The Monster's Stratagem (Lesbian Story)

30: Team of Two

The kingdom's walls loomed before Dawn as she trudged closer to their destination, body shaking as she tightened her grip firmly around the Commander, determined not to let her fall.

Having been spotted by the Protectors manning the wall, the gates to the kingdom were wide open to allow them passage through to the other side. The main street was abuzz with alarm and trepidation at the sight of a human carrying their injured Commander through the entrance, though Dawn was too busy and too exhausted to focus. Vaguely, she heard urgent shouts for medics and that was all she needed to realise that she had fulfilled her task.

Unable to keep them both standing any longer, Dawn collapsed to the floor, panting from the exertion as her arms shook from keeping her upright. From her peripheral vision, she noted that the Monstra wasted no time in ensuring that Syrena was whisked away for medical attention.

Dawn kept her gaze to the stone path beneath her as she caught her breath, uncaring of her fate from here on out. How much further could one fall once they had lost everything?

"Dawn!" A familiar voice shouted her name, and the human girl looked up at last. Surrounded by a circle of Protectors, each with their weapons pointed at her person, Leixa managed to push her way through, growing increasingly frustrated with those who blocked her path. "Move."

"Leixa." Dawn greeted as the Monstra crouched before her, violet eyes seeking hers.

"What happened?"

"I don't know." She confessed, everything had happened much too fast for her to keep up. "Syrena was being held against the border, I couldn't stand by and watch."

Leixa sighed, looking down for a moment before standing again. "You know I have to bind you and take you to the King now, right?"

"I understand." Dawn replied, voice conveying no emotion. Rising from the ground on trembling legs, she allowed herself to be shackled and brought into the castle she had once escaped from. The one that had plagued most of her nightmares.

The Protectors that had encircled her remained in their positions as Leixa led them through the main street and towards the castle. Dawn, having never seen it up close and in the daylight before, had to admit that it was rather beautiful. With spiralling towers and grand archways made for both an impressive and foreboding structure; it was certainly fit for a mad king.

The Venturer passed through multiple corridors until she reached the stone hallway she recognised, and the doors that led to the throne room. The cavernous hall had not changed since she had last stepped foot in it, nor had the king who sat upon his throne. The vacant one beside him, Alani's throne, remained in place.

"You have returned." Zyire greeted as he stood, observing Dawn with his hawklike gaze. "Willingly, I see."

The human girl kept quiet, the shock of her situation had rocked her to the core. Absently, she stared at the Monstra ruler, feeling a hollow sense of numbness compared to the fire that had fuelled her during her last visit.

"What happened?" The King asked Leixa, grin dimming as though Dawn's gaze unnerved him. "What news of our Commander?"

"I do not know much but, according to Dawn, the Commander was being held up against Kings Grave's border. Dawn saved her from her fate."

"A human saved a Monstra from her own?" Zyire whispered, shaking his head. "I can scarcely believe it. For all we know, this could be a trap."

"For what it is worth, Your Majesty, I believe her."

"You do? May I ask why?"

"I have witnessed Dawn and Syrena together from when they first met. She would not have saved our Commander even if it greatly benefitted her, that was how deep her loathing ran." Leixa spoke on Dawn's behalf, recounting everything she knew of the two so that the king may rule in her favour. "And yet Dawn has forsaken the will of her people to carry Syrena across the clearing and straight into somewhere I'm sure she despises. These are not the acts of deceit, but the acts of someone trying to save a friend."