence of the short story. Yes, at some point Seven and B'Elanna would find other people on the planet. And now. I hope you enjoy...

Short story.

Note, the characters in this story are based on the Draenei for WoW. What do I mean with based? What I really mean is in only the looks, not the cannon or history. But even there I stay relatively general in the description of looks. Deliberately, since I like for readers to form their own image. But, if you are totally lost on how they could possibly look, just follow these links and it will give you a very 'astatically pleasing' look at two female Draenei by the same artist, who's Deviant Art page can be found here:

http://tamplierpainter.deviantart.com/

http://tamplierpainter.deviantart.com/art/Draenei-Hunter-266944723

http://tamplierpainter.deviantart.com/art/Draenei-Death-Knight-301816287

And one more thing is borrowed. In one 'scene' in wow someone tells a Draenei that he has never seen this or that in the ten thousand years that he is alive. To which the Draenei replies, 'ten thousand years, ah to only be that young again.' And according to WoW lore, Prophet Velen is over 25,000 years old. Now, Velen is depicted as an old man with white hair and a full beard. If he was a Human, I would guess him to be about a hundred. Also note that despite how old he looks, he is also portrayed as a very mobile person. So from that you can assume that Old age does not deteriorate the body that much.

Now, all of that doesn't really matter much other than theoretical thinking. But my point is that from that I deduct that Draenei can live to be much older than twenty thousand years. Which means for my story that they don't even have an understanding of the concept of dying from old age. They live so long that 'old age' is not a death issue heard of. Diseases, war, accidents, that are the way that people die.

And, what is very important for this story, that one person is a thousand years older than the other is also not an issue, since none of them grows to look old. They are born, grow up past puberty and then basically look like around twenty to thirty years old when fully mature, for the rest of their lives.

The Old or the New?

By H.W.

Queen Myzida was a young idealist. Thirty years old, in a world where people were considered a child until age twenty-five, and an adult from then on. Thirty years old in a species where an adult of thirty was considered just as equal as an adult that was thousands of years old. Where being thousands of years old did get you respect for having life's experience, but sure wouldn't make a thirty-year-old give up their seat for the person with 'life's experience'.

This for the simple reason that their species didn't die of old age. Therefore, once the body was fully matured, there was actually no way of distinguishing between a person of thirty years old and a person of three thousand years old, other than the fact that one of them could remember more birthdays. The physical signs of aging simply stopped once fully matured.

Not that the time stood still for the body, it was simply that over time every cell in the body was renewed. Hair grew. Skin tanned and eventually lost that tan again is the person avoided the sun more. But unlike with most species, scars eventually healed fully. If someone lost their sight in an accident, then in a year or two they would start to see again. If the eye could not be saved, then in about five years the body would slowly, layer over layer fill the hole with skin and eventually grow a new eye under that skin, before finally the skin would slowly fade away and a reveal a fully functioning new eye.

Even entire limbs would, given time, grow fully back. Just that it could take many a year. A limb on a grown body that had been separated at the shoulder would grow back to eventually be an arm, of the same size as the old one, in about twenty years. Seeing that this was such a long time, doctors still did their best to save limbs, and tried to reattach severed ones, just that it was done to cut back the time of a limb being just like old, from twenty years to hopefully a few weeks. Still, given time and a bit of logic care like cleaning wounds, even the worst damage to the body would naturally repair itself.

The only way this process ever stopped was if there was too much damage for the body to heal, then the person would die. A person could still bleed to death if a serious wound wasn't taken care off. Or a person could still die from a fall of a lethal height.

Still, the result of these healing and regenerating properties was such that a grandmother, ten times removed, could easily be mistaken for a sister if the family resemblance was still there.

Besides being young idealist, Queen Myzida was also graced with the looks one would expect when thinking of an innocent young queen in a fairytale. In a short description she was simply stunningly beautiful.

If one wanted to go into more detail one could not but point out that she had delicate facial features, and a body that could make people groan from lust if they were to see it. Not that many people had. Since she preferred loose fitting dresses all most people could guess from her body was that she was slim, with incredible curves in all the right places. What people who though that couldn’t know was how wrong they were. Because her real body looked actually a lot more gorgeous and erotic than the body they imagined.

The one thing that everyone who had ever seen her did know, since it was so clear to see, was that the young queen had also been gifted with a rather prominent chest. Something that most of her clothing only accented, even if not intended. Because whether or not she preferred loose fitting dresses, with assets as endowed as hers even the simplest loose fitting dress had to be specially sized to cover the chest while not letting the rest of the dress look like a tent.

Luckily for Queen Myzida, she actually liked what nature had given her. Large, yes, but still firm enough that she didn't really need bra's for support, though she deftly wore them to keep her assets in place. She was quite proud of the fact that her breasts didn't suffer from the sagging she had seen with some other women that had breasts her size. And the best thing was, now that her body was fully formed, they would look like that until the day she died.

In short, Queen Myzida truly did have that mythical body with unbelievable measurements that somehow still worked so well together and that was topped off with beautiful face that had the prefect mix of beauty, charm, and cuteness, that artists preferred to paint if they had to depict the perfect sensual woman that everyone just had to fall in love with. And that was even without hearing her voice which was pleasant to listen to, and could be downright sensual if she wanted to. When she was younger and realized how her body was developing, she consciously trained to be able to talk as incredibly as her body looked.

Some back room gossip speculated that her looks were the sole reason why her late husband has picked her.

It wasn't true was such, but Queen Myzida couldn't blame people for thinking it because the fact remained that it has indeed been her looks that had the King start a conversation with her. It just so happened that after that he had actually fallen for her captivating personality.

But the happiness hadn't lasted long, and now she was pacing the length of the room. She was at the ends of her wits. She knew that unless a miracle happened by this time the next day, the empire would probably fall apart, back into the little countries they once were in times past, reigned by the individual Regents. And that was only the best case scenario. The worst case scenario would be the start of another civil war.

Not that she herself was Queen for that long; only five months now. And even then she was only Queen because of a chain of unfortunate events.

The previous Queen had been a legend. Queen Andalek had conquered the world. She had become Regent in her village, and each time two tribes clashed she came out as winner. Either by negotiation and having the nations melt into one, with her leading it, or by winning the war. Queen Andalek had ruled for almost two thousand years, starting with being in charge of a nomad tribe that was looking for a place to settle, to ruling over the entire planet.

She had been a firm, but just, leader and loved by her people. Her one shortcoming had been that she didn't like the new. Under her reign the planet thrived, but technological evolution had been pretty much at stand still. She had conquered the world with sword and bow, and the civil war two years ago had still be fought with sword and bow. People had started to crave for more, especially since people knew that there was more to be had.

Not too long before Andalek started calling herself Queen, to make the difference clear between the people she had left in charge in the other tribes she conquered, and which from then on would be called Regents, aliens had managed to survive a controlled crash-landing. These aliens were vastly advanced, and had technology that was also so advanced that it looked more like magic of the people of then. But, as advanced as they aliens were, there were only two of them while by that time Queen Andalek commanded over three thousand people.

After feeling each other out and realizing that helping each other was really the best option, a deal was made. Queen Andalek would protect the area that the aliens called their home now, and would make sure that nobody would ever touch it, and in return, the aliens agreed to teach Andalek's people some of their 'magic'.

Their guests didn't give them technology outright, but were more than willing to suggest what was possible. Once someone had told you what was possible to make with the tools you had, it didn't take that long for a bright person to figure out how to make it.

But if your leader didn't trust new technology, there also weren’t that many people that stepped forward to say they wanted to try something new.

One of those people that had dared had been Regent Commander Zalod. Zalod joined the united army fifty-five years ago and had risen through the united army and had become the right hand of Queen Andalek forty years ago. Though he had never been a Regent he got the rank of Regent Commander to indicate that he could give orders to the united army in her name, and that his army orders carried more weight than an order of a regular Regent. For forty years Zalod followed Queen Andalek's orders and became so important to the Queen that she trusted him blindly and with her life. It was a terrible mistake on her part.

Five years ago, the 350-year-old Zalod met the young Myzida at a Regent meeting where the then 25-year-old woman was one of the servants. Zalod lost his heart within minutes of seeing her, and Myzida had no defense against his charms.

The problems started only after that. Just like anybody else in the world, Myzida knew about their guests, knew about their willingness to share, and knew about Queen Andalek's outdated ideas that her people should make discoveries for themselves when the time was right for it. Myzida was young and idealistic. She had ideas. Ideas she of course shared with her husband. Her husband listened, so she talked, but even she had no idea of the thoughts she was stirring in his head.

Finally the day came where Zalod stabled his Queen in the back; literally. The only reason she managed to survive was because Zalod had forgotten that Queen Andalek had conquered her realm the hard way and had never stopped believing in the benefits of armor. She may have been wearing an elegant silk dress, but she still had been wearing thin leather armor under it. The knife penetrated, but was deflected enough for Andalek to survive and reach her sword.

By that time the Queen's and Zalod's guards had joined the scuffle and Zalod left with the parting words that he would kick her off her throne.

A civil war started that divided the realm. People were devoted to the queen, but the displeasure of being stuck in the old had been spreading, and Zalod's message of change found its appeal. Zalod's charm played well with the masses and people started to believe in him not for what he was or for what he stood for, but because he mesmerized them all with beautiful words of a paradise under his reign. More and more people flocked to his visions of the future, turning their back on the Queen that had governed the past. Tens of thousands of people died, brother fought against sister, father against son, and all led up to a major battle where millions of people squared off against each other.

Queen Andalek overlooked the battlefield on the eve before the battle. Looked at the faces of her soldiers, imagined the stories that would spread after she won the battle, and knew that for the first time in her life, she was in a no-win situation. Either she would lose the battle, not that she was planning on that, or she would win, and lose her realm. If she would win, her name of a firm but just ruler would fall. She would become known as the person that would have killed over a million people just to keep her title. She knew that it would start in the far-off areas, the ones that tended to stick to themselves now already and that were mostly just part of the realm to keep her army away and get their hands on general treading goods.

