The Immortal Queen Tsubame: Awakening

by H. D. Strozier

  She didn’t mean to beg, but he thrust harder in response and they both came together, her vaginal walls clamping down tightly on his throbbing erection.

  “Fuck,” he said stilling on top of her as they let the vibrations of their orgasms overcome them.

  He managed to pull out of her and guide himself into collapsing next to her on his stomach with his legs still on top of hers. MaLeila moaned as his musky scent invaded her nostrils, eyes closed to better appreciate the scent of him and focus on the ripple effect of her orgasm in her limbs.

  The weight of Marcel’s lower body left her as he rolled onto his back. A few moments later he said, “We should fight and argue before having sex more often.”

  “I concur,” MaLeila moaned as she lifted herself up and straddled herself around Marcel’s lower waist. Then she added with a grin, “I also like this idea of letting my natural instincts take control.”

  Marcel laughed. “Looks like I may have unleashed a monster.”

  MaLeila’s grin widened as she asked, “And who said that was a bad thing?”

  21

  As Tsubame waited for the girl to come to her the next morning, because she was positive that she eventually would, Bastet came to see her. This world she had chosen was certainly full of surprises…

  After Saha escorted the tall woman with naturally tan skin and an undercut hairstyle with the left side shaved off into her room and left, Tsubame raised her eyebrow expectantly. The other woman wasted no time beating around the bush and said, “Did you have anything to do with Fathi’s death?”

  Tsubame laughed. “Aren’t you demanding for a woman who’s nothing more than a glorified babysitter?”

  “We don’t have to pretend here, Tsubame. I know what your aim is, so you certainly have the motive to kill him to further that aim. It’s not so farfetched.”

  Tsubame went to sit at her vanity and observed Bastet through its mirror as she said, “So I’m a suspect.”

  “Everyone is.”

  “But you came to me specifically.”

  “Only because the council obviously hasn’t.”

  “What makes it so obvious?”

  “The hotel is still standing and you’re still here,” Bastet said pointedly.

  “Touché,” Tsubame gave.

  “The question is if the council didn’t question and come to you first as a possible suspect, who are they considering?” Bastet asked.

  Though the woman tried to hide it, Tsubame heard the worry in the woman’s tone, see in the slight downturn of her lips, sense it seeping out her otherwise withdrawn magical aura.

  “So you know it too,” Tsubame said just as the door to her suite opened again and in walked the person she was waiting for.

  The girl had a certain bounce to her step that a woman could only have after she had been involved heavily in some capacity with a man she cared about, but that bounce left as soon as she saw Bastet standing behind Tsubame with her arms crossed.

  “What are you doing here?” MaLeila asked Bastet.

  Bastet replied without looking back at her, “I could ask you the same.”

  “Marcel sent me,” MaLeila said without missing a beat.

  “For what?”

  Out her mirror, Tsubame saw the girl glance at Bastet, dart her eyes to Tsubame and then look back at Bastet as she said, “I’ll tell you later. In fact, I’ll come back later.”

  That said, the girl began to leave the room.

  “No. Stay,” Tsubame said softly, halting the girl in her tracks. “This concerns you more than it really concerns any of us.”

  “She doesn’t need to know right now,” Bastet said. “It may not even be an issue.”

  “Don’t kid yourself. You used to work for the council. You know it is one. They need a scapegoat, and she’s the perfect one. Totally disposable.”

  Tsubame’s statement erased the hesitancy that had been in the girl’s face. She frowned, eyes darting between Tsubame and Bastet again in uncertainty before she fixed her eyes on Tsubame and said, “What are you talking about?”

  “The Magic Council is going to frame you for Fathi’s death or almost death.”

  “Frame me,” MaLeila said. “Why?”

  “You know exactly why,” Tsubame replied.

  Before MaLeila could say anything else, Bastet cut in and said, “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and get alarmed over nothing. They could very well not be.”

  “Yet the fact that you were so worried about it that you came to me to ask about my involvement in Fathi’s attempted murder says otherwise,” Tsubame said to the woman and then added, “So would the meeting I just had with the council and the families over what they suspect to be your involvement. Made quite the case against you. Motive, said you were quite the seer. I would have thought they were talking about a more powerful sorceress. If it weren’t such a serious accusation, I would have been flattered for you.”

  “They still have no proof. I was with either Marcel or Devdan or Bastet or in my room the entire time we were here and the only time I left the banquet was right before it happened to talk to Devdan,” MaLeila said.

  “And you think if you told the council that they would have to believe you?” Tsubame asked. “Even if you had poisoned Fathi, Devdan would lie for you and you know it. And so what if he wouldn’t? If the council wants to put the blame on you, you’ll get the blame and hell, they might even make Devdan an accomplice.”

  “They can’t do that,” MaLeila whispered.

  “Oh they can. And your guardian here knows it. She knows how they’ll take and twist every fight you’ve been in, every act of defiance, every act of aggression, all the worst parts of you and blast it all over television, make you look like a monster. They’ll make lies look like the truth even when those closest to you come to your defense. They’ll drag you down to hell and proclaim you guilty before you ever go to a trial and even if you don’t they’ll persecute you so badly in the media, that you’ll want to die,” Tsubame said. “They would do it to anyone. You wouldn’t be the first they’ve done it to. The Thornes are particularly good at instigating situations and finding an insignificant scapegoat.”

  Tsubame watched as the girl stared at her, eyes narrowed as though she wasn’t sure whether or not to believe her. Tsubame then added, “But you could be the last person the Magic Council tries it with if you let me help you.”

