Chapter 10

A bloody and very upset Suzan and Anita made their way back to the palace just as the Sun was cresting over the horizon.

They had already made the stop by Tabitha's mother's house the night before to inform her of what happened. Needless to say it wasn't something they wanted to do, but knew that they had to and it was something they owed the only real victim to pay the ultimate price.

Even though Suzan felt she should tell her, Anita insisted that because her death was her fault she should be the one to shoulder all the blame. She would be the one to tell her it went wrong because they trusted those from the palace her to save her.

They did the best they could to try and comfort her as Tabitha's mother broke down. Suzan and Anita sat with her for hours trying to console her until she was more composed.

The two of them knew that that they would never understand what she was going through, but they tried their best to understand.

Leaving her house after insuring she wouldn't harm herself they headed for the palace.

The crowds in the market square were somber because they noted that not only was Tabitha not with them, the pair was covered in blood and appeared to be in a very pissy mood. There was no joy to be seen coming from the pair, only sadness and anger.

Shoving her way past the front gate guards who put up token resistance, Suzan then asked Anita to take her to the throne room because that was where the Queen and Prince normally sat after breakfast to hear complaints from the people.

Once they reached the throne room, and pushing past those guards as well, Suzan entered the room, told everyone to leave, and once they did Anita closed the doors and secured them behind her. Meanwhile Suzan stood off to the side and waited and took note of the very well decorated throne room in front of her.

Similar to her room there were silks hanging tastefully around. There were several soldiers in the room standing in a line on either side of the dais of the Prince and Queen who didn't move when Suzan told everyone to leave, but she hadn't expected them too.

Suzan also noticed that sitting on the dais was an empty chair in the middle and to the left of that chair sat the Queen and to the right sat her son the Prince.

Noting the looks of the two of them the Prince smiled and decided to speak first.

"Ahh, did your mission fare well? Did you save the girl?' asked the Prince casually.

"No we did not, we didn't get there in time," said Suzan quietly but her face a mask of anger.

"Well I'm sure you tried your best, sometimes those creatures are too smart for their own good and they get the best of us. The important thing was that you tried," said the Prince.

Suzan looked at him strangely for a moment before she cocked her head to the side and then spoke.

"Those weren't natural Trolls. They were almost human smart. They set an ambush for us and tried to kills us by luring us into it, but they failed. Taking Tabitha and using it to lure us to them appeared to be part of their trap," said Suzan.

As soon as she said that she waited for the normal questions most would ask, but none came.

The longer she waited the more a nagging thought came to her.

"You already knew that about their intelligence and that they were coming that night didn't you?" asked Suzan quietly as it slowly dawned on her.

Prince Antel just slowly smiled.

"You already knew how smart those creatures were and how those creatures were being created. You must have known what they were, what they were after, and mostly why they were attacking your people and yet you never formed a real plan for a way to stop them. Tabitha and her family trusted you and she died because of it. What kind of monsters are you people in power?" asked Suzan.

"As my mother once told you, the men of royal blood may not be the quickest thinkers, but given time we can figure out any problem, form a suitable solution, and be prepared for almost anything.

"You see, one of the biggest problems facing our people is that without new blood we would either eventually die out or start heavy inbreeding and that would equally weaken us as a people. Not to further mention the lack of females being born.

"But by allowing the people to fight, we both find a new source of blood for the royal line as well as a way to keep the population from expanding beyond what we can comfortably control. It also gives us a way to insure that only the strongest help carry on within our people.

"And who said that one of the former Kings didn't have a plan? Yes we figured out what was going on long ago, but I'd say finding real beauties for our young men to marry and help us out in this war was always a "good" plan and a perfect way to use this knowledge to our advantage, wouldn't you say?

"So I ask, who says it wasn't well thought out," smiled the Prince.

At first, the look of horror stayed on etched on Suzan's face as she heard all of this. She couldn't believe the callousness of this stupid Prince or those who came before him.

But then it was slowly replaced with something else, and then yet a very cold smile replaced even that.

Even the Prince looked on at her confused for a moment.

"Well I'd suggest you begin finding a new way to "control" the people. Anita and I paid the main village, village Zero I think you call it, a visit under the cover of darkness the night before last. We fixed the problem ourselves. Now no one needs to worry about anymore of those creatures killing and eating them. Inside of a generation, not more than ten seasons tops, they should all be dead and gone," said Suzan softly with a smile.

"What have you done?!" cried the Prince.

"Not much really, just removed the sole justification you had for kidnapping other women and forcing them to do what you wanted. With the creatures gone you no longer have any valid reason to keep me here, keep kidnapping other women, or for me to even pretend that I can stand to be around you any longer you bastard!

