CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: REIGN

Say not what must be or not be,
until thou hast conceived the bourne
and shewed through that grim veil to see
the realm that life nor death suborn,
for only then wilt thou receive
the vision true for which you yearn.
-The Northstar Bible, Canto 12:16

Theo had slept alone most nights, huddled in barns or closets or beneath the summer sky, thankful for the scant warmth of a farm cat. And Thea had barely been sleeping with Matthias for a week, and already she missed his warmth. Every night she cried herself to sleep, and each morning she awoke, acutely aware of that missing warmth, reassuring and undeniable, that only the scion of a fire god could provide. She'd barely known him for a fortnight, and yet Thea knew she'd spend the rest of her days, long may she reign, grieving her loss.

Worse yet was that she dreamed of Matthias every night, and every night she knew his dream-self was growing closer to his untimely death at the hands of Erodor Westman. First, he was that pleasantly-handsome man with olive skin and wavy hair, and then the dark-skinned god of a man, the ends of his hair like burning coals. And in her dreams, Thea would rush to him and embrace him, and sometimes he would recognize her, and sometimes he would kiss her, the burnished gold of his eyes blazing into her. And always, she wanted to warn him, to prevent his death… and she could never quite bring herself to do it. And now, on this night, Thea dreamt of Matthias standing before his own memorial, a thousand singe-tipped roses cast before the great obelisk in his name. And she knew that, even in her dreams, he would never be alive again.

Matthias stood before the memorial, and Thea rushed to embrace him, sobbing into his chest. And Matthias gently took her face and lifted her chin to meet his gaze, wiping at her tears with his thumb and regarding her beauty, as if for the first time. She forced herself to smile through her tears, but still the tears came.

"I wish I could see you again," she said.

Dream-Matthias smiled wistfully. "You can." Strangely enough, that was the first time he'd ever spoken to Thea in her dreams.

"How?"

And he whispered, his breath hot in her ear: "Wake up."

+++++

Thea stirred into wakefulness. Of late, she'd risen with the sun, spurred into wakefulness by the songbirds on her windowsill. She'd come to resent them, to resent their happy song in a world that should have been mourning. But she awoke even earlier, with the very first light only starting to glow against the horizon. And she felt that comforting warmth next to her.

At first, Thea thought it was her imagination, and then that it was Maddie and/or Svilga come in to snuggle against her. The girls were at least as devastated by Matthias's death as Thea was, and it was everything she could do to keep herself together in their presence whenever memories of Matthias came up (and they came up pretty often). But, no… it was far too warm and far too large to be either of the girls. Thea's eyes fluttered open, her blurry-eyed awakening immediately meeting with Matthias's golden gaze. He stared into her eyes endlessly, seeming to find far more depth than Thea granted herself to possess.

"H… how…" Before he could reply, Thea pulled Matthias on top of her and smothered him with kisses. "Is this a dream?"

"Does it feel like a dream?" Matthias said, his hand caressing her face before sliding down and finding purchase against the small of her waist.

Thea wanted it to be real… but how could it possibly be? She pulled Matthias even closer, wrapping herself around him, as if that might prevent any escape, even in dream. "I waited for your shade every day but never found you," she said. "I thought you were gone forever."

"When you're the scion of a god of death, you sometimes get to call in favors," Matthias said. "I would have come sooner, but the path from the land of the dead… it's not so straightforward. I thought I might never make it, but whenever I was about to give up, I saw you. I felt you calling out to me, and you were my lodestone. You pulled me home, Thea."

"Good," Thea said. She was shedding tears of joy now, and somehow those felt infinitely better than the burning tears of grief. She kissed him on the lips again, his breath hot and full of life. "Because people are starting to call me the 'Queen of Widows' and I hate it. So you'll straighten the record."

"Will I now?"

"Your queen commands it," Thea said. "But first I propose to straighten your record, in a manner of speaking."

Matthias grunted his affirmation and lifted the hem of Thea's night dress. "I'll let my lodestone guide me home," he said with a cocky grin.

Their lovemaking was slow and exquisite, with Thea ravenous for Matthias's touch. She hadn't even allowed herself to think of love when she'd thought him dead (and, in fact, he had been dead), and now her body was starved for affection. She gasped and sighed, responding to Matthias's touch and coaxing him on, her sex rekindling, her womanhood clutching onto Matthias so desperately it made his eyes bug out and she had to stifle her delighted giggling. When Matthias reared up to look down upon her, it was with a reverential appreciation beyond her beauty, of a love so deep that Thea also felt it, and it nearly made her weep. And it didn't hurt that Matthias was in excellent form, his thumbs gently caressing against her turgid nipples, his abdomen sleek and tensing as he thrust, his counterpoint to Thea's own rolling motions so perfect that only a god among men might manage it. And, despite all that, they kept things at a reasonable volume. It wasn't until Matthias thrust a final mighty push into Thea that she cried out and they both climaxed in earnest with a sound was loud enough to waken the girls.