And for what? Even if she did win, even if she did restore absolute control over the planet, the damage was done. The message, his words, were planted in people's heads and it would only be a matter of time until someone else would start to fight for it. How many battles would she have to fight, how many people would have to die? And only for her to say in the end that some changes would indeed have to be implemented.

That was the irony of it all. The plans had already existed. Some, most, of the things people wanted would have come. Just not right now. And now she couldn't do them anymore because it would be seen as giving in.

And so the Queen that was willing to fight for her people, decided that the best way to serve her people was not to fight. She called a truce, stepped up to Zalod, and told him, 'you want to rule so badly, go ahead, you try it. You see what it actually takes'.

She surrendered, handed over her sword, but she didn't bow. Queen Andalek had never bowed for anyone, and everyone knew that you would have to break her legs to bring her to her knees.

Zalod didn't do that. He knew he had the victory, he knew that killing her would only tarnish his name. But by openly accepting her surrender, and keeping her alive and locked up, he would win it all. And best of all, if Andalek was still alive, she couldn't become a martyr to 'the good old days'.

And so King Zalod started his reign. Unfortunately, he, and a lot of the people that whispered in his ear, had vastly underestimated just what it took to rule over a planet. Zalod had been a great leader among men, but a good ruler over all he was not.

The realm puttered on, running on the old foundations of now former Queen Andalek, and on the ideal that things would get better soon. But things were festering, just waiting for the one event that would open the wound. Zalod on his turn became more and more irrational, didn't know which advisor he could trust, so he trusted none. Even his wife Myzida was pushed aside, ignored, and in the end even shunned. Zalod refused to even see her anymore. Once he took her everywhere, now he left her behind in the palace. And it saved her life.

Zalod had taken to dealing with problems the easy way; by sending in the army and eradicating it. He had started to order the deaths of thousands of people, the destruction of entire villages simply because they didn't meet the mandatory tribute quota. He had come to the point where his ideas were still loved, but he wasn't. One day there was a problem that really rubbed him the wrong way and he decided that the entire city where the problem was located had to be destroyed, and that he would lead the cleansing personally.

He never arrived. It was never found out exactly what happened, but his personal guards testified that one evening he ordered them all to stay behind while he personally went to check something. The next morning his lifeless body was found, and the gashes on his body indicated that he had been attacked by a Prowler, the predatory cats that any sane person was right to fear. Though a later, closer, inspection of the body showed that while the gashes were clearly made by claws, they were made by slow moving objects as if the claws were pulled over existing wounds to hide them, and not by the fast swipes of a paw.

Myzida had decided to not have the matter investigated further. Zalod's personal guards also protected her, and if they really had a part in his disappearance, well, she realized that by now most people would command them for it, and second that she was a lot lower profile than her husband had been. She would be a lot more susceptible to accidents.

And so, Myzida had become the queen five months before. On the plus side, it had bought her time with the realm. People knew that she had been the creator of many an idea that her husband had talked about. It also bought her time inside the palace. People wanted to believe that she would make things alright. Myzida was an extremely kind, if sometimes a bit too idealistic, person, and people wanted to believe that she could make things better. Even Zalod's personal guard had rallied around her and she found that she trusted them with her life. 'After all,' the small rational part of her mind that really should listen to more often said, 'the moment you can't trust them with your life anymore, you won't have a life anymore and you won't notice'.

The thing was that all the other problems hadn't gone away. There was still unrest, there was still hunger in some parts of the world simply because goods weren’t distributed right because nobody dared to make the tough decisions, or in Myzida's case, didn't know what the choices were.

She knew that tomorrow was 'the' day. Tomorrow was the annual speech of the Queen, in which she set forth her plans and ideas for the upcoming year.

Myzida didn't have a speech. All she had were idealistic dreams that were nothing but 'if we only'. She had nothing she could tell her people, nothing that would ease their minds. Nothing that would send the expected two million people that would stand in the great gathering field home with confidence that all would be alright.

And so, in total desperation Myzida had send for the one person that would certainly not help her, but would at least be the only one that would understand her predicament.

Myzida turned and looked at the door when the knock came. The door opened and former Queen Andalek walked in. She was in chains, her clothing dirty, old, and ripped in a few places. But she walked proud with her head held high. And, Myzida noted, the guards were walking a step behind her, as if they were her guards and not palace guards that were escorting a prisoner.

Myzida frowned. Maybe they were her guards. Zalod had dispended the Royal Guards when he took power, preferring to be guarded with people he knew from his own army. But the entire transition of power and been surprisingly smooth. Both sides knowing that a smooth transition was what the realm needed. The former Royal Guards hadn't been killed; they had been reassigned. Probably, Myzida realized, been reassigned to the palace guards where they now guarded exits and stopped curious people from walking into the wrong places. These people that were escorting Andalek now might very well be people that had once sworn to protect her with their life.

Myzida looked at the chains for a moment. There was a chain between the feet to prevent the former Queen from running or even taking the full steps one would do when walking faster than a normal pace. There was an even shorter chain between her wrists that was long enough to give some room to move, but short enough that Andalek could only just hold her arms to her side if she used up all the slack in the chain.

"Leave us," Myzida ordered. The two guards bowed and after one had said, 'my Queen' they left. Myzida smiled to herself. She may have no idea on how to rule the world, but she was extremely good at picking up small things. Her former guess had been confirmed.

"If I was the killing kind of person," Myzida said, "Then I think I would have to have two of my guards killed. Or should I say your guards? They never called me 'my Queen'. At best something like 'your highness'. And here you are in the room and suddenly they say 'my Queen' when they go. One would assume the mean me, but they would be wrong."

"Royal Guards are honor bound to protect the Queen," Andalek said, her voice still carrying the firm tone Myzida knew from speeches she had heard, but there was also an edge or roughness that wasn't normal. The former Queen's tone of voice was known for being much like the owner; smooth, dignified, but firm. The dignified and firm were still there, but the smooth not so much. "Even if they prefer to have a different Queen. They swore loyalty to the ruler, not the person. Even if your husband took away the title, their oath still stands. You can trust them with your life. So could your husband. In fact, if he had, he might still be here."

"His personal guard," Myzida started,

"His personal guard," Andalek interrupted, "Were chosen by him. They might have done the world a favor by removing him, but Royal Guards would never have done so."

"That is my husband you are talking about," Myzida warned.

Andalek dipped her head. "So he was, and while you may have loved him blindly, the fact remains that he was steering the world to disaster. At least with you the realm will just fall apart and a future ruler might unite it all again without too many people dying."

Myzida decided not to reply to that. Truth be known, she had never loved her husband blindly. The now thirty year old Myzida had only been only twenty-five years old when she met her husband; mere weeks into being a legal adult in fact. She had fallen for his charms and though it was love. And luckily she had grown to love him before his charms had grown old. She knew for a fact that he had loved her, and that had tipped the balance too. They had been happy, but she had never loved him blindly. She had seen him change. She just had no idea what to do about it.

She pointed to a table. "Please, sit down. What's with your voice; are you ill?"

Andalek as she sat down. "Hardly. Though I have to admit that I'm not in my best form ever. Being held in a dungeon does that to people. But no, the rawness of my voice is a present from your late husband. There aren’t many things that my body can't fight off given time. But sadly I did make the mistake once of telling him that I'm allergic to Ranan spores. They affect my throat. Your late husband wanted to prevent me from using one of my best weapons in captivity; my voice. Yet he didn't want to physically damage me in case he needed to parade me around at some point. So he ordered candles made, laced with Ranan seeds and had them put in cleverly designed holders that prevent me from putting the candles out."

A humorless smile flashed over Andalek's lips. "Such a nice game to play. The spores themselves I wouldn't notice; just the results. But no, He had the seeds put in, and as the candles burn down I hear the seeds pop open as they reach the flame, and I'm reminded once again that literally the air I'm breathing is hurting me. Every hour of the day I'm breathing in Ranan spores. Luckily for me, my body seems to finally be building up an immunity. You should have heard me a couple of months ago when I was still coughing up blood."

Myzida merely looked at her in disbelief, so Andalek waver her off. "Yeah yeah. You husband would never do such a thing. I'm just making this up. I'm just trying to blacken the name of a hero."

Myzida looked down for a moment before shaking her head. "No, sadly I know that the man that he was in the end, he would do that. I just preferred to think of him more how he was when we met. And no, that man would not have done that. I will have you moved. You shouldn't be in a dungeon. You do deserve better."

"How very generous of you," Andalek merely said, apparently not carting either way.

Myzida sat down at the other side of the table and they looked at each other for a while before Myzida spoke up again. "Tomorrow I will be addressing the world. Two million people here that will then take word of what they have seen, and a written copy of my speech, home. Tomorrow I will have to lay out the plans on how the world will go on. Plans that will make everyone, if not happy, at least complacent enough to give me the time to prove myself. And I have no idea what to tell them."

Andalek shrugged. "Want to keep the peace? Then you can simply tell them that you are giving control back to the rightful ruler, and that within a year I'll clean up the mess your husband made."

"Yeah," Myzida said slowly. "I think you kinda know that won't really work. Let's face it, you had your time as Queen. Even if I were inclined to do so, there are enough people left out there that believe in my husband's ideas that they will rise up at the mere thought of you ruling them again."

Andalek lifted an eyebrow. "Whereas you are just a child that couldn’t even manage this palace, let alone this world."

"I am a grown woman," Myzida disagreed hotly. "I'm thirty years old; well past twenty-five and fully formed."

"Well yes, that you are," Andalek agreed as she let her eyes drift over the other woman's body. "Most definitely fully formed. Tell me, is that the real reason Zalod picked you? The fact that he loved that your tits are big enough that that even his big hands would not cover them fully? I knew it was one of his weaknesses, chasing tails that is. I just never thought that he would actually marry one. You, em, do realize that he never stopped screwing the aids in the office, right? That this was the sole reason why they were all women and why he had eight of them? One for each day of the work week. They had a schedule from what I understand. One day per week one of them was fair game to be groped and screwed at his pleasure, the next day it was the next aid's turn. From what I understand the one who's turn it was would wear a short skirt so that your husband knew which one was eager to screw him that day, and it made it easier for him to just bent her over the desk and just lift up the skirt and have at it."