"Besides my time was up about now anyway, right? I've stayed here long enough and it's far time I left. My departure is long over due. And according to your own laws you can no longer come after me and try again. I'd suggest you not try and stop me because it won't go well for you if you do," said Suzan softly with her deep voice.

"And what can you do to stop me from keeping you? I don't chose to let you leave, so how about that? You know you can't raise a sword against anyone of royal blood, and enough of the guards have a trace of it in their system that they count as well. You will be my Queen!

"The king in often allowed, expected really, to spread his seed among various women here in the kingdom if they want. Those children are always very happy to serve the crown. Another of those "long term planning" things I was telling you about," laughed the Prince as he looked at her.

"Oh ... so you think I need a sword to fight?" asked Suzan as she made sure the blade was secured to her back. "I use it because I'm very comfortable with it. But my husband has been working with me to ensure that I can fight no matter what the situation."

Slowly walking forward with the cold smile still on her face, she approached the Prince and he got up and returned her smile with a cold one of his own.

"Just remember while this won't be pretty it is very long overdue. You really shouldn't have picked the wife of a Battlemage to kidnap and make your Queen," said Suzan softly as she then charged the Prince.

As she started for him all the guards in the room suddenly jumped between them. She could see that she was still easily twenty feet from them all, but it didn't bother her. Neither did the ten guards that stood between her and the Prince.

Reaching the first guard Suzan did a feint at his face and when he went to block she dropped to her knees and hit him in the crotch as hard as she could.

With the enhanced bracers it was a devastating blow, and as the man was dropping she was already in motion rising to leap. Suzan then used his body that was going limp to extend herself, leaping legs first, where she then wrapped both of her legs around the neck of the man behind him at the same time she was twisting her body to the right.

The wet snap his neck made as he went down barely registered as she rolled to her feet and looked up at the others from "three-point stance".

Getting up the courage to rush her, one man barely led the others, but it was just enough.

Running for the lead man Suzan dropped to the ground and swept his legs out from underneath him by knocking his legs high enough in the air that he completely hit with only his head soundly on the ground with a sicken thud.

But before that man had even hit the ground Suzan was already up and charging the next man. Using his lead leg, Suzan stepped directly on it and used it as "springboard" leap forward and hit the man with the other knee under directly under his chin with enough force he fell backwards and out cold with a shattered jaw.

But Suzan was already in motion trying something she had never tried before. Before the man she had stepped on fell completely, Suzan flipped backwards to get some space and had just barely landed before she leaped forward at the next man can caught him around the neck with her hands.

As he fought to stay upright, she was swinging around his body without letting go of her grip, and she ended up behind him, where she then held him around the neck from underneath his chin, and pulled at him with all her strength over her head.

He flew over her where she managed to flip him directly into three others. Her enhanced strength allowed her to throw the man just hard enough to knock himself and the others out that he struck.

The last two appeared to stop and think about what she was doing for a split second before they rushed her.

Though not giving them a chance to think about it, Suzan was already charging, where she then slid between the arm and chest of one, caught him around the throat with her right hand, turned pivoted, and threw him over her extended leg.

She hadn't let go of his throat and she followed him down to the floor as he hit the ground very hard by his neck. He made a weird gurgling noise as he struck the floor.

The last one started trying to back away, but Suzan ran the last few feet and leaped and she then did her husband's signature move. She for the first time caught the man just under the jaw with her high knee and he flew backwards in the air several feet to land out cold at the Princes feet at the foot of his throne.

The Prince, now fearful of what she had done to all his men with ease, tried to back away and fell into his seat as he watched her now slow approach.

She intentionally gave him a very sexy smile, looking down at the ground a few times, while intentionally swinging her hips from side to side as she walked towards him and then quickly closed the distance between them.

Finally reaching him Suzan then leaned over him, by grabbing both of the arm rests of his chair, leaned directly into his face, and started softly talking.

The Prince took note of the fact that she wasn't out of breath and the bright gleam in her eyes was very unnerving. The fact that she still had dried blood covering her clothing and various exposed body parts, including her face, also wasn't something missed by the Prince as she leaned over him.

"And what if I was to say that I don't want to stay here any longer, still think you can keep me from leaving? See you already made two major mistakes, you opened the door to my cage and then you let me have a weapon. Tell me, do you still think that was a good idea?" asked Suzan softly.

The Prince shook his head vigorously no.

The sounds of the few men who were still alive could be softly heard groaning and set the backdrop for the question. Some of those men would need medical attention to reset broken and shattered bones.

"So tell me, does your mother know what a sorry little bastard you are? Does she know what a bastard your father was?" asked Suzan softly.