When Maddie tapped on the door a minute later, more tentatively than she'd ever announced herself before, they were mostly dressed. Matthias threw the door open and drew her into a surprised-but-delighted embrace.

"Daddy! You're alive!"

"I'm so sorry I left you," he said, weeping into her hair. "I promised I'd never leave you again, but I did… have you been well-behaved for Thea?"

"Mostly," Svilga said, rushing to join the family embrace - and, a moment later, Thea joined them.

"Mostly," Thea agreed. "Let's get breakfast."

+++++

One week later, Thea and Matthias rode back to Rouentz. The day before, Cano had arrived back in Nortsair with a message from Roriga: she was sending an additional two hundred Soenmen their way, and would be sending another two hundred  in each of the two months thereafter. Given the recent losses in Rouentz in Nortsair, there was no shortage of available homesteads, so Thea didn't foresee any problems - they would behave themselves or she'd make them behave. Thus, Thea and Matthias took a leisurely ride through the Astorfall Woods to greet Roriga's host the next day and welcome them to the realm. While they were away, Cano would hold down the fort in Nortsair.

They clopped along the woodland path, past the half-buried bones of the ancient city and past the spot where Matthias and his brother had spotted Thea and the others what seemed like ages ago. Matthias seemed to remember the spot, too, staring at it wistfully and then reaching out to grasp Thea's hand. They shared a look and a melancholy smile.

"All that seems like another lifetime ago," Thea said.

Matthias nodded. "In a way, I suppose it was. From moment to moment, I never felt like a different man, but to leap across that span of time in one go, I'm definitely not the same."

"I'm not the same man, either," Thea laughed. "And to think, I owe it all to Bestel Myrdon."

"I thought we agreed not to say his name."

"Did I agree to that? Well I'm damn sure going to record his name for posterity. To quote Marius Profundus: Who does not recall where the bear-traps are placed will discover them soon enough. That is, we forget history at our own peril."

Matthias nodded magnanimously. "Thank you for the lesson, O Queen… oh… shit!"

This reaction was spurred by the sudden gust of wind and the first few spatters of rainfall through the leaves. The clear skies from earlier in the day had gradually clouded up, but neither of them had expected it to rain so soon. And rain it did - within minutes, the spatters had become a downpour and the wind was whipping branches around. Matthias thought he spotted an overhang not far off the path, and he and Thea soon found themselves in a familiar alcove deep within the woods.

No sooner had they led the horses underneath the alcove, the little rivulet trickling above them was inundated with a flash flood and they found themselves behind the edifice of a temporary waterfall. Thea found herself huddled with Matthias upon a little stoop of stone, remembering the few days they'd spent there in their original escape from Nortsair. The downpour only lasted an hour - good thing, too, because the pool beyond the little alcove had risen until it was within a few inches of their little hideaway. They waited there a while longer - it might be an hour or more until the path was in good condition for travel again, and Thea was growing thankful for every moment she could spare away from her constantly-expanding sphere of responsibility.

Thea dipped her bare feet in the water and found it pleasantly cool, and then she stripped out of her damp clothes - with his power, Matthias could dry them out in short order - and waded out nude, dark hair waving and full breasts bobbling in the clean water. Matthias waded out, too, a wolfish grin on his face, and they made love in the water. Their horses looked on, only marginally interested in the romantic affairs of humans.

"The last time we were here, I wasn't able to properly show my love," Thea said - in fact, she hadn't formed all of the appropriate parts yet. She certainly had them now.

"Then we'll have to be twice as proper to make up the difference," Matthias replied, and she giggled. He was witty when he was randy and Thea thoroughly appreciated both traits in him.

Eventually, though, they had to leave the glade in order to reach Rouentz before sundown. Thea made a mental note of their location, though. With her memory, she'd be able to find it again, and she was intent on returning to the spot now and again. They found the trail again in short order and reached Rouentz with half an hour of daylight to spare. From Rouentz's guard towers, Thea could see the campfires of the dozens of recently-arrived Soenmen out in the countryside, but they would have to wait until the next morning for Thea to extend her invitation.