By now Myzida was so furious at how the woman she thought of as a dignified former ruler was talking, that she reached across the table to slap Andalek across the face. But her hand never connected.

When the hands had just reached across the table, Andalek quickly crossed her arms and lifted them. Once the chain between her wrists had crossed over Myzida's outstretched arm, Andalek uncrossed her arms and brought them back down; effectively trapping Myzida's hand in the chain and on the table.

Instinctively, Myzida reached across with her second hand trying to free her first one. And again Andalek moved with blinding speed. Moving her arms in such a way that now both of Myzida's arms were captured in a figure eight of chain, holding the younger woman in place pulled all the way over the table.

Myzida took a breath to scream for help, but Andalek proved her flexibility by swinging her crossed legs up and using the momentum to throw the chain over Myzida's head. Then she uncrossed her legs and opened them; resulting in the chain between the feet being pulled taught around the younger woman's neck.

"How fast people forget," Andalek said between clinched teeth. "I conquered this world on the battlefield, and yet people always seem to think that I'm harmless just because I handed over my sword. Now, remember what I said about the guards? You are the queen, and they will protect you. Even against me. So I'm going to make it easy on the both of us. I will let you take enough air to scream for help. Then I'll break your neck, and then they'll kill me, and neither of us will have to deal with the mess your husband made. Look at it from the bright side; at least this will be faster than being lynched by an angry mob."

"We could do that," Myzida managed to croak out. As her mind was catching up with the situation, she couldn't help but be amazed that someone could have so much strength in her legs muscles that she could spread her legs with enough force that the chain between them was actually suffocating her. She The old Queen could truly kill her this way. "Or you can let me go and talk, from one queen to another, and together we find a way out of this mess that will be accepted by all."

Andalek was surprised, to say the least. She had expected the young woman to break down in tears and start to beg, not to stay rational and try to talk her way out of the problem. Impressed, she decided to let off a bit on the pressure with the chains. But Myzida made no effort to move from her uncomfortable position.

"Oh really, and what kind of things would you say then, from one queen to another?" Andalek finally asked.

Myzida felt that the pressure around her neck had lessened enough to be able to turn her head so that she was looking at the former queen. "My husband was delusional, I know that. But tell me, queen Andalek, were you as well? Surely you must know that things had to change. We have aliens on our planet with technology, that are willing to share. Surely you must know that the people want what these aliens have to offer?"

Andalek snorted humorlessly and moved her legs, removing the chain from around Myzida's neck. But she didn't remove the chains that was still pinning her younger woman's arms, and thereby her upper body, to the table. "That's the irony of it all. The thing that nobody will believe. I did know, and I was going to do something about it."

Myzida looked surprised and from this close by, Andalek had no problem seeing it. "See, even you in this position where believing me is in your best interest don't believe me." Finally Andalek freed Myzida completely. "Go on, go ask them after you have me killed. Oh the irony. We had it all worked out, a schedule set up. But after I found out that even my most trusted ally, your former husband, didn't believe me, I just decided to simply not tell people and let them find out when the time came."

"What do you mean, you had a schedule?" Myzida asked as she sat back down. The rubbed her wrists before resting them on the table and looking back at the former Queen.

Andalek leaned back in the chair and rested her head against the high headrest. "They know stuff. They could destroy this entire planet, did you know that? Did Zalod tell you that they have the knowledge to literally make the planet explode?"

Myzida's shocked expression said more than enough.

"Oh, they do," Andalek assured. "Some kind of stuff that is used in their engines of that spaceship. It's called antimatter. No idea how it works exactly, but I know that they have enough if it in that ship that it could cause an explosion that would literally rip the planet apart. Or so they say, and seeing the rest of the technology they have, I did not ask them for demonstration, since I'm kinda fond of living. But luckily for us they are good people, and conveniently for us, they also kinda need the planet to live on. So we are safe, don't worry. But the thing is, they could teach us stuff that that would make us kill ourselves if we knew it. I conquered this world by the sword, and since it takes time to kill someone with a sword I killed about one person per minute in the height of battle, maybe about fifty to a hundred in a single battle. A few more in the really known ones. But they have weapons that can kill a person like this,"

Suddenly a hand slammed on the table and the iron shackle that hit the table as well only added to the sound. "Bam, dead, bam, dead. Bam, dead." The table was hit over and over to indicate a fast pace. "Bam, bam, bam, bam. Can you imagine me conquering the world with that instead? You think I would have bothered to allow people to surrender then? Half the time I accepted surrender simply because I was tired from the fighting and just wanted a hot bath. History admired me for saving the lives of the battling monks of Krandar Hill, I would have killed them all if I hadn't been tired from spending the day fighting up that bloody hill. I would have killed every last one of them."

"No you wouldn't," Myzida disagreed with a small smile. "Because you are an honorable person. You would have offered them a chance for surrender, like you did, and you would have accepted it, like you did."

Andalek gave a small smirk. "Ironic again. I never knew that my adversary was an admirer of me. Now let me see how if you are at least of rational mind. Let's say that it had been your husband in that battle and imagine he had those weapons I just described."

The smile disappeared and Myzida lowered his head. "Unlike you, he would have killed them all and would have basked in the glory of the great victory." Then she lifted her eyes again. "But that doesn't explain that schedule you talked about."

"It does," Andalek disagreed. "Because we can't be trusted with weapons like that. But if our destiny is to become true, we will have to become a mighty species that has weapons like that, knows how to use them, and knows that it's wrong to use them... in most cases. Therefore, weapons like that are lower on the list. But it was all planned out, open to a bit of shifting back and forth depending on how fast we as a people adapt, but it was all planned. Two years from now they would have shared a technology with us that is able to filter even the smallest germ out of our drinking water. Next on the list? Increased plant yield. Next, decreased waste production. And fifty years from now a test city should have been self-sustainable. Food, plants, to be grown in multi-story buildings so that a single building can sustain an entire city zone. And the fiends that were once used to grow plants outside the city to be used instead to free-roaming livestock to serve that part of the equation."

Andalek tapped herself against her chest. "And my part in this deal? I would be so impressed by it all, after seeing a working system, that I would declare that from then on every city on the planet had to convert to being self-sustainable and zero impact. And the people would have done it because their queen said so and would come to visit anyone that doesn't want to listen with her freaking sword in her hand."

"If it was all planned out, then why is it that the visitors haven't shared stuff yet?" Myzida asked in a whisper, hardly able to believe that this person that is supposed to be her hated enemy had just described one of her colorful dreams that most thought impossible. Then her voice strengthened a bit as she asked, "We know of their existence for two thousand years, yet nothing was shared, other than a few things that prove that they are not just staying stuff, but that we can't actually learn ourselves."

She pointed at the barred window. "Like on the gathering field. They put up those screens, as they call them, that make it possible for two million people to see and hear what happens on the podium as if they were standing in the front row. But they haven't shared other stuff."

"Sure they have," Andalek disagreed. "It just so happens that they aren’t clear to see. If you are living in the today, and an invention is made today, that betters your life today, you just accept that as the standard of today... and are totally oblivious to that fact that actually, our species should not have invented this or that for centuries to come. There are so many technologies that were shared by them, it's just that you don't know them because, especially you who is only alive for thirty years, have no idea that technology you use every day should not even exist."

"Like what?" Myzida said. "Tell me something that shouldn't exist yet, and that is here because of them."

Andalek shrugged. "Alright, take my sword as an example. It should not exist. My sword is legendary, almost as much as me. Yet nobody takes the time to wonder just how we were able to create steel of such pure quality only twenty years after smelting iron was invented. My sword, if your husband hasn't destroyed it, is almost two thousand years old, and yet the steel is of such quality that even today it could be mistaken for new. It was used in battle. I broke other swords with it. Deflected blows, guarded myself against powerful strikes with war axes and hammers. And yet my famous sword doesn't even have a nick in it and is still the same blade of back then. Ever thought of how that's possible?"

"Not really," Myzida admitted. "It's more that the wielder, you, was known for always having the same sword and that it was extremely good quality."

"It is steel," Andalek assured. "Just that our guests added a few things to it when they were making it. A few alloys that don't exist yet. It was a test of trust. Trust when it was handed to me, hand to hand, and so close that I could have killed them with it. And trust when I promised them that I would be the only one that would use that sword, and that I would never have it examined to discover its secrets. And I did not."

"Let me guess," Myzida said. "Because you also guessed that the stuff they added is something we also cannot make yet. So what would be the use?"

Andalek nodded her agreement. "Or how about we take a step further back. Nobody wonders about how we came up with the idea of smelting iron in the first place. They shared the entire chain. How to make steel, how to smelt iron, how to create a smelting oven, how to safely mine for ore, how to find ore, just what ore actually looks like in rocks. And, as someone that likes nature as much as I heard you do, should appreciate, they thought us with all those things how to do it right. How to mine for ore without poisoning nature with chemicals, how to use a smelting oven, and not burn every tree in the land to fuel it. Knowing all of that stuff from the beginning is worth so much, just that people like you don't even see the gift, since you just think it's normal. But I have seen the images. I have seen what something called 'open pit mining' does to the land. Holes in the land bigger than an entire city just to get to the ore under the ground. I have seen images that our guests have of other planets that have been destroyed by mining to such an extreme that there isn't a plant alive anymore to provide oxygen."

Andalek lifted a finger as if remembering something. "Oh and since I used steel as an example, let's not forget the rest. The time we saved by skipping steps. You know how it was supposed to go if we had done it ourselves? We would have had to have other stages in between. We did have copper by the time we encountered out friends, but did you know that in normal technologic evolution we were supposed to get a bronze age after that? Or that we were to discover iron in about a thousand years from now? We shouldn't even have iron, let alone steel."

"Supposed to, who decides what we are supposed to have?" Myzida asked.

"On average," Andalek clarified. "Our friends have the history of over twenty thousand species. And give or take a few centuries, inventions tend to be made in the same sequence and around the same times. Simple evolution of tools and tool making. You need tools to make something, so first those tools have to be made, so first tools have to be made that can make those tools."

