Chapter 10

Asiara's eyes were suddenly free to move, and they fluttered open to a sight that was utterly breathtaking. She was kneeling before the throne, her fingers laced together behind her head, and her knees spread wide apart. The Queen still sat upon her throne, and was now looking down at Asiara – a look that seemed a mixture of admiration and condescension on her face.

But the light in the chamber had changed. Gone was the midday brightness that had nearly blinded her when it struck the diamond throne. Instead, the warm red hues of evening now filled the throne room, sending rays of honeyed light throughout the space that sought to pull Asiara's gaze in a million different directions. Adding to this effect were the countless candles that now added to the light of the chamber. One burned in every window, as far up as the eye could see, and hundreds were spread out throughout the chamber, including several on stands surrounding the Queen's throne.

But no matter how tempting it was to follow these beams of refracted amber and ruby light, Asiara's gaze remained locked on the eyes of the Queen, who sat resplendent on her throne. The evening's colors mingled with her auburn hair to create a devastating effect of beauty and luxury, and her eyes were alight with a green fire that seemed to complete the autumnal color pallet that filled Asiara's vision. The arousal that Asiara had felt earlier, as she submitted to her Queen's pendant, still raged within her, but now there was also an element of desire for this stunning beauty before her – the Queen was more strikingly beautiful than any woman Asiara had ever seen, and her haughty look only ignited Asiara's already enflamed desires to still greater heights.

As desperately as her body yearned for this woman, however, Asiara struggled to remind herself of her initial purpose in coming here. As memories of the pendant slowly seeped back into her conscious mind, she realized that this woman had, once again, gotten the better of her. No matter how beautiful she might be, Asiara immediately began thinking of revenge – she couldn't let anyone best her – she was the most powerful woman in the Kingdom!

But as she attempted to spur her body into motion, it refused to respond. She tried to move her arms, but they remained locked behind her head, helpless – the position causing her to thrust her breasts forward, showing the Queen just how stiff and aroused her nipples were. She tried to rise, or even to close her open legs, but her thighs would not move either, but instead remained in their position, exposing Asiara's most private parts to the Queen's commanding gaze. Frustrated, Asiara was prepared to at least defy her Queen verbally, but her lips refused to move as well. All she could do was to stare helplessly at her conqueror, completely paralyzed; completely unable to act.

What was so maddening about her predicament, though, was her inability to struggle. It wasn't as if some magical force held her in place. If that were the case, she could fight against it, straining her muscles, pushing against the magical barriers. If she had been affected by some paralyzing poison, she could try to focus; to push her will into her limbs to try to spur them to action. But in her current situation, she simply had no control. Her muscles remained relaxed and docile, her back muscles kept her body erect, as did the necessary muscles in her arms and legs. But otherwise, they refused to act. Anyone looking upon her would see a submissive, passive, and utterly dominated woman exposing herself to her Queen. Asiara could do nothing to show any signs of resistance, no matter how much her mind wanted to reject the Queen's power.

Her thoughts of frustration, however, melted the moment she heard the Queen speak.

"I must admit that even with the filth of your travels on you, you're still a rather stunning woman."

Asiara was suddenly aware of the feel of her skin – of the grit that had collected as she raced through the rain on her horse. Though her skin had dried, her hair was still slightly damp, and she knew that it must look quite disheveled at this point. Still, she knew that her disheveled look had disarmed many a past lover, and felt pride to know that it was having a similar effect on the Queen. Thoughts questioning why it was so important to her to impress the Queen with her beauty dissipated when the Queen resumed speaking.

"It is a shame that I have to send you away for you to be of greatest use to me. I do so enjoy what you're capable of in a more ... domestic setting."

What? The Queen was speaking as though the two of them had engaged in some nocturnal activities before, but Asiara was sure she would remember that. Sure, there had been the episode on the altar when the Queen had enabled Dathaka to inhabit Asiara's body, but she didn't seem to be referring to that now. Once again, Asiara didn't have long to think on these matters, as the Queen's words suddenly drew all of her attention.

"Still, it is most important that I prepare you for the tasks ahead. You've been a very bad girl, haven't you?"

Asiara knew that the Queen was expecting an answer, but her lips continued to reject her own attempts to control them. After a few moments, the Queen laughed.

"I seem to have forgotten just how deep you went – and just how obedient you've become. I should have known that you would obey my commands to the absolute letter."

Asiara didn't know exactly what any of this meant, but the word "obedient" had sent a shiver up her spine as her sex seemed to throb within its already deep state of arousal.

Then, the Queen leaned forward and placed her index finger on Asiara's forehead. The paralyzed warrior woman could suddenly see nothing, as her eyes rolled up in her head. It was as though something happened to her – some chamber in her mind opened, and the Queen's words suddenly reverberated within her, becoming her truth.

"Your inability to move will not include your mouth and tongue. You will be free to speak."

