Part Twenty Four
 

The new young Queen and the old general rode side by side  for four hours, until the army reached a point, twenty miles from the border, where the attack was expected.  She had been terue to her determination to lead her soldiers into the fight and not to wear any protection except the ring.  Her horse, the faithful Champion was showing more liveliness than ever as his nostrils detected in the air, the smell of approaching glory for him and his lovely rider.

"The enemy army is on the other side of that hill, and they have stopped to rest and regroup before pushing ahead later in the day.  What do you suggest, General?"

The old man leughed.

"If they are indeed where you say, and how could you possibly know, then we should split into two and attack from opposite dides, both coming at them simultaneously.  But we do not know ehere they are."

"Trust me, General.  My spies are everywhere and they always tell me true!"  She pointed into the air at the wheeling flights of birds which had been following them all day.

She spoke again.

"I will head the first attack and you the second.  Wait until we have engaged the enemy and only move when all his forces have been thrown against us.  Then fall upon his rear and together we will destroy them!  Do not fear for me!  Whether I live or die matters nothing so long as our country is saved.  Farewell for now and maybe for ever my brave old general!"

The two parted, not without tears on both sides and the army divided. The general sat on one side, looking down at the assembled invading force with a couple of aides, the rest of the troops being hidden  from the foes eyes, behid the hill.

He waited until the other half of the army launch their attack, led by the Queen, naked and with her golden hair flying behind her, astride her horse galloping towards the foe.  He had always loved her dearly, ever since she had been a little girl.   The haughtiness she had reserved for so many others had never been directed at him - she had admired him for his glorious deeds in battle far too much  for that! Many hours she had spent at his feet being told stories of the battles of his youth, her eyes full of wonder.

As she reached the enemy and plunged right into their midst, he was convinced that this brave young woman was lost to him for ever, but the leading soldiers, only yards behind,  her plunged themselves into the melee, and surrounded the tiny Queen, who had already killed two of the invaders with a sword which she was using to devastating effect, despite its weight and her diminutive size. The demoralised foe fell back and the general saw the Queen gallop along the line of her army, obviously urging them on to greater efforts.  Time and again her saw her rushing to be in the midst of all the heaviest fighting and she survived every foolhardy foray, although even from that distance he could see the blood from dozens of cuts covering her lovely body with its crimson stain.

Finally the entire enemy force was engaged with the Queen's army and she was obviously having trouble preventing her hard-pressed and outnumbered forces from retreating, inspiring them by the example of her own incredible courage to press on anew despite their weariness and heavy losses.

The General ordered his own men to attack and within minutes they had taken the enemy's rear com-letely by surprise. Within an hour it was all over and General Manfred looked around the carnage for a sight of his beloved Queen, sick with a dreadful fear that she had perished.  He need not have worried!

She came up to him, her face covered in smiles, despite the many wounds she had suffered.  The faithful Champion had come through totally unscathed, much to the relief of his rider.  Together the two of them received a delegation of the enemy, headed by their young Prince - since their King Adolf had fallen in battle, slain by the Queen herself, who had been looking for him from the first.

The enemy were allowed to leave in peace, after gathering up their wounded and burying their dead.  The new King promised faithfully, on his kness before his conquereor, that his country would always live at peace with its neighbour for ever onwards and Queen Sara believed him.

Darkness had fallen long since when the Queen and her victorious entourage returend to the Palace.  Her wounds were beginning to cause her to become faint and the Gebneral was afraid she might  succumb.  It was not only physical weakness that was affecting her, however.  Far was the terrible news she would have to give her dearest friend.

The gallant Baron Schroder had insisted on joining the battle, despite the fact that he was not a trained solider,  and had ridden with the Queen's detachment, falling early on, but not before killing several of the enemy and displaying the highest courage.  Martha could be justly proud of him!

It was not until Champion had been watered and stabled,  Martha had been personally told by her friend of her loss and the weeping and distraught widow comforted by the Queen and finally left to sleep, that Queen Sara allowed her concerned doctors to treat her wounds.

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A month after the great victory, the Queen and her best friend, still in mourning, were riding to their favourite spot.  This was an outing they could make only rarely, now that Sara was forced to spend so much time on affairs of state.  They were both naked, Sara still not having dressed again since the battle, but for a few bandages which she had now discarded, and Martha save for a black band on her arm.  They rested on their favourite bank and Sara put an arm around Martha's shoulder, pulling her towards her.

"I am not cut out for peace, my darling.  I need wrongs to right and battles to fight against evil foes.  Look over there at the world spread out before us!  There is such suffering beyond this land - so much evil and oppression.  I am needed elswehere, my friend and must leave my dear country once again, to roam the world; this time looking for great causes to fight for."

Martha had long been expecting this.  The Queen had appointed wise men to rule the Kingdom and her sons would be able to take over in time.  The warlike girl was bored with peace and visibly fretting with frustration.

"Oh, Sara - Your Majesty, I mean! Let me come with you, I beg you!"

"Thank you, Martha.  I was afraid you'd never ask!"

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The couple were away from their country for ten years, doing all the stirring,  hazardous warlike things the Queen wanted to do.  She fought in numerous battles, always on the side of truth and justice, defending the weak and oppressed from the strong and rapacious, and in so doing received countless more wounds to add to those she had already sustained.  over the years her body, still trim, supple and naked as ever was a mass of scars, all of which she wore proudly.  One day the Queen heard of a crisis in her own country and sped back to take control.  She was never to leave again, finally realising that peace brings its own victories and henceforth devoting herself finally and entirely  to its pursuit.

When she finally died, full of years, her funeral procession was watched by enormous crowds of people who had come from all over the country, as well as from the many lands to which she had given her help.  Her friend Martha, who had been her constant daily companion since the death of the baron, only survived her by a few weeks, being broken hearted at her loss.

THE END AT LAST, THANK GOODNESS!!!