"That I understand," Myzida said. "It's a circle or sorts. A tool is invented, and it can be used to make something, and that what is made can be used to make a better tool that is then used to invent something else. But why don't our guests share how to make those tools?"

Andalek shook her head slightly. "It seems that you don't get it as much as you think. That was one of the points I was trying to make. They do share that, in their way. You do have to keep in mind that they aren’t allowed to tell us how to do stuff, but they are allowed to tell us that something is possible to be made if a right tool is invented and that if this tool could do this and this. And because of that we are skipping so many inventions that normally would never have gone anywhere. We are skipping so many steps that people don't even realize. People just see that we went from using copper to knowing how to make steel, and in reality there should be about three thousand years of time between those inventions. All of it is so normal to us that everyone that wasn't at the spot when the information was shared, just assumes that its technological evolution."

Andalek let her eyes drop a little to Myzida's ample chest before looking back up and continuing, "But that's just one field. There is so much more that people don't even think about. Take you. Tell me, since you are rather well endowed, do you appreciate the benefits of a bra? Surely you also have sexy set of panties that go along with the bra that keeps your assets in place."

Myzida couldn't help but glance down at herself. "Well, erm, yes, but what does that have to do with it?"

"Because they too are something you have to thank our guests for," Andalek explained. "Neither of those should exist yet. Well, the idea of wearing underpants should be around, but only on the level of them being the same size as full leg pants, just of a finer fabric like silk or cotton. Oh, using cotton to make closes, we should also only invent in a few centuries. But the idea of a bra? That should take another five hundred years or so. Women's undergarments should actually be something called 'under wrappings'. A strip of fabric that is wrapped around you to pull your breasts close to the body. And that little clasp in front to open a bra from the front that is so popular these days? About fifteen hundred years before that should exist. Didn't expect that, did you? You just put it on and don't think twice because it's part of daily life. And all of it, we know because of our guests. They have been sharing so much. Well, had been now, but it's just that there are certain things that have to happen."

"Things," Myzida repeated.

"Things," Andalek said again before clarifying, "Imagine what you know of history, as we lived when I came to power. Every tribe its own regent. Half of them at war with the others. It was the very reason why my tribe was nomadic when we came across our guests."

"The tribe you belonged to had lost a war and was driven off their land," Myzida said, proving that she knew the history of her people well. "You were only a kid when that happened, so for years you had to suffer though seeing one Queen replacing the other because leaders challenged each other because they disagreed on where to go. And not seeing that all the time they were killing off the best warriors of the tribe in doing so. That is, until you stepped up and took over. The first new Queen in years that didn't kill the old Queen, but instead made her your second in command, and called her your Regent. The system our government is now build on."

Andalek nodded with an approving smile before continuing, "Now imagine that our friends had shared those weapons I just talked about. By the time they had explained the second village how to make them, the first one would have gone out and killed ten other villages. That's why our friends have conditions, like that they will share more interesting things with us once there is a world government, and one person can speak for the entire planet. One of those ironies. I had to go out and conquer the planet the old way, to prove that I was the right person to be trusted with the knowledge on how to conquer the planet in a new way."

"You had to prove that you could beat the populous into doing as they were told?" Myzida asked in disbelief.

Andalek shook her head. "It was more refined than that. Anyone can become ruler of the world if they have enough power behind them; your husband did. No, I had to prove that I could not only conquer, but also rule. That I could have a prospering nation, while fighting wars on the boarders. And I had to prove that I could do politics as well. Everyone knows that I conquered the world with my sword in my hand. Yet most forget that half the time the fight never started because a peaceful option was negotiated. And the times where the fight did start, once again half the time a peace was reached by talks and not by a final killing. I made people Regents that faced me on the battlefield. They too were rulers, just that they were rulers of their nation. And I made them Regent, and let them rule their nation, just that this nation was part then of my realm."

Then Andalek once again lifted a finger as if remembering something. "Oh, but not only that, I had to prove myself worthy. I would have to prove that if I said something, the world would do it, simply because I said it would happen and they would do that their Queen said. That's another thing your husband never understood."

"What is?"

"Zalod heard of the old saying, the carrot and the stick," Andalek explained. "He would promise people the carrot, and then surprise them with the stick if they didn't listen. I, I spend all my reign letting everyone know that I'm firm but fair. I never hid the stick, and I never promised the carrot. Instead I always showed both to them. People always knew that if they followed my rule, they would get exactly what I showed them that there is to have. They knew that if I said that it would be a hard winder, but that they wouldn't starve, that they could share their food during that snowstorm because they knew they didn't have to hide it for others. Because I promised new food would arrive before the end of the month, new food would arrive."

"And it did," Myzida said softly. It was a story from history, and it was so refreshing to hear it from a person that had lived that history. "A little town with hardly fifty people in it. Others would have given up on them. Other towns lower on the mountain had evacuated, but Andalek's Rest didn't. For their Queen had promised them, stay to finish the construction of the temple, and I give you my word that the winder will not take you. Fifty people in a small town had faith, and a Queen rewarded that faith by having an army of twelve thousand dig a path through the snow to make sure that supplies arrived on time. And, not to forget, since the workers had stayed, the temple was ready when promised. They stayed and worked, simply because their queen had said, 'trust me'."

"There was a time where my word mend more to people then the word of their own partner," Andalek said sadly. "There was a time where people knew we had guests on the planet with interesting things to share, and yet they waited on those gifts because their queen asked them for their patience. And your husband destroyed all of that. He promised that he would share all their gifts with the people, and totally forgot to ask our guests if they were willing to share that much. And now, tell me, how much did our quests share since my fall? And the really sad part is, that your husband released a beast that can never be caged again. Because he hinted at how much there was to be shared, and now people still want it. Yet they are getting nothing."

"Because our guests said they would only start sharing again if the planet was once again stable," Myzida pointed out.

"Stable, and if there is a partner they actually want to share with," Andalek corrected. "Tell me, young queen. Do you think you are such a partner? Do you think you can bring the stability needed?"

"You know I can't," Myzida said sadly. "Tomorrow a civil war will start that might destroy us all, and our guests won't share for at least a generation. They will wait to see a new leader emerge." She sighed. "I should have talked to you earlier. Just this little talk gave me so many new ideas."

"Oh really?" Andalek asked amused. "Then tell me, young queen. How would you restore the peace?"

"By following the example set forth by the previous queen, and just updating it a bit," Myzida said thoughtfully. "Unlike the animals on the planet, our people don't die of old age. If you say that something will happen in a hundred years, they know they will probably still be alive to see it... if they didn't die in some useless war. I would follow your example of delivering on what I promise. And to make sure that people don't get impatient again, I would actually publish that list."

She hesitated for a moment before correcting, "Well, I'm not stupid, I know that telling people that a city improvement will be invented in twenty years that will give them clean water by filtering, will actually make people start to wonder and experiment today, not in twenty years. I would make it a more general list. As in, 'this year an invention that will improve drinking water will be shared, and next year and improvement in weapons will be shared'. That kind of list."

Thinking a bit more about the idea, she added, "And along with it I would also have a list that what has been shared. That people can see that what was listed this year as 'a drink water improvement', is on the list next year as fulfilled as an 'a drink water filtering system'. If our guests did share as promised, then the results would bring even more stability. People would see that, yes, this year what was promised was delivered, and yes so is next year, and just like with you, people will be willing to wait a hundred years because they already know that it's on the list and it will come."

Andalek lifted her eyebrows and nodded slowly. "You know, young queen. I always thought that Zalod had listened too much to you. Now I'm starting to think that maybe he didn't listen enough."

"And yet it is too late," Myzida said sadly as she looked down at the table. "Because even if I share tomorrow with the people what I shared today with you, they won't believe me. They will think that it's just words, just more buying of time."

"Maybe," Andalek said thoughtfully. And then her tone changed, as if she had made a choice and acted on it. "And maybe not. It will all depend on who's standing beside you when you say those words."

Myzida's head shot up, not truly believe what she heard.

"You speak with conviction," Andalek explained. "Even I can see the rationality of your new, open, way. If I were to stand beside you and affirm that such a list exists, of course, trying to rectify me to my people by explaining how I was wrong to just trust in the conviction of my people for me without giving them an open plan in return, and all of that public talking. Do you think that would buy you, us, the time to try it your way, young queen?"

"Why do you keep calling me young queen?" Myzida asked, still thinking about what was just offered, and guessing why the offer was made.

Andalek smiled amused. "You mean, beside the fact that you are thirty years old, and I'm so old that I'm the only United Government Queen this world has ever seen besides you? Don't you think that the fact that I'm two thousand years older than you is a good reason for me to call you 'young' queen?"

"No, not really," Myzida said. "Since we don't die of old age, we only have two age groups: 'Children' and 'over twenty'. My mother is six hundred years older than my father. Hell, I have a five hundred year older brother still alive and two siblings that died in an accident decades before I was even born."

"Well, alright," Andalek relented. "The reason is simple though. You 'are' younger than me, and while I'm pragmatic enough to know that you are the queen, yet I don't see you as 'my' queen, I actually find 'young queen' quite fitting. So how about it? I know I'm just a prisoner, but do keep in mind that I was known as a queen that cared for her people once. And," Andalek spread her hands as far as the chain between them allowed. "I lost. I can win the coming war, if you don't have me killed before I'm out of here. But I would have to kill so many of my, your, our, our people that I would no longer be known as firm but just; I would be known as brutal and ruthless. I don't want to rule people that would fear me even if they did nothing wrong."

"You amaze me," Myzida admitted. "And, I find myself believing you. But people did not witness this conversation. How could we ever make them believe that you, the former queen, are willing to just stand by and let me rule?"

Andalek stood up and walked around the table until she was standing behind the young queen. She saw the delicate back stiffen and chuckled. "Relax, I could have already killed you, remember? I'm just here to demonstrate how people could believe that."

She leaned closer until her lips were beside Myzida's ear and whispered softly, seductively, "You see, they would believe it if it was known that I would be standing beside you, with free access to your ear where I could whisper all that I want and implant any idea I have."

