The wind howled as the queen put further distance between herself and the kingdom. The lush, green trees slowly turned to tall pines with snow-covered branches as her feet to her further and further into the woods. One would think that the bitter cold would slow her down, but the unrest in her heart kept her going. As she stopped to take a breather and ensure that she still had not been followed, the queen was caught off guard as her feet were knocked out from under her. Before she could even react, she was pinned down in the snow with an axe to her throat.
“Who are you, and why are you trespassing here?” her attacker demanded, their voice harsh and loud. “This is Nemain territory, and your kind isn’t welcome.”
The queen attempted to brush some of the snow out of her face but was stopped as the blade of her attacker’s weapon pressed harder against her neck. “If you really must know, I’m the current reigning Queen of Salene. Or rather, I was the reigning Queen...”
The brutish woman scoffed at those words. “Oh, so we have one of the dolled-up royals in our lands, eh?” The woman still did not let her up, but her tone was less sharp. “Why would you ever choose to leave the comfort of your precious palace let alone the fragile safety of your kingdom?”
“Because I...” the queen trailed off, feeling small. “I don’t have what it takes to rule...” She averted her eyes from the blonde, clearly having difficulty saying those words.
The Nemain woman looked at stared down at her for a moment before finally lifting her axe away from the royal, unsure of how she was supposed to take that statement. “What do you mean by that? Don’t your little followers always agree with their ruler’s choices?”
The purple-haired Cerridwen remained silent for a moment. “...It isn’t that they won’t agree, it’s that I don’t have the experience.”
The blonde finally stood, releasing the royal from her grip. “Experience? Bah! You were raised by the previous leaders, how the hell don’t you have experience?”
“I wasn’t.” the queen stated as she sat up. “I... I never was taught how.”
The Nemain looked at the pitiful Cerridwen before her, placing her axes back into their belt loops. “...Well that’s ridiculous, why wouldn’t they teach their next in line to rule the kingdom? ...What’s your name, anyway?”
“...Kikumi...” the queen said. “And it wasn’t that they chose to not teach me, the kingdom was practically sacked before they really had the chance... My parents never made it, and had it not been for those...disgusting...necromancers....I wouldn’t have, either.”
The warrior woman gave her a puzzled look before taking an abrupt seat beside the elf. “What are you saying, you’re technically supposed to be dead or something?”
“...Yeah.” Kikumi muttered. “I don’t know why I’m bothering to spill my whole story to someone who just tried to kill me, though... so, who are you?”
The blonde kept eyeing how forlorn this young woman was, because her royal status didn’t match the look she now had. “Signy. Signy War-Bear, Nemain warrior with the title of Slayer.”
“....Well, Signy... you’re right.” Kikumi told her, still not having looked away from the snow. “I’m supposed to be dead, but when the kingdom was sacked all those years ago, necromancers stole the bodies of the dead. Reanimated them for their own purposes in hopes they had capable puppets, and I was one of them... I only took the throne after returning on a mission for those they worked alongside, and things... were explained to me by one of the few survivors. But really, who am I to rule a kingdom? I have no experience in governing other people, let alone dealing with political affairs... they should just find a replacement for me before I screw things up...”
At that, Kikumi was met with a hard slap to the back of her head. She turned to see Signy frowning at her, her brows furrowed. “What the hell was that for?!”
“How pathetic.” Signy growled. “You’re running away from your duty because you don’t have the courage to face it head on! How can you even call yourself a queen at all if that’s the stance you take? A Nemain would take the reins and go with it even if they didn’t have the experience!!”
“Well then maybe you should go and be the queen then.” Kikumi sneered.
“Tch, as if.” Signy laughed. “I’m not refined like your kind. I’ve better things to do with my time.”
Kikumi shook her head. “And what would that be?”
“Adventuring.” Signy stated. “Being able to see what’s out there and what tries to put up a fight. Strengthening my arms in battle. How else do you think I got the title of Slayer?”
Kikumi sat silent for a moment. “You certainly seem to live up to your title, then... perhaps I could learn a thing or two from you...”
“Oh no, I ain’t teaching no fragile palace girl how to do her job. Not like I know how to be a royal, I swing an axe and things fall dead. Simple as that.”
“It’s a metaphor.” Kikumi stated coldly. “Not like your people want me around, either.”
Signy stared at the sorry excuse for a queen, pondering what to do. After a bit of silence, the blonde stood and began to walk away. Kikumi stared for a moment, watching her go before pulling her knees to her chest and looking away. Signy heard the minor movement and turned around, looking back at the royal. “...What, you’re jsut going to sit there?”
“...What else is there to do...”
Signy rolled her eyes and let a massive grunt escape her lips. “Get up. You can tag along with me until you’re ready to go back home.”
