Without Question

Without Question

Chapter Eight – Honor Thy Queen

“…Silus…I…” Chrysalis was having incredible difficulty comprehending what she was seeing, hearing and…and…feeling?  To hear Silus declare his affections for her had made Chrysalis’ mind become a mess.  He had finally explained to her why he was so very loyal and dedicated to her and her empire; it was not by any means was she had anticipated.

“You have given me a second chance…a chance to be the man I was supposed to be…and I owe it all to you…” Silus quietly continued speaking; his eyes were lost in her wide, luminescent green eyes.

“But I…I had no idea…” the shocked Queen whispered from behind the hoof covering her gaping mouth.

Silus simply continued to kneel, holding the Queen’s hoof in his hands and gazing into her eyes as she gazed back into his.  He could sense her disbelief and felt that he should reassure her.

“…My life is yours…I will serve you every waking moment…until my dying breath, until my corpse decays and my skeleton becomes dust, until my name is lost and forgotten in the annals of history, I will serve you.  I am yours, my Queen…”

Silus finally stood up and gently grabbed the hoof that covered Chrysalis’ mouth with one of his hands.  Now holding her forehooves, he pressed them to his chest and leaned so close to her face that he could see his reflection in her eyes.

“…without question…” he finished with a whisper.

The Queen was frozen.  Her face blushed heavily, though it was hidden by her black skin.  Her mouth still hung open, wanting to say something but unsure of what to say.  Her entire body felt warm.  Warmer, in fact, than it ever had felt in her life.  The Changeling Queen fed on love (this trait was known by virtually anyone or anything that had ever heard of the Changeling Empire), but this was different.  Ever since Silus had been brought to this world, her hunger had faded slowly and she no longer desired to feed on the love of others.  Chrysalis had never been the object of anyone’s affections before; she always had to imitate the appearance of someone’s significant other in order to feed on their love.

As Chrysalis stared into Silus’ pale blue eyes, she remembered every moment she had ever spent around him.  He actually didn’t look half-bad for such an odd creature…in fact, he looked rather handsome.  And the way he spoke to her…it was so genuine…so heartfelt...

Speaking of heartfelt, her hooves were still pressed against his chest and she could feel his heart thumping rapidly.  Chrysalis was standing up on her hind legs and was now just as tall as Silus.  The Queen slowly closed her mouth and leaned her body closer, letting her head rest on his shoulder (obviously being careful not to poke him with her horn).  She closed her eyes and a small smile spread across her lips.

Silus was now in a state of disbelief himself.  He never thought she would be so accepting of his affections for her.  Or at least, he thought she was accepting of it, judging by her current actions.  He could feel her heart beating just as fast as his was.  Why was she so shocked at how he felt?  Surely a Changeling as beautiful as herself had been approached before by countless suitors…

Chrysalis couldn’t believe how she was feeling.  She felt so confident, so safe.  It was as though this embrace was all she needed to assure her that her nation and subjects would never be lost…that she would never be lost…

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The pair of hazel eyes that stared down from the rafters darted along the thick wooden beams.  Nearing the end of the beam, the eyes were halted by the stone wall of the sloping ceiling.  Sliding a few loose bricks off the wall, a secret entrance was revealed and the eyes passed through the small hole, making sure to cover the entrance back up with the bricks.  The eyes exited to the outside of the castle and onto the ledge just below the roof.  With a bit of levitation magic, the eyes managed to reach a flat area on the roof where their owner’s full form was revealed.  Sitting there in the moonlight was a mint-green unicorn with a harp for a cutie mark.  She wore a very large and squirming saddlebag that suddenly popped open.

A small blue and grey dragon rolled out next to the unicorn and stood up, wiping the dust off of its scales.

“You said it wouldn’t take long to get the info you needed, Lyra!  I don’t know if you realize it, but you kept me in your saddlebag for six hours!  Let’s just do this and go home,” it said with much frustration.

“Hush, Typhoon!  Just because we’re half a mile away above the ground doesn’t mean it’s impossible for us to be heard!  Here’s the report I made; send it to the Princesses and you can go.  I still have one more job,” the unicorn responded as she tossed a scroll to the small dragon.