+++++

That night, they stayed with Heath and Larian in their temporary abode at the Balder House. Grant Balder had been the chief tanner in town and a shrewd businessman to boot, but he'd died during the Battle for Nortsair, having fought valiantly to protect some of the less-capable townsfolk when their hiding spot was discovered. Larian had offered to buy Balder's place from his daughter, not much younger than Larian's actual age, but the girl insisted that she might move back into her dad's place after her 'adventure in the city', which everybody took to mean she'd found a boy or girl she fancied up in Nortsair and was waiting to see how things would go. Fair enough. In the meanwhile and until the new keep was completed, Heath and Larian had the run of the place. Cano was still part of their trio, but he'd been spending less time in town.

"I think he's found a boy up in Nortsair," Larian said. "Lavender eyes and cologne like summer spices."

"That may not be a boy," Thea observed. "And, if it's who I think it is, she's one to be wary around."

Heath shrugged. "Cano's a big boy - he can look after himself. And he isn't especially discriminating in the bedroom. None of us are, I suppose, and he's always welcome back to our bed…" he looked to both Thea and Matthias pointedly.

"I think we'll keep our own counsel tonight, thanks," Thea said. As attractive as Larian and Heath were, they were also still teenagers in a technical sense, and that sense was enough to give Thea serious pause. Maybe if Matthias was game, but only if he brought it up himself. She pivoted to a different topic. "Have you made any progress with the tunnels?"

"We have," Larian said. She eased over to a workbench and returned with a large scroll, unrolling it on the dining table. "We've moved the granary to some underground vaults and started a shaft for a new well… and here's where we're going with this…"

They spent the better part of the evening going over plans for Rouentz and its development. For the moment, everything looked fine, but they'd all received a crash course in how things could go from ok to very not-ok in a very short period of time.

The next morning, Thea rode out to meet with the new Soenmen - Soenmen and Soenwomen both, in roughly equal number. These were fighters and farmers, and half of them were families. If you included children, the total number present was close to three hundred. And very nearly all of those close-to-a-hundred children wanted to pet the queen's horse - but Thea made them wait until after her little speech:

"I am Thea Ever-Blessed, queen in these parts, and you now find yourselves subjects of Nortgard. Welcome and benkomm - that is how they say welcome in Aurilic, for many here do not speak your tongue. You may learn the local language, or you may not. You may engage with the north-men here, or you may stay amongst yourselves - mine is a free land, and it now sits under the Queen's Peace. Do not fight without cause, do not take what is not yours, even if you think you might claim it by combat, worship whatever gods you like and let others worship theirs, and show yourselves to be the noble sons and daughters of Ulthe that I know you to be. And, being noble in the truest way, we know the virtue of work by our own hands… therefore, you shall own no thralls. Any thralls you have now, I'll pay a fair price for them, and thenceforth they are free to do as they wish. And any slaves you seek to acquire henceforth, I shall free them myself and commit you to hard labor until I feel you've learned why slavery is unjust." She paused, waiting to see whether any would challenge her - there weren't many thralls among their number, but Thea spotted at least a few iron collars. "This is my North-law, and I will not hold you here if you find it unbearable, but neither will I tolerate recalcitrance. Have you got any questions for me?"

A brave little girl, her copper hair braided with little flowers in it, raised her hand. Thea nodded for her to voice her question: "Can I, um… can I pet your horse?"

The girl's father gasped. "My koenig… queen, my apologies… she is young and…"

"Her name is Blotto and she likes apples," Thea said with a smile. She tossed her sack of apples to where the children could get it.

It was early autumn, and the morning was crisp. In a few weeks, the trees would start to change colors, the fall crops would be ready for harvest, and she would be looking over a countryside of russet, gold, and brown. But now everything was green, and soon the sun would rise high in the sky and make them forget the morning chill. Thea singled out the yeomen of the group - four men and two women - and gathered them to discuss matters.

"I note that two of you are Runed men… I meant it when I gave you leave to worship whatever gods you liked… but I'm sure you've felt the power of Soenim falter of late. And I'll tell you what a hundred of our countrymen witnessed first-hand: my battle-brother Cano beat the war god's scion in fair combat. Valkiyr waxes in the south and Soenim is beaten back across the sea. If you wish to be more than a shadow of yourself, I can change your markings as I did for Roriga Storm-maiden. And if not?" Thea shrugged. "I'm sure we can find some flocks that need defending from foxes and such."

