Out of the Ashes

Chapter 13: Confrontation

(4,4k words, futa x futa, romance, character focus, plot chapter, action focus, dialogue focus, character development, part 2 of this scene)

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"What are you doing??!!" Alexia screamed from the top of her lungs.

"No, Margaret! Stop it!" Euridike joined in as well.

Even Sybilla, who looked composed throughout that exchange, let out a loud gasp as she listened to her sister's words.

"Are you out of your mind?! Don't fight! Pick up that sword! It's not too late!" Alexia yelled.

The highqueen walked up to her daughter and tried to calm her, to speak to her, but her words met deaf ears. The princess was only paying attention to 'kingmother´s' reaction.

Never had the king looked this stunned, this perplexed like when staring at the pitiful sword laying before her feet. It almost appeared like she had to make sense of what just happened and remained seemingly frozen until she came up with a solution.

Margaret ignored all pleads and secluded her mind off the outside world. No words of reason or outright begging would get through to her or elicit any reaction from her ... until her mother did something truly unsettling and unexpected.

Anastasia's intense stare wandered off the sword and returned to her daughter. She then slowly nodded and with nothing but clarity and resolved determination started to smirk. This characteristically subdued, yet twisted smirk that always sent shivers down Margaret's spine.

The 10ft woman took a step forward and prodded the sword with her iron boot before bending forward.

"Don't you even think about it, Ana! Don't!" Euridike shouted, but like with Margaret her words were ignored.

The queen was not the only one loudly opposing the prospect of seeing her partner fight to the death. Alexia, limped forward and her white knuckled hand embraced Beth's sword with growing intensity.

"My king. Let me take Margaret's place. She doesn't follow our code like we do. I will fight for her," the pale solider offered.

"Don't make me laugh. You can barely stand. Not that it would have made any difference. No, this is between me and my daughter," the king replied and again looked at Margaret.

"Your highn-" Alexia muttered, just to be silenced by one sharp gesture of her king.

'Kingmother's" haunting green eyes kept lingering on Margaret, unmoving and unrelenting, yet pondering one last moment before she fully committed.

"I accept your challenge, my child. You will have your fight," Anastasia said and picked up the sword while drawing one of her own.

She tossed her majestic blade towards her defiant daughter's feet and hereby sealed the ancient pact.

"No need to trade it back. It is yours. May it serve you well," Anastasia said and got assaulted by Euridike - demanding answers.

The queen kept yelling, pushing and crying, yet her wife stood steadfast and composed. At least on the surface.

"Could you grant me a few more moments to brace myself?" she humbly asked in the midst of an ongoing tirade filled with pleads and emotional outbursts.

"S-sure... take your time," Margaret muttered, surprised by the uncharacteristically vulnerable tone of her mother.

"Thank you. I won't need long," she said sadly and for the first time ever actively avoided meeting Margaret's gaze in fear of showing her emotions.

Anastasia marched outside the circle of armoured guards, her head hanging low and sunk in deep thoughts while she tightly held Sybilla's hand who rushed to also speak to her mother.

Margaret's eyes followed kingmother all the way. She looked like she was in trance and didn't pick up on queenmother's pleading. Just like she herself ignored her own partner's cries until now.

"What did we say?! Don't do anything reckless, Maggie! Why?! Why did you do that?!" Alexia kept on repeating.

"Lexi..."

"You can't fight her and hope to win, Maggie! You don't stand a chance!" she shouted.

Redness replaced the paleness on her face as she experienced many emotions at once: Anxiety, anger and desperation... all overshadowing the rising pain originating from her battered mid.

"Lex-..."

"You are no warrior! Even I didn't last a minute against her! Your growth spurt didn't make you a faster or better fighter!"

Margaret heard enough. She leaned forward and pulled Alexia into a hug and kissed the black curls she learned to love so much.

"Why?! Was being a martyr your plan all along?!" Alexia sobbed.

"I don't plan on dying today," Margaret replied calmly and made her lover look up with hope.

"But why did you..."

"What did I say? What did I ask you to promise me?" the blonde asked.

"To trust you..." Alexia whimpered.

"I need you more than ever, Lexi. You are the only one I can trust to believe in me. Don't take this away from me, please," the princess said, while leaning in and pushing her forehead onto her partner's.