The dragon frowned and held the scroll to his mouth and, with a burst of blue flame, it vanished.  Lyra nodded with approval and the dragon turned to fly off into the night.  As soon as he was out of sight, the mint-green unicorn cast and invisibility spell and disappeared.

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Grimsoul entered the atrium through the castle’s huge front doors.  As soon as they heard the entrance being opened, Chrysalis and Silus released each other, albeit reluctantly.

“Queen Chrysalis, I have news from the frontlines,” Grimsoul informed her as he approached and bowed.

The Queen cleared her throat to speak while Silus stepped a few feet to the side to allow them to talk.  He had a slight smile on his face.  It felt so good to know she accepted his feelings.  But he was still worried about what she might make of them, or if she really did accept his feelings.  After all, he was merely assuming out of hope and her reaction.

“What news do you bring, Guard?” she inquired.

“The new military structure and tactical doctrines seem to have the Equestrians at a loss.  They haven’t made any attempt to attack us again, or even perform small strikes.  We haven’t even seen a single pony since the battle.  I’m not sure what to make of it,” he answered with furrowed brows.

“Hmm…double the amount of patrols and security in and around the city.  I smell subterfuge and I’ll have none of it,” she frowned.

Silus continued to silently observe the conversation.  But he saw something out of the corner of his eye.  One of the statues along the carpet seemed to have been bumped; it was wobbling so gently that he wasn’t completely sure whether or not his eyes were simply playing tricks on him.  But then he noticed something else happen.  Part of the carpet a few feet from the bumped statue had scrunched.  This time he saw it happen.  Something was moving towards Grimsoul and the Queen.  Trying not to alert whatever or whoever it was, he casually walked over closer to the Queen and stood a few feet from her side.

“Also, the crops growing steadily again thanks to the heavy rainfall lately.  We don’t expect AGH—!” Grimsoul was cut off he was sucker punched by…nothing.

Silus grabbed the handle of his sword.  A mint-green unicorn appeared out of nowhere right next to Grimsoul’s unconscious body and charged at the Queen.  The unicorn angled her head so that the horn was aimed for Chrysalis’ heart.

Drawing his sword, Silus tackled the unicorn’s side just as it was about to stab Chrysalis, who had stumbled backwards in surprise.  Silus and the mint-green assassin both jumped to their feet and hooves respectively.

“How DARE you attempt to slay the Queen of the Changeling Empire!” Silus angrily shouted as he pointed his blade at the unicorn.

“How dare I?!  How dare SHE invade my home!  It can’t be allowed to happen again!  She has to pay for her crimes!” the assassin shouted back just as angrily.

“Silus!  This unicorn is no match for my power, I can handle this matter,” Chrysalis smirked.

“Please, My Queen, it would be an honor to duel and slay this coward with you as an audience!” Silus responded without taking his eyes off of the unicorn who glared back at him.

Chrysalis raised an eyebrow with interest and sat down on her throne.

“Very well, Lord Silus.  Honor your Queen,” she said with a giggle as she crossed her forelegs and hind legs.

“With pleasure…” Silus grinned deviously.

“How about we make things more interesting, you freak?” the unicorn smirked.

“Oh, an actual challenge perhaps?” Silus smirked back.

Frowning, the assassin answered, “You ditch the sword and I won’t use my magic to split you in half.”

“This will certainly be fun…” Silus sheathed his blade and tossed the scabbard off to the side.  He unbuttoned his uniform and tossed it as well, so that only his white undershirt covered his torso.  As Silus cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck around, Chrysalis couldn’t help but blush at seeing how muscular he was.

The unicorn stood on her hind legs and held up her forelegs at odd angles.

“You don’t know what you’ve just gotten yourself into, freak.  I’m a master of Buck-Kwon-Do.  There isn’t a pony or Changeling alive that’s survived a scrap with me.  Looks like you’ll be the first of your kind to die at my hooves,” the assassin boasted as she bounced on her hind legs.

Silus himself took a boxer’s stance.  Part of his military training required him to learn basic hand-to-hand combat.  He was no world champion, but he could definitely put some painful dents in a face.  Rather than dignify the mint-green pony with a response, he licked his lips, hungry to entertain his Queen.