"Suzan! I'll not have you speak to my son that way! I told you before..." started Jolica.

"SHUT UP YOU CRAZY OLD BITCH!" yelled Suzan as she looked over and stared hard at her.

Jolica leaned back and shut her mouth, and as soon as she did Suzan quit staring at her.

"You really should tell mother what you've been up to, don't you think?" asked Suzan softly again.

"Whatever do you mean?" croaked the Prince.

"You know, like spiking my food with drugs and then wearing the same thing all over your body all the time you were around me to make me have those crazy dreams about you. Dreams that made me want you so bad that I thought I was going crazy by resisting you. All just so I would eventually sleep with you," said Suzan softly

"Suzan..." started the Queen, but Suzan waved a single finger back and forth, from side to side, in her direction without looking at her to make her stop talking.

"Or how you set this rescue attempt up so that Anita and I would rescue Tabitha and it would either draw us together if I succeeded or it would make me seek solace in your arms if it didn't. That one was pretty ingenious. Nice to find out that it was the same one that you guys put every prospective queen through. Shame you got desperate and tried to hurry me along or I might have eventually given in like all the others," said Suzan softly.

By now the Queen was listening with both ears. She knew that Suzan was out but she hadn't been told where or what she or Anita was doing. She didn't know it had anything to do with the Troll attack nights before.

And as she listened she remembered doing something like this rescue to save Anita.

"But that wasn't the kicker was it. No, the kicker was the fact that you were willing to let the people who trust you be killed by something you could stop, but didn't just to help keep the male population down, huh? What, not have enough wars to do it the old fashion way? You really are a sorry bastard, aren't you?" asked Suzan softly.

"Suzan you know you are here to help lead the men into many different army battles. The kingdom is small and has many enemies..." started Jolica.

"And tell me, besides fighting some very intelligent Trolls, how many other invasions or pitched battles have you fought against others? Hmmm?" Suzan asked now looking at Jolica.

Jolica had thought about it a few times before, but with the running of the kingdom and the various Trolls battles, she realized that they really hadn't fought anyone else.

"Yet these bastards knew all of this. They knew how to stop them, but you heard him, they didn't because it was a form of population control. So for all of this an innocent girl had to pay for their ambitions with her life," said Suzan softly continuing.

"But what was that about your food and a test?" asked the Queen softly and tactfully changing the subject from something she didn't quite understand and that she knew was painful for Suzan.

She knew how close Suzan was to the little girl in the few weeks that she knew her.

Looking back at the Prince and getting just inches from his face once again, Suzan spoke.

"See, I just found out that if I could resist the Prince and his lure for four weeks I would be set free, yet for some reason no one ever told me that. I was under the impression I was to be kept here forever. But you see the Prince didn't want that. You might have or you might not have known, but if you did, then you kept it from me as well, didn't you?

"But regardless, this sorry bastard of yours arraigned to have my food spiked with a heavy aphrodisiac when it looked like I was resisting his charms. But even then that still wasn't enough when I didn't quickly give in, and so he then wore the same thing on his body all the time he was around me so that I would also have some very erotic dreams about him and only him," said Suzan softly.

"He would never do that, that's against our laws! It's against the law for him to force you to choose him! It has to be your decision! You must be the one to choose!" said Jolica hotly.

"So you didn't know. Well it may be against the laws, but that didn't stop them. It was so successful through out all the countless seasons that they did this, that they did the very same thing to you as well. His father taught him this little sick trick that he used on me because it worked so well to make you accept being his queen," said Suzan softly while never taking his eyes off of the Prince.

"That is a lie! I loved his father!" said Jolica.

"Maybe eventually you did, but he couldn't take the chance that you would resist him from the start so he didn't play fair. You lasted, what three weeks you said before you gave in? He couldn't chance that you might want out after his keeping you here that long, so he taught junior here how to do what he did with the drugged food to get his way. Sorry Jolica, but you got tricked into staying," said Suzan softly.

"But..." said Jolica weakly

"And then there is the test. You were so happy after you saved Anita here, you know, after being so sad for so long because of giving into your base desires, that afterwards you fell right into his arms to what, celebrate? You were so happy that you what, rushed into his arms and cemented your relationship? Didn't you feel so happy to save this little girl that you fell in love with? So happy that you were just brimming with excitement and went straight to him?

"Let me ask you this, on the night where you went to save Anita, didn't it seem a little pat to you that the woman who is your second in command just happened to know where little Anita was taken so quickly by a Troll attack, same as me? That she just happened to be carrying your royal sword on her, same as me? And that she just happen to know where they went, same as with me?