"You... I am afraid," the former commander cried.

"So am I. That's why I need you, Lexi," she said and kissed her partner's salty cheeks.

Kisses that were riddled with fear and deprived of the warmth she usually felt when being with Lexi.

"I... trust you. "Alexia lied. "But... don't die here! Come back to me, please."

"I will. I promise," the blonde replied. "Just don't forget yours. Let me fight her on my own."

Alexia shook her head and backed off as soon as Margaret called out her true intentions.

"No!"

"Don't intervene. Whatever happens. Don't intervene," Margaret demanded.

"I won't stand on the side-lines and let her kill you!"

"Don't intervene, Lexi! Trust me!"

"Is... this all part of your plan?" Alexia asked.

"Yes."

The blonde's words were as stoic as her expression. Usually Alexia was the one who had to calm her childhood friend, encourage her and take any burden off her in times of need. How these roles have reversed over the last few weeks.

She grew up knowing that she had to be strong, to be a pillar for others to lean onto and was taught to show no weakness, no matter the situation. But nobody ever prepared her on how it felt to be the one on the other end. To be the one who needs to rely on someone else, unable to change things for the better herself. To be the one needing to put trust into others. To be weak.

"Then... I believe in you," the 8'6 hermaphrodite cried and hugged her partner once more as her whole body's shaking rose in intensity and whispered. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Lexi," the princess gasped.

She held on to this moment and her partner as tight as her wound allowed, until she noticed her partner's shivering abruptly stop.

"What's wrong?" the princess asked.

"The king... What is she doing?"

Margaret turned around and looked at the commotion outside the circle of guards.

Anastasia was removing her black armour, while Sybilla and Euridike cried next to her. The highking was bombarded by the queen wildly gesturing and pulling her wife but to no avail. The 10ft warrior kept on removing strap after strap, plate after plate, until she wore nothing but the last layer of silk garments over her bulging body.

The younger princess' sobbing grew more desperate and even from such a distance her shaking was getting increasingly noticeable ... such as the queen's loud shouting.

The composed king pulled her daughter into a tight and long-lasting embrace while kissing the top of her head multiple times. Sybilla's strong arms just barely reached around the king's sculpted torso and even with both their obvious strength on full display, both never looked more vulnerable.

After a hug that almost felt like a final goodbye, she then addressed her outraged wife. Anastasia attempted to kiss her queen, but Euridike kept yelling and beating her partner's adamant chest.

The king kept hold of Euridike with both arms and smooched the crying blonde's neck. She kept talking into the love of her life in an attempt to make her calm down, but the queen was inconsolable. Anastasia's attempt for a final kiss was not met by Euridike and with clear disappointment she let go of her wife. The queen then once more tried to hold her wife into place before returning into the circle, but was met with guards restraining her as soon as Anastasia let go of her.

"Margaret! ... don't... to...!" she shouted, but not all her words made it past her soldiers.

The highking gave one final order and the two guards holding Euridike in place and on behalf of their king, silenced the queen by pushing a piece of cloth into her mouth. Her muffled screams kept on echoing over the field and accompanied the visibly struck ruler as she walked back to meet her daughter in battle.

"Did you understand her?" Margaret asked.

"No... I did not..." Alexia muttered and refused to let go of her partner's hand. "Don't let that distract you. It's just you and her, alright?"

Margaret nodded, but her thoughts were with her mother and what she tried to say that could prompt 'kingmother' to silence her.

Alexia noticed the absent eyes of her girlfriend though. Her gaze was wandering off, her mindless nodding continued long after Alexia stopped talking to her and her fingers nervously tapped into her lover's.

"Listen. You can't compete with her in strength. So, don't try to match her blow for blow. You got decent technique and she got no armour...one quick strike is all it takes. And don't let her get into your head, Maggie," the former commander whispered.

"Understood... and thank you... for everything," she replied with a smile, while eying her partner's lips.

"Don't speak like this is some sort of farewell. You got this," Alexia growled angrily.

"Still... I want to thank you...I truly mean it. I could never do this wouldn't it be for you."

