Eric Taylor's Story

Bella was silent, an unreadable smirk plastered across her face. Even as Chris spoke to her with such disrespect, it remained the same. "Oh my," she muttered, "If I didn't know any better, I'd assume you weren't happy to see me." Advancing further into the room, she was delighted to see many of her princes take a few steps back. It pleased her to know that they feared her, for fear is often the most effective method of control.

"Now dear," she continued, noticing that Chris had been freed, "When I ask my guards to restrain a worker, you aren't supposed to free them Altair." The queen sighed. "Men like Chris need to be taught to control their urges." Bella clucked her tongue, almost like she was addressing a child. "As the queen, it is my duty to ensure that he learns quickly." Her hand drifted towards her hip in a threatening manner, reaching for her wand. She looked at all of her other princes.

"One of you should replace his chains," She said, more of an order than a suggestion. "That is, unless you want to upset me. The choice is yours." She looked expectantly across the room at her other workers. There was dead silence.

Eric stood up, walking towards Chris and pulling his hands behind his back, holding him firm. "I'll hold him here, your grace. He won't escape from me. He himself has joked about my strength tonight, and I have no doubt that he will cooperate with me for fear of my executioners axe."
He made the threat, knowing in his heart that it was an empty one. He would never be able to hurt any of them men in this room, not even for the queen. He felt as if they were his brethren, whether he was close with them or not. He only hoped that she would be pleased with Chris' restraint, and his own willingness to serve her.

Lance turned in his spot and froze. The queen had entered and didn't seem happy with Chris's presence. Cringing, he remained silent. His friend seemed to be trying to hold his own, a tactic that never worked when facing someone with the sheer power that Queen Bella possessed. After a moment of rather stupid remarks on Chris's part, she seemed to have had enough of his antics. She ordered for one of her workers to replace his restraints.

Taking in a deep breath of air, he didn't move an inch. He wasn't a convincing liar, so pretending to comply would be pointless. Eventually, Eric stepped forward. Lance began to breathe easy. Who better to intimidate than the queen's executioner? Turning to him, Lance nodded a bit and tried his best to maintain a calm attitude.

Bella folded her arms, an act that only rarely occurred. Looking at the pair of troublemakers, she stuck her chin in the air and let out a shrill, humorless laugh. She wanted desperately to hide her frustration with the situation. Here she was, a queen with supreme rule over a massive kingdom, and even her workers weren't addressing her with the respect she so deserved.

I bet they wouldn't speak to my sister this way, she thought. The idea angered her immensely. Why should her sister be the privileged child? After all, it had been Bella that had to deal with the indifference from both her mother and father. She'd been the one deserving of the position of queen since the moment she was born. This was her kingdom. She wouldn't let a few rebels ruin her perfect vision for the sake of a laugh or two.

All hope of controlling her anger was lost.

Her face contorted into a horrendous expression, so intense that one might think that she could kill with her eyes alone. Her fingers clenched her wand, her arm swinging out at full length in front of her. Not pointing at anyone in general, a blast of air flew out from the tip of her wand, powerful enough to knock even a giant off his feet. Every single person in the room flew backwards. "I am the queen, dammit!" She shrieked, her voice harsh enough to put a crack in glass. "You will respect me! With God as my witness, I will end every one of you myself before I allow this sort of blatant impiety go on!"

The room once again was dead silent. Nobody dared even to breathe. Taking five large steps back, she found herself standing at the entrance to the great hall. She stopped, glaring once more at her workers. Sure, some were loyal, but it only takes the error of a few to ruin an entire batch. She closed her eyes for a short second, then addressed them once more, in a calmer voice. "You are not to leave this room." She ordered. "Do I make myself understood?" Her beady eyes darted across the room, checking every man to ensure that they knew the correct answer. "Well?"

((Oh I love Bella. This should interesting seeing a room filled with all that testosterone quivering with fear hehe. I can't wait for the girls to meet her actually. CAT FIGHT!!! lol))

Richard Locksley, Corwin Huntley, Mayur Bishari

Corwin wanted to groan at Chris and Altair's behavior. The idiots! They were only going to make the queen angry and what was worse, she would probably take her anger on all of them. As if the queen could read his thoughts, that very thing happened. When she unleashed her magic, Corwin felt himself being thrown backwards and hit the wall. Cursing under his breath, he tried to gain some composure. Even though he was in pain, he did his best not to show it. He looked and saw the other guys in similar positions. Locksley was trying to stand up and Mayur looked like he crashed into the nearest person. When the queen spoke again, Corwin tasted fear again. This was why all of them were loyal to her, because she had the power to destroy them all. Corwin managed to get up and come forward before simply kneeling before the queen.

"Understood your majesty." he said, even though he hated to do so.

Richard was right next to him and did the same thing. He secretly hated submitting to the queen this way, but what choice did he have? What choice did they all have? Mayur managed to get up and wanted to get out of the room, but his loyalty to the men in the room was too great for him to try and leave. So for the sake of his comrades, and not the queen, he knelt down as well. Inside, he felt inner turmoil and wished that a miracle would happen that they would be set free.

Lance's heart raced as he found himself thrown to the wall by the blast of air. As if it couldn't get any worse, Mayur had done him the kindness of toppling on top of him and making movement practically impossible. Wiggling his legs, he cringed both in pain and fear. The queen truly was someone that was not to be fooled with. As he tilted his head upward, Lance noticed her icy glare focused on the pile of men. She was expecting an answer from her workers.

He breathed heavily. He hadn't heard the question, but he thought it unwise to leave the queen in suspense, especially given the situation. Everything became a bit easier when his "extra baggage" pulled himself to his feet and bowed in her direction. Finally able to react, he mimicked the actions of Mayur and bowed. Listening intently, he echoed the words of Corwin, determined not to be noticed as a rebel.

"Understood your majesty."

One thing common to all spies: they were all masters of camouflage, whether it be in the wilderness or a bustling marketplace. Don't try to be an individual, he told himself, You are a minion of the queen and one of many. You serve her loyally forever and always.