Convincing the King

Using the pretext of doing some redesigning in the castle's arcane laboratory, Stella spends a few night in the lavish royal palace. It is laughably easy for her to sneak in through the building in the middle of the night, avoiding most guard patrols and mesmerizing those in her direct path.

She makes it to the bedchamber of King Enguerrand the Seventh, who sleeps restlessly in his large bed. She places her hands against his temple and slowly plays with his mind. She reminds him of his marriage, of how much better it was to have a warm body to snuggle against during the long cold winter nights. She drills into him a profound yearning for company. To her surprise, she doesn't need to instill any desire for green flesh; Enguerrand already has a secret attraction to the women of the enemy nation. This will make her job a lot easier.

She visits the king again, this time while he is awake. It is around the dining table that she gives him the offer.

"Think about it, my liege. This could mean the end of the war."

"The w- But are we even sure that these... these savages would accept this?" Yet, she can see the obvious interest in his eyes. He licks his lips, then pretends the move was to clean some eggs crumbs on his cheek. "Not that I would even... want... that..." Beads of sweat are forming on his forehead.

"I know one such savage who would be willing to make this union. And, furthermore, she is of noble blood."

"Orcish blood could hardly be called noble, no matter who her family is."

"She is the daughter of Vagan Ruk-Dkhag, the warchief. That is the noblest blood you'll find in the Charred Marshes."

The king dabs a handkerchief against his sweaty forehead. "Didn't you just take the warchief's son into custody? Are you using his life as a bargaining chip to manipulate one of his sisters?"

Stella smiles, a mirthless smirk that does nothing to stop king's anxiety. "The daughter I mentioned is the same orc that I recently took into custody."

The shock causes the king to **** on a sip of wine. He hit his chest a few times and cough to unclog his wind pipe.

"She was born in a man's body, my liege, but with the help of my transmutation magic, she is a woman. And she is ready to become a queen, if that is what it takes to end the war."

The king's throat is finally free again, but he is still shaken by this new turn of event. He looks around the room at the servants, as if trying to gauge their reactions. Would they judge him for marrying an orc? For marrying a trans woman? For marrying a trans orc woman?

"You are the king," Stella whispers. "You lead this nation. Whatever you choose to do, your people will trust you and follow you."

He stares back, his eyes no longer clouded with doubts. "Could I meet this...hum..." He opens his arm in an inquisitive gesture.

"Xena."

"Could I meet this Xena?"

"Absolutely. Whenever you want, I can bring her to the castle. You can decide after meeting her if a courtship is something that you would want to follow through with."

"Let us do that then. How soon can you bring her?"

"I'd have to get back to my tower and then bring her back tomorrow. As you know, I can only teleport once a day," she lies. She actually has enough magic to use teleportation circles twice a day, but knowledge is power and the king already has enough power as is.

"Tomorrow it is. I shall prepare myself for..." He looks down at his hands, his cheeks flushed. "I do not know what to prepare, actually. I haven't courted anyone since..." He doesn't say his wife's name. He clearly misses her, and Stella goes to him and offers him a comforting hand on the shoulder.

"You'll do well, my liege. If I may, I would suggest that you prepare a large feast. Orcs love eating, and they love meat. You could probably impress her this way."

"I shall do this," the king announces, standing up. But just as he is about to leave, he turns to face the witch. "Just one more thing."

"What is it, my liege?"

"How... complete is your magic?"

She arks an eyebrows, silently requesting an elaboration.

"Can this woman... can she bear children?"

Stella smirks. "Do you want her to?"