The princess' hands then gently took hold of her lover's waist and started to pull. Yet, Alexia was somewhat reluctant to give into her partner's heartfelt advance.

First murmurs emerged from the rank of guards surrounding them at the obvious affection on display. Many voices which Alexia knew very well. They surely have picked up that Margaret's and her connection reached far deeper than friendship by now, but showing their love in public, especially under the watchful eyes of Anastasia was frightening.

Her eyes nervously darted between Margaret's loving and her mother's cold gaze, waiting in the middle of the "arena".

"I... am not sure... if we... should show that..." she said timidly and before she could finish her sentence, she felt Margaret's warm hands on her cheeks.

"Don't worry about her, Lexi. She will never stand between us, that I can promise. Come here... let the whole world know that you belong to me and I belong to you. I love you," the blonde said and leaned in.

"I love you too," the former commander gasped as well.

The kiss washed away most of her lingering fear, yet she felt the highking's green eyes rest on her. Little did she know, that Anastasia wasn't looking at her daughter and her lover in anger but with a growing, genuine smile on her face.

"I... needed that... thank you," the princess said with a warm smile with her hands still caressing her partner's cheeks.

"Then go out there... and beat her," the warrior proclaimed in a husky but fiery voice to encourage the love of her life.

"I will..."

The blonde took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she took the first step towards the battlefield, but was held back by the same trembling hand she just forced herself away from.

"Be... be safe, Maggie," Alexia gasped and let go of her girlfriend for good.

The princess heart was pounding when she walked up to her mother who she now had to see as nothing but an opponent. With every step she took she more and more realized why the humans feared this woman so much.

"The black death" she was called by humans and even without wearing her horned helmet, the princess knew why only few lived to tell the horrific tales of her battle prowess.

She was the type of woman who carried two swords, because her arms and eagerness to fight proofed more resilient than the sharpness of her blade. By the time she was done cutting a bloody path through her opponents her sword was reduced to nothing but a blunt piece of metal. Not that she couldn't rip any human into pieces with her bare hands.

The 10ft woman might be quickly approaching her fifties and appeared to have aged noticeably over the last few months, but the muscular woman had at the very least one last campaign in her. And certainly, was still more than capable to take on anyone in a duel.

"What was going on over there?" Margaret asked when she stopped right before the hulking ruler.

"Nothing that should concern you," Anastasia replied drily and saw the confusion in her child's eyes. "Focus, Margaret. Don't allow your thoughts to be clouded. This is your moment. Are you ready, my child?"

"Y-yes," Margaret muttered, taken back on how thoughtful kingmother suddenly sounded.

"You look ready," Anastasia said with a soft grin and extended her sword arm and presented her blade.

The princess took a deep breath and by tapping the offered blade their battle commenced.

The masterfully crafted sword didn't feel too heavy or sluggish in her hand, even after months of not holding any weapon. It seemed like this blade was made for someone like her, at least someone close to her stature. The swords she trained with would have felt like insignificant toys, nothing more than daggers compared to this blade, yet she still felt ready to wield it. A feeling that proved deceptive.

Margaret's first swings were fast and precise, but Anastasia parried without any effort. Her focused eyes wandered all over her daughter, looking for weak points, of which there were many. Every swing of the blonde was followed by her almost stumbling due to the momentum of her well-endowed body and the weight of her sword. The now over 9' tall hermaphrodite simply wasn't built like a fighter anymore. Nor did she take any precautions for such a duel. Unlike her mother.

Anastasia's bulge was strapped to her thigh, her hair tied together to a lazy ponytail and her far inferior chest contained by a tight corset. She moved nimbly and looked always in full control of her body, but everyone who saw her train with the royal guard knew: she was holding back.

Alexia of course immediately noticed this atypical behaviour. The black-haired king traded some well-aimed blows but as soon as she was gaining the upper hand she backed off.

She fought the king in the past and knew for a fact, that if she wanted to win this fight, it would be long over already.

The difference between the two duellists abilities grew more blatant with every new exchange and increasingly frustrated the princess.

"Don't mock me," she hissed when Anastasia once more dodged her attack without breaking a sweat.

Another wild swing followed and the king at least pretended that she needed to block her daughter's attempt.

"Calm down, Maggie! Don't get frustrated! That's her tactic!" Alexia shouted.