They grumbled at that, and Thea hoped that meant it would spur them into action. She was as tolerant as she could bear being, but she still didn't care for the old ways. Afterward, they arranged temporary lodging and discussed which plots could be assigned to whom. She had Matthias join them, too, to see to the allocation of coin, to pay for the lodging, labor, and purchase of land that each new family might require.

"Make sure they understand that if they don't use this money for lodging, they may be sleeping in a fallow field until they build a cottage - and that they'll have to build it themselves if they cannot pay for labor," he said.

"Yes, milord," one of the new yeowomen said.

"Oh, they know that!" Farn Surestrike snorted - of course he insisted upon attending. "I bet my right eye some of them will opt to sleep outside and just pocket the money…" This was an impressive bet coming from Farn, for he'd lost his left eye in the Battle of Nortsair… though, he assured Thea, his strike was 'sure as ever' on his anvil.

"No matter," Thea said. "This is their dispensation, and it's up to them to see that it's responsibly spent. Some will be responsible and some won't, and that's the way of the world, is it not? As for who should take the new fields on the north ridge, I propose we speak with…"

"Help! Somebody help!" a woman cried out. "Help me, please!"

She was a youngish, dark-haired woman around Thea's apparent age, her clothes soaking wet. She clambered down the path, stumbling from the direction of the Charnel River. Thea leapt atop Blotto, shooed the children feeding her apples away, and galloped off to intercept the woman. She looked to the nearby farmlands to see what might be the matter, but the only thing she spotted was the distant glint of the river in the morning light.

"What's wrong?"

The woman's eyes went wide - she recognized Thea, even if Thea didn't recognize her. That happened more and more these days. But the woman was too panicked to engage in the niceties of unexpectedly meeting the queen.

"My boy," she said. "He must have fallen into the river when I wasn't looking. It was only a minute or two, but he's not breathing. Oh, sweet Astrilla, please help."

It pleased Thea to hear Astrilla's name being evoked, but now wasn't the time to be self-satisfied. She reached down and pulled the woman up, sliding forward in the saddle to distribute their weight. "Show me where," she said. "Hurry."

The woman pointed and Thea galloped off, with Matthias and the several Soenmen with their own horses not too far behind. As they approached the river bank, Thea quickly spotted the prone body of a young child, four or five years old. She vaulted off of Blotto before the horse could even properly stop and sprinted up to the child. He'd gone blue-gray in the face and wasn't breathing. Thea would have thought him dead, but something within her sensed the faint and ebbing spark of life within the boy. A proper resurrection took a lot of energy out of Thea, probably more than she had to spare at the moment, but she figured she might be able to rekindle the boy's spark of life with a lot less.

"Breathe, child!" she said. "This is not your time of dying!"

She turned the boy onto his side and slapped his back with the flat of her hand while giving him a jolt of energy - pretty much the opposite of the sort of jolt she might employ to crisp an enemy's heart to death. The boy coughed up water and drew in a ragged breath. She slapped his back again and he coughed up even more water. Then she lay him on his back and planted a kiss on his forehead, delivering a second pulse of power. Almost immediately, the color returned to the child's face and his eyes fluttered opened. The boy started crying.

"Theo! Theo! Oh, thank Astrilla!" the mother said. She rushed to her crying son and wrapped him in a hug. "Th-thank you, my queen! Thank you," she sobbed.

"You're welcome," Thea said, a bit shocked at hearing the boy's name. Another young Theo almost drowning in the Charnel, this time saved by her. What did it mean?

The onlooking Soenmen were suitably impressed to witness their new queen returning the dead to life. Thea was already pretty secure in her authority, but a little boost never hurt. Matthias offered a warm smile and drew Thea into his embrace, kissing her forehead like she just had to the drowned child.

"You never cease to impress," he said. "That was… miraculous. Do you swear that wasn't planned?"

"Life is miraculous. And I would never do that," Thea stated. "But it's good to know I can do it. I think I'll have to be at my best to keep the twins safe…"

"The twins?" Matthias shot her a confused look. "Svilga and Maddie aren't twins…"

"They aren't," Thea agreed, and she brought Matthias's hand down to her abdomen, right above where the new life in her womb resided. "But they will be big sisters."

Matthias kissed her lips, his burnished-gold eyes suddenly brimming with tears. "Really?"

"Astrilla is the goddess of life," Thea said, nuzzling against his stubble. "It was bound to happen, and I couldn't have picked a better man to have a family with. Not in a million million years."

THE END

OvidLemma

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