"I see," Myzida said, not fully able to mask the shakiness of her breath completely.

"Do you?" Andalek asked. "You do realize that it would have to be brought with conviction, from both our sides. My people will have to believe that I chose the best option left to me; ruling through you. And your people must think that you tamed me, completely."

"Tamed you?" Myzida asked, her tone going from shaky to confused.

"Oh yes," Andalek assured. Then she placed a hand against the young queen's side, using the other hand to make sure the chain with not jingle or touch the younger woman. "I was quite rude to you before," Andalek continued as she moved her hand until it was cupping one of Myzida's ample breasts, "When I asked if Zalod had picked you for your big tits. To be honest, I don't even like the word. I prefer breasts," A chuckle, "I especially prefer breasts if they are big, like yours."

"I see," Myzida said. "That kind of taming."

"I can play the roll," Andalek assured. "More so since I'm known as someone that doesn't show much emotion. So my prove of all of my love for you would simply be that I didn't kill you. But can you play that you, who knew that she needed my help, seduced me?"

Myzida frowned. "How did that come about anyway? You are an attractive woman, even without the aphrodisiac of power that is being the queen. As short as I'm the queen, I know that people stand in line to get close to me for that alone. But surely your looks alone must have been enough to for a second line all by itself. And yet, for your entire reign you never had a partner."

Andalek removed her hand from it's tempting perch and leaned against the table so that she could look at the seated woman. After a moment of silence, she shrugged. "Several reasons really. I 'am' two thousand years old. Social upbringing then isn't what it is now. Back then your profession was your life. You trained and worked and if you didn't work you trained some more. I was a warrior, I wanted to be a warrior. I wanted to be the best warrior. When we were done training to be warrior for the day, the others went to do social stuff. They found mates, other interests, but I yearned only for more training. So, I went out and trained."

Andalek chucked. "I'm sure I would have been teased and would have had a hard youth, if it hadn't been for the small fact that it's not smart to bully someone that stands half a head taller than most and carries a sword of which she knows how to use it. Over time I rose through the ranks, I started to lead, and train even more. And by the time I was a regent, people admired me as a leader... and didn't even think about the fact that there wasn't anyone else in my life. I was a regent; I would pick someone soon enough."

"And as always, you wanted more than the others even thought of," Myzida said in understanding. "They admired you for having become a Regent so fast, and you were thinking of being a Queen."

"Something like that," Andalek agreed. "And by the time I did finally slow down on the training a bit and had a bit more time, those lines you just talked about already existed. And I knew that letting any of them close would be a mistake; as your husband finally proved."

"Let's not talk about Zalod for a bit, seeing what else we are talking about," Myzida suggested. "So you never had a partner, but surely,"

"I never had... anyone," Andalek clarified.

Myzida shook her head in disbelief. "Wait. Are you telling me that the most powerful person in the world, that ruled millions, almost a billion today, is still a virgin?"

"Not that I can prove it. There has been more than one time in my life where I wanted more than my own fingers and used a toy. But no, I have never slept with anyone." Andalek shrugged. "Stranger things have happened, I'm sure."

"Erm, yeah. Wouldn't be able to name one thing, but I'm sure they have," Myzida agreed. Then she persisted, "But I still don't get the why. As we just kinda agreed, people stand in line. If people are standing in line it really doesn't take that much work to let one of them walk on into your bed and even be ready and waiting there for the moment you want some."

"To be honest, I never minded and saw it as an advantage most of the times," Andalek revealed. "More along the lines of not knowing what I'm missing probably. Maybe if I had known what sex was like I would have been more incline to take the offers, and to give in on those deal where offers were made to sweeten the deal I didn't want to agree with. I have seen people do some crazy things to get some tail. Even some of my closest people were sometimes too busy chasing tail to actually do their job right."

"Like my husband," Myzida said sadly.

But Andalek shook her head. "No, he actually didn't chase tail at all. But unfortunately you won't like the reason why."

"Because he didn't need to chase them; they were already working for him and very willing to supply," Myzida guessed. "Those aids you talked about? Really all eight of them?"

"Really," Andalek affirmed. "Sorry to be the one to tell you this. But for sake of clarity let me add that I didn't mind and actually encouraged it. He was my most trusted adviser. I much rather have the people that served his... urges do so because they were on my pay list, instead of having him go out and start making all kind of promises to get the same thing. And hey, they were actually very good assistants. Which reminds me, what did you do with them?"

"What they were doing," Myzida said. "I did not have any use for them, but they do provide clear daily work. They seem to get along really well, so I just leave them to it."

Andalek gave a small smile. "There is a reason why they get along. They used to be the harem of an enemy I defeated. They have been around me for almost a thousand years now. I had them trained to do office work a few hundred years back when the newer kind of office work became a thing. Once I freed them from their old master, I found out that during their time as slaves they had found love amongst each other."

"Really?" Myzida asked surprised. "They don't show it."

Andalek nodded. "That's probably because in the beginning nobody was supposed to know. Their master would have probably killed them if he had ever found out that they willingly pleased each other whereas he had to beat them into submission. Their master had been brutal and liked inflicting pain. Luckily for them, he also liked his slaves to look good, so he didn't leave a lot of scars, other than emotional ones. So when he was done with one of them, he would throw her back into the harem where the rest would comfort their hurting and crying friend."

"I understand," Myzida said, "That's why they learned to hide it, because if their master had ever found out it would have been fodder for the emotional torture he liked inflicting. And nowadays it's simply nobody else's business. Still kinda weird that they formed a group instead of them all splitting up in pears or something."

"From what they told me," Andalek explained, "It started out with hugs of comfort that over time moved to making sure that whoever had been hurt never sleeping alone to make sure that comfort was close when they nightmares started. To them just all always sleeping together, until one night the master was too busy to take one of them and left them alone. That was the night where the first kiss of comfort was given by someone that realized that she really, really wanted to kiss her friend again."

She grinned, "And from what they told me, as she gave in to that want and kissed her friend again, she saw one of the others watching them and realized that she wanted to kiss her just as much. And once that first... admission... of multiple needs was done, they basically started to screw like crazy, for the first time all of them enjoying having sex. It was an eight way orgy that has become their basic way of making love... if one of them isn't sleeping with someone else to do me a favor."

Myzida's eyebrows shot up when the last of the explanation registered.

"Your husband was only the latest favor they did for me," Andalek explained. "You see, once I killed their master and freed them, they were scared. They had come from different villages, some of which were not on friendly terms with each other. They were scared of going back, of being separated. And they were scared of being left to their fate in the now conquered city. So, they offered themselves to me, to be my harem from now on."

"I can so not see you doing that," Myzida said." Even without what I just found out about you never having been with anyone."

"I declined," Andalek agreed. "But they did manage to persuade me in another way. Over the few days that I was in the city to establish a new ruler, a Regent, they hovered around me, doing little things I never asked them for, that I never had anyone else do for me. And, I admit, I got used to it. It is what started me off to finally having servants for me, beside just the army doing stuff I ordered them to do. And so we lived for a while, but once I settled here in the palace I gave them other jobs. I shift them around from job to job wherever I needed trusted people the most. First in the kitchens to make sure my food wasn't poisoned, then administrative work, then other things."

"And lastly as aids for my husband where one of their tasks was to... do stuff," Myzida said softly. Then she asked. "And this group of women that found love in each other's arms don't have a problem with sleeping with someone not of the group?"

"I never ordered them to sleep with anyone," Andalek noted. "I asked. And I have been told twice in our past that they rather not because they as a group decided they didn't like the person. Something I on my turn graciously accepted, which in turn resulted in them being more eager to help me out when they did like the person and didn't mind sleeping with them. You need to understand, they love each other, the entire group. And nothing can come between that love. And exactly because of the fact that the love is undeniable, but with eight people there is always some... surplus... to have. Even if I don't ask them for a favor, they sometimes take a living toy to play with. From what I understand, they are friendly with the rest of the staff, and with some of the men they are really friendly and sometimes invite one of two over for a visit."

"Only men?" Myzida couldn’t help but ask.

Andalek spread her hand a little before explaining reasonable, "Well, they are eight women, so I guess they consider themselves fully socked up on female fun partners. So when I asked if they were willing to be the aids to my second in command, and willing to pretend that he charmed them into bed, they were happy to do so. As we both know; your husband could be really charming if he wanted to. They considered the favor fun. But all said and done, he was still just the latest meaningless toy to them. And to me, it meant that my second in command focused on the job. Since you didn't know they are a group in more ways than one, I sincerely doubt he ever found out."

"So it was basically your doing that my husband was sleeping with people other than me?" Myzida asked surprised.

"No," Andalek disagreed. "Your husband told me that he needed some aids and that he would like to hire a few people. I didn't want people I didn't know so close to him, so I told him I would take care of it. I got him aids, I never suggested he should sleep with them. What happened between them happened between them. I can tell you that per my request, they didn't start anything. He was the one that made the move on them. All I did, if you want to blame me for something, is make sure to get a group of people that I knew worked well together and would not start backstabbing each other because your husband slept with one of them. And it worked. They did a good job, just that by their own choice one of their many tasks was a bit more... physical."

"That is so calculative," Myzida said sadly.

Andalek frowned as if not understanding the comment. "Of course it is. I was queen of the world. Every last thing I did was calculated. The smallest things can make an impact. Do you think you can do different? Just think, did you ever tell someone in jest that you are going to kill them? Now think of you saying that as queen. Someone hears you say that to a friend, and all of a sudden word gets out that you don't trust your friend anymore and are contemplating having him killed." Then Andalek hesitated and asked, "You, you don't seem angry to find out that your husband had others. Do you think I'm just making it up?"

Myzida looked down at her hands. "You are right, I'm not angry. It's more that I'm disappointed. Having others, it's expected. We are a species that can live for millennia. Even if love is timeless, sometimes the body wants something new. My parents love each other like crazy. Even now, after being together for many centuries they will walk holding hands sometimes. And the fact that both of them have some fun on the side from time to time doesn't change that. They know it, their kids know it, and their friends know it. It's normal, it happens. Hell, my mother's sister and my father share the bed at least twice a year when she comes to visit our family on different holidays."

