A Warning of War.

King Devus roiled his eyes at his wife, but he wasn’t about to argue with her. “You think that woman would have at least sent a messenger before her arrival,” he groaned as he climbed out of bed, “Preferably before she left the port of Accor. At least then, we would have been better prepared for her arrival and not in such a state of undress.”

Devus made his way over to the dresser next to his wife, dipped his hands in a dish of cool water, and splashed his face. As the cool liquid ran down his beard, he grumbled, “She could have at least given us time to have the servants warm our plates.”

“There is no use bellowing about it, dear husband,” said Resia as she lightly coated her nude skin in perfume, “Besides, Hyphiroe is a very intelligent woman. If she did not send a messenger to alert us of her coming, then she must have had a good reason.” Resia took out a silk cloth and lightly dampened it with scented. She then turned to her husband and was about to rub the scented cloth on his strong chest when the large Nordic man recoiled. Resia glared at the large man, “Don’t be such a child. I will not have you wondering these halls smelling of semen.”

“Must you use your perfume,” said the large man through gritted teeth, “I am a man of the north, not a lady of the golden cities of Charmian.”

His wife didn’t respond. Instead, she leered at him as she would one of her own children. Realizing that there would be no arguing with the woman, Devus roiled his eyes and relaxed his body. As Resia coating him with the oils, she grumbled, “I swear you are as bad as Ceno.”

Once the king and queen had removed the scent of sweat and sex from their bodies, groomed their hair, and covered themselves with thick fur robs, they exited their room and met the guard at the door. The Grand Hall's stone walls were dimly lit by thick wax candles placed in the opening of polished ox horns. They could still smell the scent of mead in the air, along with a mix of ash and smoke from the fires and the pipes.

By now, almost everyone was either asleep or finishing up the last moments of passion with their wives and lovers. Those that were still awake and somewhat sober were busy cleaning the mess left behind by the drunken Norse men.

After a short trip down the cold stone stairs and into the mead hall's wooden halls, the two royals soon caught sight of Guard Captain Albius and Queen Hyphiroe. Thou still wobbly from the mead and from being fucked by a powerful Nordic man, this seemed to do little to slow Resia as she rushed up to the Queen of Accor and hugged her tightly in her strong arms, crushing the Amazon with her large breasts.

“Hyphiroe!” she cued in a loud voice, “You should have told us you were coming. We could have at least made ourselves more presentable then.”

Hyphiroe, with a great deal of effort, wormed her way out of the strong woman’s grasp. “Resia,” she groaned while popping her back, “Is it me, or have you gotten stronger. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were suffering from the same cures me and my sisters are.”

“My dear Hyphiroe,” Resia started with a warm smile, “I am a Norse woman, not a frail flower of Greece. In the north, the women have to be just as hardy as the men. I think it’s why our people get along so well. Though we are still dumbfounded by your peoples’ refusal to take husbands.”

Hyphiroe roiled her eyes and replied, “As I stated before, if we were to fall in love and take a husband, our curse would be broken, and we would cease to be Amazons.”

“And as I stated before,” Resia replied in a stern tone placing a finger on her breastplate, “It’s not the curse that makes you an Amazon but your strength. If anything, taking a husband should make you stronger because now you have someone to fight for.”

The Amazon roiled her eyes at the Nordic woman and crossed her arms, “I fight for my daughters and my sisters, isn’t that enough?”

“Then, of course, there is the fact that the Amazon curse is a curse,” Resia continued, “Honestly, giving what your people are like, I can see why you would only want to give birth to daughters, but the heat!? How do you even manage-”

“The nightly orgies,” Hyphiroe replied in a dry tone, “If you are quite done telling me how I should rule my people, I did come here for a reason.”

“I would hope so,” said Devus stepping next to his wife, “We weren’t exactly in a position to entertain guests when you arrived. Now, what brings you to my court at this hour?”

Hyphiroe cocked her head towards Devus before letting out a long exhale to calm her nerves, “The political tension between Accor and Arcon has been strained to such a point to where war may be inevitable.”

Devus and Resia traded worried glances upon hearing this news. Arcon was the most powerful city-state in all of Helena. Their wealth was unmatched and often used to buy off vast armies of mercenaries and the other neighboring city-states' loyalties. Meanwhile, Accor had a strong ally in the form of the Kingdom of Kane, who by far had the most skilled warriors in all of Helina and would often use their military might to keep the surrounding cities in line. If war broke out between Arcon and Accor, Helina would be pulled into the conflict.

“The children of Athena and Arise have been testy as of late,” said Devus turning back to Hyphiroe, “We thank you for the warning, but the question remains, why are you here?”

“I’ll explain in due time,” said Hyphiroe motioning the King and Queen into the den, “First, might I suggest that we warm our bodies by the fire. I may be cursed with an eternal heat, but that does little to protect me from the cold of open waters.”