The finger was removed, and Asiara's eyes once again fell upon the Queen's eyes, remaining fixed there. The Queen continued.

"So tell me, Asiara, what did you have planned, exactly, when you entered my throne room?"

Asiara felt her anger flare up briefly as she began to respond, as memories of her thwarted plans raced through her thoughts. "I planned to claim the throne for myself. I am the greatest warrior in the land."

"That you are. But being the greatest warrior does not make you the most powerful woman in the Realm, as your current predicament proves. I must admit, though, that your ability to rebel speaks to the strength of your will. I was sure to control you very deeply the last time you were here."

"The last time I was here?" Asiara's head was swimming as she tried to remember the last time she had been in the chamber. She knew that she had been here before – the Queen had been her ruler for ... quite some time. But it was all so difficult to recall.

"Tell me, Asiara, how long have you served as the Captain of my armies?"

"For..." Asiara continued to wrack her brains, but couldn't remember exactly when she had stepped into that role. "I don't know ... I know that I've served you all of my life ... but I can't remember..."

Again, the Queen's enchanting laughter filled the hall.

"Earlier today, when you made your way through my palace, did anything seem familiar to you?"

Deeply confused, Asiara thought back to those moments. She recalled the strange visions that had plagued her from the moment she had entered the city. "I..." she struggled to answer, not sure what to make of those visions.

"When Partheon died, how did you feel, Asiara?"

"How did you know that he died?"

"Did you not notice how far the sun has gone down? While you were entranced, I asked you many questions, and learned a great many things. So, tell me, how did you feel when he died?"

"I was sorry that he died. He didn't deserve to go in that way, and I wish I hadn't been the one to strike him down." Asiara felt a strange feeling of foreboding spread through her as she spoke so freely with the Queen. She didn't want to be so open, so vulnerable, but something about this woman drew it out of her. Besides, she was desperate to explain the many strange things that had been happening to her lately, and the Queen seemed to be willing to reveal a great deal.

"But were you upset. Truly upset?" the Queen asked.

"No." Asiara remembered her odd indifference to the death of her second in command. "I felt like..." Again, words failed her.

"Let me help," the Queen said haughtily. "You felt as you would upon seeing someone die after serving with that person for about a month."

"Yes! That's it, exactly. But I had served with Partheon for as long as I had commanded your armies."

"And how long is that?"

Once again, Asiara's mind refused to fill in that detail. The Queen answered for her.

"About a month, Asiara. You have only been in my service for about a month."

"But ... how?" Asiara struggled to wrap her mind around any of this. Her life had been devoted to serving her Queen, had it not?

"Those visions you saw, the ones that flooded your mind as you entered my palace today, those were events that occurred roughly a month ago. You were sent here on a mission. A mission from your Queen – your first Queen: Endaria, Ruler of the East. Ever the cunning and deadly warrior, you won several victories over my forces, but you were savvy enough to realize that a frontal assault on my palace would fail. So, you led a small strike team inside the city, before launching a surprise attack on the palace."

This seemed to bring a whole host of memories back into Asiara's mind: rising through the ranks of the Eastern armies, earning the position of Commander, marching through the Western lands, entering the city. All of these memories cascaded on Asiara's confused mind. Those visions she had experienced earlier – she had lived them! She had led a small force on a concentrated attack on the palace. She had fought through the palace guards. She had battled the guards outside of the Queen's throne room – a furious battle, requiring all of her skill to win. In the end, all of her team had been killed. She alone had confronted the Queen. And then...

"And then, my darling, you discovered that your own mind, your own desire, is your greatest weakness. The pendant captured your gaze, just as it did earlier today, and you submitted to me."

"No..." Asiara felt tears trickle down her cheeks as all of these memories came back to her – not only of her failure a month ago, but of her life before that campaign. She had had a home, friends, and several lovers. She had had a whole life that, for the past month, she had had no memory of whatsoever.

"You can relax, my dear," the Queen said, leaning forward again to wipe away the tears. "I will make you forget again. I will fill you with pleasure, and give you everything you've ever wanted."

"I don't ... I can resist ... I am strong..." Asiara once again tried to spur her body to action, but found that her muscles still refused to respond.

"Yes, my dear, you are strong. Remarkably so. And that is the paradox that makes you so valuable to me. When Dathaka took control of your body, it was a testament to your willpower that you were able to still inhabit a corner of your mind – a goddess that fearsome would have driven a weaker woman out of her body completely, but you held on, waiting for the chance to reclaim yourself. And the water nymph – most of her victims she claimed in a single night, killing the men and drawing the women into her own spirit. But it took three nights for her charms to wear you down to the point that she felt she could claim your soul. And the mask – it has bent the will of every person who has used it, but rather than succumbing to it, you bent it to your will – forced it to become a part of you rather than allowing it to make you an extension of its desires. No, Asiara, you are strong indeed."