"Hmm, yeah," Andalek agreed. "Another reason why I never tried the relationship thing; I don't share. I didn't share power. I had an entire government running the world, but my word was the law. And let me tell you, while being the ultimate power for all that time, I never once had the notion of sharing. Of giving the Regent Council the power to outvote me, for instance. They can, could, run the world, but if I said jump, the only question they better asked after that would be 'how high'. And if I don't think I could share there, I don't think I could share a partner either. Just the idea of someone else touching what's mine like that... I think my sword should see another beheading before the day were done. But, if you are so used to it, why were you disappointed?"

Myzida looked back up and smiled humorlessly. "Because, my mom and dad, they had been together for over a hundred years before they finally sat down and decided that it was time for things on the side. In fact, it started with what I just already said. It was my mom that told my dad that my aunt, her sister, thought that my father was really cute and that she thought that it would be fun to start a bit of a tradition of my aunt giving my dad a 'special gift' at the two gift giving holidays. To clarify; it was my mother's idea that my father should sleep with another woman, and it was my mother that made it happen by organizing it. That's how casual the concept of there being others can be; a woman telling her own sister, 'my husband is fun in bed, you should try him'. But the point is, there was nobody else in the beginning. Over a hundred years it was just my mom and dad."

Myzida indicated her own body by waving her hands over it generally to indicate the entire package, before looking back up and continuing, "I know that nature favored me quite well. And it's not like I didn't deliver in bed. When I was still a kid, once I realized how my looks were forming, I decided that I wanted to present a future partner with the full package. I am a registered follower of Vicar Wayda's path to physical enlightenment."

Myzida chuckled when she saw Andalek's eyes go wide. "Yeah, thanks for allowing him to continue his teachings when you conquered his lands."

Andalek shrugged. "It wasn't him that was fighting me. And while I may not have been sexually active myself, I could definitely see the benefits of his teachings. What's wrong with teaching people to know their own body, and how to please others? As long as it's them that's making the choice. That's why I did ask, and got, the concessions of rule one from him. Once he agreed to that, I was happy to move on."

Now it were Myzida's eyes that widened. "You demanded the first rule?"

"I did," Andalek assured. "Again, different time. I wanted to prevent that parents with lesser standards would send their kids to him to learn how to become good prostitutes. It happened back then that parents would make their kids do stuff like that to earn money so that the partners had an easy life. Also one of the reasons why I made the law that people were legal and independent adults from the age of 25. Even if they had lousy parents, at least from age 25 onwards there was no law that still bound them and kept them with those parents."

"And by doing so, by adding rule one, you made sure that Vicar Wayda's path to physical enlightenment became a respected way of living," Myzida said impressed. "'Rule one; no means no, and everyone at any point has a right to say it and have it be respected, no matter how advanced the physical interaction is at that point'. His teachings became so wide spread that some schools even teach them; mine did."

Myzida smiled a bit impishly before admitting, "I loved the practical section of it."

Now Andalek laughed. "A lot of students do at the schools that teach his ways. They seem to really like the fact that they are allowed to have sex from age fifteen then, even if only during the lessons."

"Hmm," Myzida agreed. "There is something to be said for being allowed to have sex for an hour, twice per week, on a weekly basis. And funny enough, it also does take away the urge of looking for illegal sex outside the school completely. If you fall in love with someone, let them share your class and you can have sex legally and even call it education. I loved my lessons. First get theoretical explanation on how to do what just right, and then have a full hour where you and your study mate go and have a lot of fun as you try what you just learned."

Then Myzida sobered again before continuing the original point. "But, as you can see, my husband may have been the first person I ever loved or even felt any romantic attraction for, I was not new to the world of sex. He did not bed an amateur that didn't know what she was doing. I am excellent in bed, and that is not an empty boast. I was second best of my class, and I only lost the first spot because my grade was lower in the willingness to share my partner with others in a blanket approval."

Andalek lifted and eyebrow. "Knowing the scoring system as I do because I approved it, you must have been better in all other fields to compensate for the complete denial in that one field, if you still got second place."

"I was," Myzida affirmed. "So I would have hoped that my husband would be content with sample my goods for quite a while longer before being tempted by other goods."

Andalek scratched her chin for a moment before informing, "Erm, it’s more like the other way around really. He had those aids even before he met you. I guess he simply didn't see a reason to stop bedding them just because he was now also bedding you."

"Oh," Myzida said deflated. "That hurts."

"Sorry," Andalek said, and surprisingly also meant it. "And yet another benefit of never having been with anyone; I never had to deal with hearing that my partner slept with this or that person. Just because it's common and legal, doesn't mean that I, the person that did make it legal, like it. I could see why others would want it, so I made sure they could if they wanted to. But I never will. I, don't, share, period."

"Hmm, yes," Myzida said, shaking herself a little to focus more on the conversation. "And the most amazing thing about that is, that nobody will ever believe me if I told anymore that our former queen never bedded anyone. Not that I will of course." Suddenly Myzida perked up as clearly an idea came to her. "Well now, well now. Doesn't that just change things?"

Andalek frowned. "How would the fact that I have never been with anyone change anything about what we were talking about?"

"Not so much that you never been with anyone, but more the fact that you said that you could never share. It changes things in so far that maybe I should take your plan literally," Myzida said, suddenly standing up and pushing the chair back. "Maybe I should tame you for real. She let her eyes drift over Andalek's strong body. "Well, tame is maybe the wrong word. After all, just ask our guests; you don't want to tame a Prowler. You want it wild and ready to kill, just that you hope it likes you so much it kills for you, and not you. I like the image, you know? Of the kind and understanding queen that guides her people into the future, with her strong protector standing beside her with her famous cobalt blue bladed sword in her hand, protecting all form the mistakes of the past. Or something like that. The poets will explain it more impressive."

Andalek frowned. "What exactly did just happen to the young widow that is mourning her husband? Are you implying what I think you are?"

"What happened to me?" Myzida asked. "I'm just following normal Draenei behavior. Mourning a lost love and finding a new one are two separate things. Since we Draenei don't die of old age, the saying goes; 'If you lost a mate and come across a new love, hold on to that love. You have enough time to sit down and mourn your loss later. But letting a potential new love go and then wonder for the rest of your life what could have been, that's just stupid'. I will morn Zalod. Later, when life has settled down and I have to time to seclude myself away from my understanding new partner for a week or so as I let that pain surface. But for now, new chances are before me."

Myzida boldly placed her hands on Andalek's hips. "Sharing, having others on the side, is a normal Draenei thing, but I just discovered that I really don't like the feeling it gives of apparently me not being enough. You on the other hand simply don't like to share. That sounds surprisingly alike, don't you think? How about it, you interested in a partner that promises you that there will never be anyone but you? I have been with quite some men in my life if you add the ones I had at school. I never counted with how many boys I shared lessons. I have also been with four men after I left school; including my husband. But I have never been with a woman. So technically you would be my first. First woman, but still a first. How about it? You could be my first and last ever, and I could be that for you, and that for as long as we are together, it's just us; no sharing. No sharing, but all the more loving between two partners that are sexually active enough that sharing wouldn't even cross the mind anyway."

"Sounds like one more hopeless dream," Andalek noted.

Myzida nodded. "It does. But the interesting this is, it seems that around me hopeless dreams happen to come true." Myzida took hold of her shirt and ripped it open, not bothering to undo the fastenings. "You said you like large breasts. Do these please you, my queen?"

Andalek's eyes dropped as she took in the lace covered mounts before her. "Erm."

Myzida trailed a finger down her cleavage. "I have always been very happy with what nature handed me. Large, but still capable of fitting in a normal shirt. Too much to be covered by a hand, but perfect size to be cupped."

As Myzida was talking, Andalek lived up to her reputation of seeing more than just the obvious. Myzida did indeed have a very impressive pair of breasts, and Andalek did indeed enjoy looking at them, but as she was doing that she also let her eyes drift over the rest of the naked skin she could now see and she decided that Myzida was one of those people that was blessed by simply being gorgeous all over. Her stomach was sexy as hell, with a bellybutton that Andalek would probably start describing as cute real soon, and the roundness of the hips that emerged from Myzida's pants just promised a whole lot more of amazing curves to be found under that fabric.

And then Myzida opened the clip between the cups of the last fabric that was still covering her breasts as she continued to explain, "But this is what I really like about my breasts. See? Even without support they look great. See how they hang like the bra is just there to prevent movement and not because they actually need support? And, mmhmm, they feel even better. Would you like to feel them, my queen? See if I'm telling the truth? Just imagine holding them. They are so firm, so warm. I always absolutely loved the mix. Firm, amazing shape even without bra, and yet still subtle enough that they move oh so sexy when I move."

Two cuffed hands lifted slowly and Myzida had to smile when she saw that they were shaking slightly. And then, just as hands were about to touch warm skin, the shaking stopped and became completely still. Then those eyes lifted and there was nothing of nervousness to be found. More deadliness actually. "Do you have any idea how many people offered themselves to me over the years, just like you? You really think that seeing a pair of breasts will suddenly make me act like a child? I just told you I had a group of eight women beg me to become my personal harem. Do you really think they were dressed when they were doing that begging? You really think this is the first set of amazing breasts I ever seen?"

"Ah, there you are," Myzida laughed. "I was starting to get worried that you would turn shy in bed. And seeing that you were a single queen for over two thousand years, I would guess the number of people that tried counts in the hundreds, and that probably dozens of them managed to get about this close to you while being nude before you managed to chase them off. I guess that sometimes it took some time since you had to be polite in negotiations and such and really couldn’t just kill a Regent's daughter or such. But you are wrong with one thing. None of them was just like me. Because them you shot down, me you will accept."

"Oh, I will, will I?" Andalek asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You will," Myzida assured. "Because we are heading towards a war, and only the two of us can stop that. For that alone you will go along with the plan. Which, if I may remind you, my queen, is actually your plan to begin with. Now, that could of course mean that behind closed doors you would keep your distance from me. But I ask you, why bother? Just think, two thousand years of cold nights. If the plan succeeds we will have to be happy, or pretend to be, for as long as we rule. Seeing that we both want what's good for the people, and seeing that we could very well live for tens of thousands of years more."