Seeing she wouldn’t be getting any more vocal responses out of the thing in front of her, the unicorn ran forward and swung one of her hind legs in a roundhouse kick.  Silus ducked and swung in an uppercut at the unicorn’s jaw.  She saw it coming and dodged left.  Silus held his forearms up in front of his face to block whatever she threw at him.  Seeing a weakness, the unicorn ducked and did a sweep kick, knocking Silus to the floor.  The mint-green assassin dove towards him, but he rolled away.  Grunting in frustration, she backed up a bit to let him stand.

“You know, you’re not as bad as I thought you’d be, freak.  Most of my opponents don’t last more than six seconds.  Such a shame you picked the wrong side,” the unicorn taunted.

Silus scowled.  He’d never felt so right to be part of the Changeling nation and he would put this pony in her place:  snout down in a pool of her own blood.

He dashed towards her with a burst of speed and struck her shoulder as she tried to dodge this surprise.  She shouted at the sudden pain, unaware of how fast he could move.  Quickly recovering, the unicorn took a new approach.  She crouched a bit and unleashed a trio of jabs to his abdomen.  Silus stumbled backward, grasping at his stomach.  It felt horrible; his entire abdomen had gone numb.  He couldn’t let her do those kinds of strikes to any other part of his body.

The unicorn sprinted forward to disable him further, but Silus was ready this time.  He spun to the side just as she overshot and delivered a powerful punch near center of her back.  The unicorn fell to her hind legs and tried to rub the spot he had nearly shattered.  Had he been a few inches more to the right, it would have crushed her spine.  She heard rapid footsteps behind her and quickly rolled to the side, swinging her hind leg in the process and slamming his shin.  It hurt her hoof to do so, but it hurt him more.  Silus grunted in pain but fought it and ran at the assassin with his fists raised.  The pony had stood back up and gestured for him to come at her.

Silus let out a war cry and sent a barrage of jabs at the unicorn who blocked every single one before delivering her own jab to the center of his chest.  He nearly stumbled again at how numb the strike had made his chest.  Nearly his entire torso had a “pins and needles” sensation.

“Come on; let’s see you give it your best shot.  Or do I have to go ahead and end this so I can kill your little Queen?” the assassin gave a harsh smirk.

Silus was enraged at the nerve of this pony, but he did his best to stay focused.

“Touch her…and I swear, your friends will never find all the pieces of your body…” he replied darkly.

The unicorn blinked a few times at hearing this.  It had unnerved her a bit, and she began regretting that last taunt immediately.  Silus ran forward to deliver a bone-splintering blow to the unicorn, but she would not let herself lose to this thing.  She was beginning to realize that she would be unable to beat him in a straight fight.

Just as Silus was about to ram his fist into the side of the assassin’s jaw, the unicorn attempted to dodge and slash at him with her horn.  It was a dirty move, but it had to be done if she was to finish her mission.  She only partially succeeded in her little cheat.  The slash had dug deeply across Silus’ midsection, but the majority of his punch made contact, and the unicorn was sent flying several feet towards Chrysalis.  Silus had fallen to his knees, gasping for air, but he turned to see the unicorn stumbling to stand up in front of Chrysalis, who sat seemingly emotionless upon her throne.

“It…ends…HERE!” the unicorn screamed, pointing her glowing horn at the Queen.

From behind, Silus nearly landed on the assassin’s back as he wrapped his arms around her head and neck.  With a shout of pure rage, Silus twisted his arms with every ounce of his strength and the unicorn’s neck snapped with a loud echo.  Still gasping for air, Silus stood proudly over his slain foe, whose face held a permanent look of indescribable surprise.

Chrysalis finally gave a huge smile and stood.

“Silus…you never cease to impress your Queen,” she said with half-lidded eyes.  His shirt had nearly been torn off by the slash, exposing much of his muscular figure to her.  The sight of his glistening blood and sweat made him seem that much more masculine.

“All that I am…I give in defense of you…My Queen…Aaagh…” Silus muttered as his vision faded to darkness and he slumped to the ground.

“Silus?!  Silus!  Guards!  Get me my sages!  HURRY!”