Areto makes preparations for war.

The following days felt longer than what they actually were. Arerto’s mother did just lose a major battle after all, along with over half of her army. There was civil unrest in the kingdom. The Northern tribe that defeated Queen Alcippe in battle were annexing large portions of the kingdom. Areto’s people were demanding action from a young woman who had little experience in statecraft.

Her first order of business was to resecure her borders or prevent the Northerners from taking any more ground, which was easier said than done. The only advantage Areto had was that the enemy army also took a pounding in the last battle, so much so that it was unlikely that they would be able to storm the walls of Castle Talia, at least not without some effort.

As for her army number, they weren’t so easy to replace. Amazons weren’t exactly known for their rapid population growth, as they could only give birth to females. Areto and her sisters had to really on ether raids or foreign kingdoms to increases their number, where they would either find a strong male and mate with him or kidnap woman and turn them into amazons using spells. But due to a large number of raiders on her sours, Areto couldn’t exactly lead an expedition off the island. The best she could do was press some of her younger, more inexperienced, sisters into the front lines.

Her other options were to call for aid from the mainland kingdoms. Areto’s mother had made a point to mate with few powerful nobles to secure alliances. However, Queen Alcippe had sent world to these allies some months ago, shortly before the Northmen first made landfall on Talia, and yet none have come to their aid. Perhaps some new alliances were in order.

As Areto sat at her desk looking over her maps, trying to decide how best to utilizes what few forces she had left, Bella walked up beside her and lightly set a mug of ale next to her queen. “Is everything alright, my Queen,” Bella asked in a soft tone.

Areto sighted and lightly raked her hand through her long golden hair. “Oh, Bella,” she replied, “I wish I could say that it was. Everything has gone to hell since my mother’s ****. I’ve only just taken the crown, and yet I may lose it to a Norseman within the next few days.”

Bella walked up behind Areto, lightly brush the queen’s golden locks from her shoulders, and started rubbing her tight neck. “I’m sure it won’t come to that, my Queen,” she told her as she roiled Areto’s shoulders in her slender fingers, “You have always been a skilled taction and an even more skilled fighter. Perhaps you just need something to take your mind off of the stress.”