Myzida paused for a moment to let that sink in, but made sure to continue before the Older woman decided to reply. "I say again. Two thousand years of cold nights are behind you, do you really want two thousand more? Or would you much rather have the warm body of your wife beside you that tells you each day how much she loves you and also likes to be very active in bed? Remember, registered follower of Vicar Wayda's path to physical enlightenment. I have literally been taught in school to love being sexually active."

"But only with men," Andalek pointed out.

Myzida nodded. "True, but I would call that a good and fun mix. Most of the things still apply. I still know how to do foreplay, still know how to do a harmless caress, that sends exactly the right messages to inform of what I want or want to do. And on the flip side, since I never been with a woman, enough new that we can have fun as I study just what makes you moan. The important part is, as I said, that I have been taught to be sexually active and want more."

Myzida laughed as she admitted, "I once told my sex teacher, 'I think I am addicted to making love. I want it at least once a day.' And with a proud smile he told me, 'well, as far as addictions go, I think you picked a good one. There is worse to be addicted to'. That never changed, if I have my way, I want to make love at least once a day. More if the day allows for it. So what do you think? Would you like to bed me every day? How about in the morning so that we both start our day relaxed, and then at night as a reward for a day well ruled. Would you like that? Touching those breasts you seem to like so much? Sucking my nipples and hearing me moan? Come on, stop playing hard to get and let me seduce you for real. Just imagine the fun we could have."

Not waiting for Andalek to reply, Myzida cleared the throat and then took a deep breath, at the same time very pointedly looking down at her chest, as if to indicate where they had stopped.

"Goddess you're pushy," Andalek said as she finally placed her hands on Myzida's breasts.

"I can be," Myzida readily agreed as she pushed even more of her chest into the hands. "And I can be bossy too, my queen. And luckily for you, as long as I'm happy, I can also be really easy. I really don't need much work to get me into bed as long as it's a place I like being. I have a feeling that you will like the combination; in the bed and out of it. You are used to people doing what you say, and I won't unless you convince me. I'll probably frustrate you on a daily basis. I will question you and won't take 'because I said so' for an answer. But on the flip side, I'll make sure that every day, every day, you thank the goddess for me being in your life. I'll make you feel so special that just a smile of me will warm your heart and make you love every moment of me being stubborn and not listening to 'because I said so'. And that's even outside the bedroom. And inside the bedroom you'll find a partner that eagerly pulls you into bed to have some fun, simply because I myself really like to have fun."

"And as long as it stays fun," Andalek added. "You did say, ' I really don't need much work to get me into bed as long as it's a place I like being'. So does that mean that if I don't agree with you on state affairs you'll cut me off until I do agree because the bed is no longer a place you like being because you are disappointed that I don't do as you want?"

Myzida chuckled. "Funny thing is, I would consider that the hard way. After all, I am, and will continue to be, the queen. So it's really more the other way around, don't you think? If we disagree it's more that you have to convince me. But in my idealistic dream world, we'll actually end up really liking each other so much that we simply chat about stuff and come up with our united opinion from casual discussion. And that any matters of state will be finished long before we retire for the night. Or have been put on hold until the next day. So there would be no reason for anyone to cut anyone off until they agree. After all, do keep in mind that it goes both ways; you can just as easily cut me off as I can cut you off, and by either of us cutting the other off, we are also punishing ourselves in the process."

Myzida arched her back a little, keeping her face at the same distance from the former queen as it had been, but as a result pushing her chest boldly into the hands that were still resting on them. She placed her own hands over those of Andalek and squeezed softly. "Feel that? I like them being touched, and I'm quite liking the idea of having you touch them daily. The people I had before, the men, they loved the fact that I had big breasts, but as soon as they touched once or twice, they focused on down south instead. Seeing that you said you like large breasts, I have a feeling that it won't be that hard to convince you that actually playing with them for a few minutes as we make love would be a fun thing to do."

Myzida leaned forward to whisper into the former queen's ear, very deliberately also pushing her assets even more firmly into the other woman's hands. Then she said softly, and as seductively as she could manage, "And since the fate of the world balances on us actually getting along, I'll let you in on a secret that I never told the others because I hoped that they would discover it themselves; they never did. But I have a feeling that you, as observant as you are, would find out real soon, so I think I can tell you this now to the overall idea of us together even more interesting."

"Tell me what?" Andalek asked. Despite what she had said about being able to not be tempted by bodily urges, she sure was starting to find it very hard to think with the breath of one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen tickling her hear, and a body worth having wet dreams of molding against hers.

"My breasts," Myzida reminded. "As I said, I love when they are being touched. Drives me wild actually. And you can set my mood, as in what kind of fun I feel like at that moment, by how you touch them. Granted, takes a bit of leaning, but it really does work. Think you like that idea? Knowing that simply by how play with my breasts as we warm up, you can put me in any mood you yourself feel like having fun in that evening."

"It sounds... surprisingly convenient," Andalek had to admit. "Something I would find hard to believe in any other situation, but seeing that we are having private... negotiations right now, I'm actually inclined to believe you. Of course the trick will be in knowing exactly which touch and how much and how long."

Myzida nodded with a smile. "Convenient, yes. Surprising, not so much if you keep in mind that I'm an active follower Vicar Wayda's path to physical enlightenment. I discovered that at school and experimented with it. Maybe you could argue that it's now so evolved because of that studying, but the fact remains that it's true. But, as you said, just knowing it is one thing. Where it goes from being just information to being a trick is that you will have to learn. But oh, once you know the trick. And the thing that really excites me about that is that I know that you are a woman that wants to be the best at anything you do. There is a reason why nobody ever bested you on the battlefield. It's because you learned how to be the best. Just the idea of knowing that you will bring that determination into the bedroom as well, that you will become just as skilled at knowing my body and knowing how to make love to me with equal skill, makes me feel all warm inside."

Then she took a small step back, making sure to still stand close enough that her breasts were still resting in hands that had moved to cup them a little as if weighing them. "So what do you think? You like em?"

"They are perfection," Andalek finally relented. "Goddess, woman, it should be illegal to be in the possession of such amazing works of art. Your entire body for that fact. Just the idea of in bed, moving my hands over you. It just..."

"Makes you horny, doesn't it? Myzida asked with a smile. "Well, it makes me horny as well." Myzida let her eyes drift down the former Queen's body and definitely liked the shapes she saw. She placed her hands on Andalek's hips and then moved her hands up along the older woman's sides, lifting the shirt in the process. With a little smile she moved her hands forward once she reached the chest and moved the fabric over the much more modest breasts. Modest, but still enough of a swell to stop the fabric from simply being pushed up all the way.

"Doesn't compete with what you have," Andalek noted.

"Nothing to be ashamed about," though," Myzida noted. She moved one of her hands to cup a breast. "B cup?"

Andalek nodded. "Though I preferred not to bother with bras. I preferred to wear a leather under armor that just simply covers them."

Myzida glanced down a little move to see the older woman's torso. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw the muscles that she had already felt a bit off as she moved the fabric up. "Goddess, you have a body like that after having been in a cell for all that time?"

Andalek shrugged. "What most people forget that being in a cell gives you one thing; lots of time. I like to excursive a bit to keep in shape. Though I definitely don't look like I used to before my confinement."

"You looked even more cut before?" Myzida asked amazed. "Goddess woman, I could scrub a shirt clean on those abs."

Andalek chuckled at hearing the description she never had heard before. "I admit, I always liked the results of my trainings. Be it in being good in battle, or be it in seeing a woman that looks ready for battle when I looked in a mirror."

"You know what I always liked about men's bodies?" Myzida asked, only to answer before Andalek could reply, "How sexy they could look if they kept in shape. It seems, my queen, that we truly do enhance each other. In more ways than one. You like my feminine forms and can't wait to move your hands over my body while we make love, while I prefer a body that is full of sexy muscles where even if you were to lay down and relax I could still follow every line of your abs as I teasingly move my finger along it." She made a little show of pretending to peek around the taller woman and try to see her back. Damn it woman, I can't wait to have you on top of me so that I can let my hands roam over that back. And I just bet that your ass can only be described as firm. Just imagining resting my hands on that while you are ravishing me."

Reluctantly Myzida lowered the shirt again and pulled it straight. "I think I am definitely getting the better deal here."

Andalek couldn’t help but grin at the young Queen's words. During her two millennia as Queen there had been countless people that had had tried to flatter Andalek by telling her how beautiful she was, and how well she looked in a dress. And yet until now nobody had managed to realize that Andalek really liked how she looked. Her body was a testimony of countless hours of training. Her body had become a powerhouse of strength that most tended to underestimate. Even people that had seen her wield a sword in battle often forgot that she also had the physical strength to lift a full grown man off the ground with one hand. More than one battle had been ended by her simply picking an enemy up and throwing him, or her, against a convenient wall head first. Most of them had lived to tell about it. Some had not. Even a Draenei tended to die from a broken neck.

So to see a gorgeous woman like Myzida that really liked how she herself looked apparently get turned on by seeing Andalek's sculpted body full of muscles was very satisfying. Then she frowned. "Are you messing with me?"

"Am I lying, pretending that I like how you look just to convince you?" Myzida asked to clarify. Then. Not waiting for an answer, she continued, "Why would I bother? You like my body anyway, whether I like how you look or not. So if I didn't find your body damn sexy, why should I condemn myself to having to pretend I do? Just think about it, I can guess you will want to get back to your old form and stay that way. If I was faking that I liked that, I would be condemned to having to suffer through that and smile. But instead I have a feeling that you will be condemned to having to suffer me wanting to be around your every time you train." Then she grinned. "It's damn hard to fake wandering off into a drooling trance every time I see you with your shirt off, you know?'

