You're more than a bit flustered.

You all but freeze when you hear this. You came to Athenapolis to fight a war, to avenge your mother, and to make a name for yourself as the new queen of Accor, not to be courted like you were at a ball. You don’t know how to find the perfect mate, you don't even know how to flirt, the Amazon way is to challenge perspective males to personal combat and test their worthiness with blood. Something tells you that the courtship these men were proposing might be a little more nuanced than exchanging blows on an open courtyard. Bashing any of these three suitors into a bloody mess to test their resolve might not go over so well.

Perhaps the biggest of your worries is that you don't really know how to mate. Well, the mechanics of the process are pretty straight forward, but from what you hear there are all sorts of unwritten rules about that kind of thing, and you are not exactly sure of your part. What happened between you and Ceno was in the heat of the moment, between innocent youths, but you are a woman now and a queen at that, you certainly ought to know what you are doing. Now you have three handsome men standing before you, one of whom is Ceno, saying that they wanted to vie for your affections. You are more than a bit overwhelmed by this.

Again, Resia takes notice of your timidness and gives you a warm and friendly smile, “I take it that you like what you see then?” You look around for some kind of support, but Laoda is no help. She is practically giggling at how embarrassed her strong warrior queen is. Finally picking up on your silent plea for help she turns to Resia and asks:

“Oh yes, they are very handsome indeed. But I must ask, what prompted you to bring these men before the Queen at the first opportunity. You know our traditions.”

“Oh, well it was either this or let a mob of fifteen young noblemen swarm around our poor Xira,” The buxom blonde matron replies without any consideration for your sensibilities.

“F-fifteen?!” you stutter in shock.

Resia giggled at your reaction, “Oh at least. Ever since word got out that you were single and needed an heir to your throne, almost every young noble in the tent wanted to try their luck at bedding you, for that matter some not so young ones too.”

“RESIA!” you finally snap, your face as red as a ripe tomato.

“Oh, relax little Xira,” she replied, “Most women would kill to be in your position. You are young, beautiful, and a queen who has yet to be touched by a man. It’s no wonder all the men here are crawling all over you. Your mother had the same problem when she passed through Deni. Almost every young man, and even a few women, in town, wanted to see what was under her armor.”

Glancing around the tent you could see that quite a few eyes were on you, mostly the young men in question. You were doing your best to maintain your regal and intimidating composure but Laoda's hyperbolic gossip about your unmatched beauty and unblemished virtue followed by Resia’s raunchy openness to the whole situation is not helping.

The Celtic woman continues as if selecting a mate for you is as natural as a stud for one of her prized fillies, “In any case, as I remember how timid you were around boys I decided to introduce just a few select men to you this first time so you weren’t completely overwhelmed.” Her voice lowers a little into what she may think is an intimate whisper, but you suspect at least a dozen curious onlookers could hear her clearly. “I made sure to be careful with my selections. I know how you Amazons prefer strong and honorable types and these are as strong an honorable as they come.”

Now that you think about it, the two warriors that Resia brought with are exactly the type of man that any Amazon would be more than willing to spread their legs for. Alex looks both strong intelligent and Rafail is not only a skilled rider but he seems to prefer to use his manners and good looks to charm his woman and not vulgar comments like most of the other soldiers you saw on your way into camp. If you don’t take one of them as your mate another Amazon certainly will.

Still, while these two made perfect sense to present to a Queen of the Amazons, Ceno doesn’t quite fit the mold. Resia's son looks good and fit but so are most farmers or dock workers. He is honorable, probably the most honorable man you know, but he isn’t a warrior, his gentle demeanor and studious nature was hardly the sought after traits that you and your Sisters sought for the fathers of your baby daughters.

“Why Ceno,” you ask deciding that if Resia can fluster you with her bluntness, then it is only fair to return the favor.

Resia looks over at her son and lets out a long sigh, “Well, your Majesty, ever since you first entered the tent he hasn't stopped looking at you like a love-struck pup, so I thought it would be cruel of me if I didn’t include him.” You looked over at Ceno and smirked as the handsome blond blushed heavily at his mother’s words; your time with the young prince must have had a stronger effect than you thought. “But Xira,” she turns her attention back to you, “You could do a lot worse than Ceno here, he has surprising depths of resolve and passion that would be an asset to your daughter and future queen of Accor.”

With that Laoda places her hand on Resia's arm and turns to you, “My Queen, why don’t you spend some time alone with these men. There is a place behind that curtain over there where young princes and princesses can mingle without too much overt supervision.”

You looked over at the part of the tent where Laoda was directing you to. Sure enough, there was a thin skill curtain separating the older nobles from the younger. Although it provided the illusion of privacy it was anything but as the silk is so thin you can see the silhouettes of the young princes and princesses on the other side.

“I can handle any trade deals that need to be reestablished, your Majesty,” Laoda continues, “The contacts you make here today may be much longer lasting and more important to Accor's future than any shipment of iron or coal.” She moves her hand from Resia to your arm just below where your armor ends and you feel the soft warmth of her skin like a soothing balm calming your rattled nerves. “Anything important, I will set on your desk at camp once we are done.”

The three suitors are waiting eagerly for your decision, and standing not far behind them, like wolves waiting to close in on an injured sheep, you see two or three other clusters of noblemen eager to take over if these three do not meet your standards.