"You should listen to her. She knows what she is talking about," Anastasia said and pushed Margaret away with one hand.

All her muscles in the middle-aged women's arm tightened for the first time during the fight but the princess knew this was far from her going all out.

"Then stop humiliating me! Fight me properly!" Margaret growled and took another wide swing.

"No..." Alexia whispered to herself as soon as she noticed the obvious mistake in posture that left Margaret wide open.

"Bad move," the highking muttered and made the princess fall over her feet. She could have killed Margaret in that moment. The blonde crashed to the ground and her sword fell out her hand. A pitiful display that concluded the fight.

Anastasia walked up and stood on her former sword while slowly leading her own towards her daughter's throat.

Margaret gulped anxiously when she saw 'kingmother' come closer, sword in hand and the sharp blade close to prodding her chin.

"Margaret!" Alexia yelled as she stumbled forward and drew her blade.

"Don't you even dare!" Anastasia shouted so loudly that it made the wounded commander shiver.

The enraged expression on her face immediately halted Alexia's body and froze her into place. Never had she seen the king this furious.

"If you have the nerve to interrupt our duel, then I swear I will cut you down! Wounded or not!" she hissed.

Alexia chocked on her words, but her fingers refused to clench her swords grip with all the intention to defend Margaret.

"Don't, Lexi. Don't intervene. You promised to trust me," Margaret interjected.

"Maggie... "

"Sheathe your sword... please," the princess asked.

Her words made it sound like she was desperate and begging, but the blonde looked all but discouraged. Her blue eyes burnt with determination, so much so that Alexia instinctively did as she was told.

"Good," the highking groaned and shot one last gaze of open disgust for Alexia even considering to step in.

The muscular woman towered above her daughter still sitting in the dust, her sword out of reach and again under her mother's foot. Margaret heard her heartbeat in her ears and felt her chest tighten as she mustered her courage. One last time before she would use her last ace up her sleeve. One thing she was sure would stop this madness. Her last resort.

"I am..." she started and Anastasia interrupted her by kicking the stray sword back to her.

"You are not done. Get up," she said and let off of her daughter.

"W-what?! What are you doing?!"

"Continuing our duel. Come, pick up your sword," her mother said in a soft tone.

The blonde grimaced and struggled to find any words. She shook her head to make herself break free from her confusion. Margaret cautiously reached for her sword under the watchful eyes of her mother and still expected her to strike, rather than let her retrieve it. But the king showed no intention to attack.

"Good. Now..." she walked over and Margaret instinctively pushed her shoulders out and her right hand tightly embraced her sword's handle. Seeing her mother behaving this odd and unpredictable during a duel, was somehow way more terrifying than actually fighting her.

Anastasia didn't raise her guard as she stood barely a foot before the princess and smiled while seeing her daughter struggle to see what was going on.

"Take a wider stance. Both feet firmly on the ground. You aren't such a petite girl anymore", the king said and grinned when seeing her child attempting to follow her advice.

"Wider, you are too top heavy and to be honest your bottom half isn't much lighter. You need all the grip you can get," Anastasia mused and prodded her child's foot with her sword to widen further.

"Like this?" the insecure blonde asked.

"Much better," her mother gleamed. "Now to stop your body from moving with every swing. Look."

The king showed a two-handed grip. Her shoulders tucked in and her elbows pulled closer towards her torso. The stance made her pecs rise proudly and would she have been just a bit bustier she would have pushed her arms into her bosom.

"You see this? This way you will have much more stability when you generate movement. Try it out."

Margaret looked stunned for a few moments and like Alexia didn't understand why this duel was turning into a lecture. She followed her mother's example and noticed how her curvaceous body felt somewhat tamed by basically containing her ample breasts with her elbows.

"Very good. Now... let's finish this, ok? Are you ready, my child?" Anastasia asked as motherly as she possibly could sound.

"I... yes... I am," Margaret muttered and the two picked up where they left off.

Again, the highking held back and allowed Margaret to adept to this new stance. Every time the princess was about to make a bad move or leave her stance Anastasia would call her out. Every time the princess would feel increasingly wary on why her mother wasn't taking this fight, a fight to the death, seriously.