Andalek had to chuckle at that last point that made surprisingly much sense to her. She also knew that Myzida was right. Andalek's plan could work. Myzida's twist could make it believable to the masses. So that meant they would be stuck with each other. Better try to get along then right away. And on that note, if the woman you had to get along with and would be with for the rest of your life, one way or another, was freaking hot and looked like she was built just for you, well, there were some nice activities that could be done together. Giving in completely, she asked, clearing up once final detail, "Erm, a deal is a deal, but just for the record, we are both actually into women, right?"

Myzida laughed. "Now you ask? After all that talk?"

Andalek shrugged. "I have never been with anyone at all, and you have only been with men, it's a fair question, despite the talk."

"Fair enough," Myzida relented. "Alright, let's cover the basis, we know you enjoy the female form, from how you look at me. You seem to love my boobs, tell me, since you have never been with anyone. Have you at least indulged in self pleasure, or did you push it all away?"

"That, I did," Andalek admitted. "Remember, I told you I lost my virginity to a toy I used. No, I indulged alright. Sometimes it was a lot easier to just relax by some self indulgence instead of killing someone."

"Funny," Myzida chuckled. "Then I think we got it all covered. We both like the female from, we both explored or own body, because trust me, I definitely did. So that means we also know from touching ourselves how it feels to be touched and how it feels to touch a woman. I think we are all set."

Andalek raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

Myzida grinned at the look. "Alright, so this time I 'am' messing with you. "Look, it's really easy, we clearly like each other. Tell me you disagree. No matter the circumstances, there clearly clicked something between us. We started this talk with you trying to kill me, and here we now stand with your hands still cupping my breasts like they are glued to them. You don't wanna let them go, do you? There just is something. Even if you had been still the Queen and I just a servant bringing you your food, tell me there wouldn't be a big chance that by now we would have been standing just like this anyway. Tell me honestly, no pretending to be tough, just between us where nobody can hear you admit it. You, the woman that never kneeled for anyone, if I were to drop my pants and ask you to kneel and please me with your mouth right now, would you do it?"

Andalek glanced at the door, knowing where the guards would be standing, close enough that they would hear screaming or a fight, but definitely far enough away to not hear a conversation. Still, she lowered her voice a little before admitting, "I would, and you know it. You bewitched me. I want to... I want you, I want to try so much with you."

Myzida smiled broadly, proving in the process that even her broadest smile was still incredibly beautiful to see. Or maybe Andalek liked that smile so much because she just knew that the smile was a gift to Andalek the person, and not the queen. "There we go, progress. Well, I for one really like the idea of us being with each other. I think exactly because you were the Queen before, and know that this doesn't mean you aren’t still a person, that if I were to tell you that I really would love to sink to my knees and eat you, that you will just see your lover and not your Queen. I think that this clearly indicates that we both are also into women, if in my case not exclusively. Though from now on I'll only be in one woman... erm, I didn't mean the double meaning, but I'm, not taking it back since that part is true as well. Truth, I am kinda looking forward to us just messing about and seeing what we like."

"I would like that as well," Andalek admitted, this time without hesitation.

They looked at each other in silence for a long moment before Myzida took hold of Andalek's hands and entwined their fingers before saying hesitantly, "You have powerful hands. Hands that have seen a lot of voidance over the years."

"You're wondering if I'll lift them against you," Andalek guessed. "Anyone can do that. You don't need powerful hands for that. Even a servant can stab you in the back if you aren’t looking. I think it would be easier for you if you instead saw them as hands that know how to get the job done. But look at it from the bride side. If you want to worry about that, you only have to worry about one person that is standing behind you. But if you have to worry about that one person that stands behind you, it does mean that there is someone standing behind you and anybody else will have to get through me to get to your back. One could have a worse shield."

Myzida nodded and lifted their linked hands. "So shall I call for your cuffs to be removed or do you want to wait until later as you take a bath and dinner? I have a distinct feeling you will want to get out of those as soon as possible and never have to see chains again."

Seeing the kind of discussion they were having, Andalek decided to show off a bit for a woman the first time in her life, and flipped her back onto the table, swinging her legs up and then back down on either side on Myzida. But since her feet were still connected with a length of chain, this meant that the younger woman was effectively trapped between Andalek's legs. With the powerful woman in front of her and the chain just under her behind keeping her in place. "Never is a big word. Surely as a follower of Vicar Wayda's path to physical enlightenment, the idea of chains is not new to you."

"Well, it was more like silk rope like scarfs, but yes, I have been there," Myzida agreed. "Let me guess, exactly because you are so strong, and have never before been able to trust someone enough to do it, the idea of being restricted with chains or robe and totally at my mercy as I tease you into frustration turns you on like crazy."

"Not that I would ever admit that until now," Andalek agreed.

"Don't worry," Myzida assured. "We'll have tons of fun experimenting. After all, it will be my duty as your wife to keep things interesting for you."

Giving in completely, Andalek admitted, "I don't see how being close to you can be anything but interesting. I think you managed to seduce me. I can't shake the images."

"Of being restrained?" Myzida asked amused.

Andalek shook her head. "No, that's for later when we want to try new stuff. I just mentioned it because you said I would never want to be in chains again. I think with you, chains can be fun if done right. But for now, no the images I can't shake is just the simples idea of having you on a bed and placing sensual kisses all over, before placing kisses on,"

"You also never kissed anyone at all, have you?" Myzida interrupted.

Andalek merely shook her head.

"We'll change that right now," Myzida assured. And then, knowing that she had to be the first one, that history knew that she has been the one that had started it and hadn't been pushed, she slowly leaned closer and brushed her lips over those of the former queen. The contact quickly deepened and long minutes later they reluctantly broke apart. They looked at each other for a moment more, searching for doubt, and finding none.

"Queen Andalek," Myzida said, starting the official claim. "You renounced your throne to prevent a battle that would have cost millions of lives. Though that battle was prevented, there is technically still a civil war going on on our world. Today I propose that we bring that war officially to an end. Queen Andalek, I am freshly widowed, and I long for a strong partner in my life. Bond with me in official ceremony and become my Mate. Let us unite the world once more. I have ideas for the future, but have no idea how to rule the world today. You hesitate to embrace the future."

She placed a finger softly against Andalek's lips to indicate that she knew that the older woman would not agree with that. "I want to be able to recede my claim in truth for the archives. If we tried to explain that you did think of the future after a war was fought over you not looking to the future, it would open up bitter wounds. Much better and simpler that your contact with me opened you up for new ideas and you finally embraced them."

"Fair enough," Andalek relented.

"I have ideas for the future," Myzida started again, "but have no idea how to rule the world today. You hesitate to embrace the future, but have two millennia worth of experience in how to rule the world. Stand by me and help me rule the world today, and be my anchor in reality while I tell you about my dreams for the future. Queen Andalek, I ask you, bond with me and become my Mate. Stand at my side as my equal. Share my bed as my equal, and share my life, as my equal."

Since Myzida had been the claimer, Andalek's part was a lot easier; she merely had to accept. "I accept, and welcome your claim, Queen Myzida. As of today, you are my life." Then she leaned closer and whispered into her new Mate's ear, "And you managed to aww me and bring me from threatening to kill you to Bonding with you in less than six hours of talk. You impressed me, Young queen, and I think that besides you now being my life, I also will make you my world. But there is one more thing I need to do."

Suddenly Andalek flipped back gain, removing the chain from around her Mate, something that was a lot easier now that Myzida was standing so close. She moved to stand in front of Myzida, who has turned to see what she was going to do. She closed Myzida's top that was still hanging open before taking one step back and calling loudly for the guards. Seeing Myzida flinch she said somewhat ruefully, "Probably should have warned you to cover your ears."

Before more could be said, the door opened and two armed guards entered.

"Call the other guards and bare witness," Andalek ordered and a shout and a moment later there was a group of twenty guards at the door. "Royal guard, friends that fought at my side in many a battle, my loyal subjects. Bear witness and spread the word."

Then Andalek turned back to face Myzida. "You 'did' impress me, my queen. So much so that for the first time in my life I took a mate. So much so that for the first time in my life I'm willing to do what no other could make me do."

And then, the woman that had walked off every battlefield she has been on with her head high and back straight, the woman that has ruled the world for two thousand years and hand never kneeled for anyone, willingly sank to her knees and bowed her head. "But the world needs only one Queen. Queen Myzida, I renowned my throne before. Now I gladly renounce my title to you. As of this moment, the world has only one queen, and I am nothing more than a loyal subject that would gladly give my life for you."

Myzida was shocked into silence, and only a shuffling at the door shook her out of it. All the guards had kneeled as well, and their heads were bowed. And for the first time, Myzida couldn't help but notice, they were bowed in her direction.

With a shake of her head, Myzida focused on the more important things. "If that is your wish, Citizen Andalek, then I will accept that." Then an idea came to her that would simplify a lot of things, most important if which, that the person that was going to help her rule had no command anymore to tell anyone what to do. Time to fix that. "However, a queen needs a Regent Commander that she can trust with her life. You, Citizen Andalek, found out the hard way what happens if a Regent Commander turns. Luckily I won't have to worry about that because I can trust my Regent Commander quite literally with my life. Citizen Andalek, if you want it, I offer you the position of my Regen Commander. Will you do me the honor?"

"The honor will be mine, my queen."

Myzida laughed. "Then how about we make it complete? I know the position was never used as you were queen of the world, but technically a queen can still be challenged, and a queen can still have a champion. How about we roll that in there as well?" She looked over at the still kneeling guards. "What do you think guys, doesn't that sound awesome? Regent Commander Andalek; Queen's Champion and Royal Mate?"

"Mate?" One of the guards asked in disbelief.

"I guess they didn't hear it the first time we said it with them in here, eh?" Myzida asked amused as she gently pulled her mate to her feet.

"Guess not," Andalek agreed. Then she looked at her former guard. "But it's true. My friends, this is real. The world truly has only one queen again, and that queen is mated to the previous queen, with the claim already spoken and accepted. And yes, I am her champion and will kill anyone that tries to harm her. Now go spread the good word. Let the people know that we will explain it all tomorrow. And if they can't wait and ask, tell them that the Regent Commander will be ruling the world on the day to day basis, but unlike before, there is a queen that dreams of the future and they will work together to form a working tomorrow."

The End