You go to the command tent to join your council.

You considering stopping Orithyia when you notice Laoda motioning you to join her with the rest of the nobles of Accor on the balcony in front of your command tent. You sigh and make your way up to the balcony, setting an intention to talk with Orithyia at a later time. From the raised platform you can see the great war engines tossing both massive boulders and flaming amphorae of oil high over the walls of Athenapolis. The war engines are slow to reload, but you find the power of the giant throwing arms almost impossible to comprehend. It is one thing to read about the giant constructs, it is quite another to see the heavy projectiles smashing into the towers and gates of Athenapolis with enough **** to make the ground tremble almost three bowshots from their target. Another flaming missile clears the white wall near the river and you can only imagine the terror of the inhabitants below when the flames engulf whatever the amphora smashes against.

Kyra is still expressing her irritation with cold stares and pointed silence. Ignoring her displeasure, you move confidently among the other women who make up your council. There is a representative from each faction within your Queendom, five in all. Atheas represents the Daughters of Aries and has primary control over the army. Laoda, as a Daughter of Aphrodite, is responsible for any diplomatic dealings that might come up. Next is the fiercely tattooed Kyra who is standing in for High Priestess Calisto as the representative of the Daughters of Lycaon. The Daughters of Lycaon are your scouts and given the responsibilities of processing the prisoners, separating the men and the women from one another. The women would go to the Daughter’s of Aries, who would transform them into Amazons; the men were even less fortunate. Except for the few that were claimed as mates by Sisters and others who could be redeemed by their armies, males turned over to the Daughter’s of Lycaon were used for their secret blood sacrifices. It is a savage practice, but not any worse than the fate of your Sisters capture in battle, and honestly, the other factions of Accor had little if any use for them. All but the Daughters of Aphrodite would kill these weaklings anyway.

The last two women waiting on the balcony are your spymaster from the Night Sisters, Seisa, and the young representative of the Valkyries. She is just a few years older than you and was sadly the most experienced Valkyrie in the order, you know her well as Anon is Theas' older sister. The Valkyrie wore light leather armor that covers most of her body aside from a small cutout that exposed her cleavage. Anon is thin-framed much like her little sister but her hips are a little fuller as are her breasts. Most importantly, by Anon's side is a grayscaled, dog-sized drake hatchling that stayed close to her as a child would to her mother.

Unlike Anon whom you consider a friend as much as an advisor Seisa just makes you feel uncomfortable. The Night Sister is dressed in head-to-toe black leather armor of her order, which is molded tightly to her athletic body covering every bit of her skin but at the same time leaving little to the imagination. Along with her armor, Seisa wore a black hood and face mask that hides all but her piercing gray eyes. You mother explained to you years ago that the armor isn’t meant so much for protection as to hide the identities of Sisters in their order, even from you. As far as the Night Sisters are concerned, the fewer people who knew who they are, the better.

Atheas, you are pleased to see, still has your mother’s sword in her belt. You scowl at her, which does little to faze the battle-hardened general, as you approach holding out your hand for your sword. She didn’t fight this silent demand, placing the sheathed blade in your hand without protest. Instead, she looks down at you sternly.

“An ambassador from Thebes stopped by an hour ago,” she uses in a tone that would let any child know that they had just been caught doing something inappropriate, “He said that you insulted, humiliated, and then attacked his prince in front of a large crowd. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that would you?”

You roll your eyes as you strap your mother's sword to your belt, “I taught an arrogant prince a lesson in manners.” You refuse to feel guilty for showing the spoiled prince for what he was. “I followed our ways. He was incredibly eager to prove his worth to me, so I decided to test him. He failed miserably…to put it lightly.” You resist the urge to relate your impression that Prince Iaosis thought by defeating you that he'd win the right to fuck you like a captive ****. Too many others are listening and Kyra and her blood-thirsty followers, in particular, would see this as confirmation of their views on men in general.

Atheas shakes her head almost sadly but she at least lowers her voice. “We can’t afford another war, Xira. We can barely handle this one.”

“Oh, don’t worry your mighty self, Atheas,” Laoda's keen ears heard enough of the exchange to jump to your defense, “Although humbled, it’s unlikely that the Kingdom of Thebes will retaliate against us anytime soon, Prince Iaosis is a known hothead and only the third in line after his father. Besides, at the moment the fighting men of Thebes are focused on taking the city and the plunder that awaits them within.” You give the petite woman a grateful smile as she continues. “I think Xira handled herself very well today. Men and women alike were fawning over the young Virgin Queen of the Amazons. If anything, this display of power improved her fame as now word will spread that she is a fierce warrior and not an easy prize to claim, despite her youth, beauty, and lack of experience with men.”

You blush and growl at Laoda's insinuation that you are some prized mare to be covered and bred. You were about to express your displeasure when Atheas beats you to it. “Why am I not surprised that you encouraged this?” Her voice strained with tension, “She can’t be picking fights with potential allies, she needs to establish herself first!”

“She was establishing herself, Atheas!” Laoda glares back at your veteran general refusing to back down.

“By picking fights!?” Atheas is getting angry.

“By showing them what Amazons are like! By showing them what she is like!”

“A brute who can not control her temper!”

“No! A powerful, intimidating, and exotic Amazon Queen!”

Atheas reels back, “EXOTIC!? What the fuck have you been having her do!?”

“I’ve been showing her how to relax and enjoy life!” Laoda taps her finger firmly on Atheas' breastplate, “Which is something YOU really need to be doing yourself! You suffer from a fucking heat bestowed on you be the goddess of love herself and your barely so much as finger fuck when you should be finding a man's cock to fill your needy sex.”

“At least I don’t spread my legs for every dick that comes my way!”

“Enough!!” you don't shout, but the power in that one word silences the two and immediately captures the attention of any of the council who weren’t already watching the argument. As the two women stare at you with shocked eyes, you glare at them taking a deep breath to calm your already short temper while tightly clenching the wooden railing of the balcony. “If you two really want to take up where my mother left off,” you say as softly as your voice will allow, “then stop acting like a pair of lovers looking for a reason to split their triad.”

Laoda and Atheas glance at each other still tense from their argument, and then give you respectful bows. “Our apologies your Majesty,” Laoda speaks humbly for both of them. You rest your hands on their arms drawing them closer to you and each other.

“One thing that might help is if you stop arguing about how I should be…raised,” you begin with a gentle yet tense smile, “In case you haven't noticed, I’m a grown woman now and can do whatever the fuck I want.” This is the first time you stood up to them this boldly and you see others in your council exchange meaningful glances. “You have both been very helpful after the **** of my mother, and I need your wise counsel now more than ever, but as for how I run my life, that falls on me, not you.” In the distance, you see another flaming missile arc gracefully over the walls of the city, but the rest of your council seem to have eyes for only you.

After almost ten heartbeats of stunned silence, Seisa clears her throat politely. “If you are quite finished with your family squabble,” she whispers softly, “I suggest that we head inside so that Atheas can share with us her latest battle plan.”