  “And this is the part where I tell you to shut up,” Bastet cut in before MaLeila could answer.

  Tsubame turned her gaze away from MaLeila and looked at Bastet as she said, “And you should stop treating her like a little girl and speaking for her. I was talking to her after all. If she wants me to shut up, if she doesn’t want my help, she can tell me herself.”

  Tsubame turned her gaze back to MaLeila’s reflection in the mirror. Bastet’s gaze too shifted to look at MaLeila through the mirror. After a few expectant moments MaLeila looked at Bastet and said, “Come on, Bastet. We’ve dealt with the Magic Council scheming against us before. You don’t need to interrogate Tsubame.”

  Bastet’s gaze lingered on Tsubame’s reflection before she turned around and started out the room. Right before MaLeila crossed the threshold though, Tsubame said, “You’ve never dealt with the Magic Council like this before. Before? That was just a test, a run through to see if they would have to waste time getting to you the hard way. It actually says something about you that you’ve stood against them this long and they know that too. Which is why they’re going to annihilate you without hurting one pretty hair on your head.”

  MaLeila rocked back and forth over the threshold as though trying to decide whether she was going to leave or stay in the room with Tsubame. Finally she shook her head and left the room. A few moments later, Tsubame heard the heavy door of the suite open and then close back. Tsubame then turned her gaze to the reflection of a newcomer in the mirror.

  “Long time no see, love,” Tsubame said, locking her gaze with Marcel’s cool blue eyes. �
��How much time passed before I was able to follow you and Nika through the void to get here? It must have been a while if you were able to get such a prestigious honor as being representatives for the council.”

  Marcel shrugged and said, “A year or so. Not long.”

  Tsubame huffed. “I could have conquered the world with that much time.”

  “Well we all know taking over regimes and sitting down tyrants and dictators is your specialty. I have to say,” he said coming to stand directly behind her, “You’ve managed to surprise me yet again.”

  “Been a while since you’ve admitted I surprised you. I was beginning to think I never would again.”

  “Well you’re usually very selfish with your power so imagine my surprise when my girlfriend tells me that someone is very interested in her magical potential,” Marcel said raising his eyebrows.

  “And imagine my surprise when I found out that you’ve been with this girl for a while. Usually you would have been bored a long time ago and cut ties.”

  “She’s… interesting,” Marcel settled on.

  “That is true,” Tsubame said and then reached over her shoulder. Marcel put his hand in hers and Tsubame sighed. “As always, knowing exactly what I want before I even know I want it. Even if you don’t know I want it.”

  Marcel frowned and said in a warning tone, “Tsubame. I didn’t start a relationship with her to deliver her into your hands so you can use her.”

  “Someone’s protective.”

  “Jealous?”

  “Never,” Tsubame said as she stood and walked over to the wardrobe in the corner of the room and opened it to look at the fuchsia satin kimono dress. “And I won’t be sharing my power. Not really.”

  Tsubame closed the wardrobe again and said, “If only the girl wouldn’t be so difficult. She wants my help, but doesn’t realize just how much.”

  “If she were anything but difficult, it wouldn’t be interesting to you.”

  “That’s true,” Tsubame said with a sigh as she took out a case of makeup. “I guess I’ll have to go ahead and help her anyway because by the time she catches up to her own desires, it may be too late to stop the damage.”

  “Not that you couldn’t fix it.”

  “True. But it would take too long.”

  Marcel silently watched as Tsubame began to apply red lipstick. Then he said, “You’re going to take the fall for Fathi’s death, aren’t you?”

  “Better I take the fall than the girl. Besides, let the Magic Council underestimate me, think I’m predictable and weak with no other allies and resources. It’ll work out for me even better than I’d planned for it to. All publicity is good publicity and all that,” Tsubame said. “Besides, I think it’s time for the world to see the true face of Tsubame. It’s more fun to take over the world in the open when people can see you doing it and can’t do a damn thing to stop it.”

  Later when Anya asked her when she would be ready to question MaLeila, Tsubame told her they would do it later in the evening as she was tending to some things that Fathi usually tended to with his guards. What she was really tending to though was getting ready to flee the country, back to the safety of her own territory. She contacted the hospital ahead of time, persuading the doctors that it would be best to move him back to his own home for recovering since all that could be done was to wait and see if he could overcome the damage the poison had already managed to wreck on his body. Just the act of her trying to flee with Fathi’s body no less would imply that she had something to hide which would force the council to at the very least put their questioning and accusations against the girl on hold, which was more than enough time than Tsubame needed.

  Since it was no secret that Tsubame liked to go to the market, it wasn’t suspicious when in the afternoon she went for an impromptu trip there with some of her maids which gave her other maids the time to pack up all her things, put them into a taxi and then come get her and head to the airport. She spotted Marcel lounging in the lobby before they left and went to greet him, easily falling into their familiar restrained banter.

  Her exchange with the man hadn’t gone unnoticed by Saha whom Tsubame who explicitly requested come with her today to get enough herbs and trinkets to last them for a few months.

  “You know him? The council representative?” the woman asked.

  “Yes,” Tsubame answered simply. After a beat or so she added, “Just like I know you were the one that poisoned Fathi.”

  Saha stopped in her tracks while Tsubame continued to walk. The way the woman showed her shock betrayed what Tsubame had suspected. She wasn’t trained, nor would she be a threat to Tsubame. It had simply been a personal vendetta.

  “Don’t act so shocked Saha. I’m sure you’ve already deduced I’m much more resourceful than I appear. Of course I figured it out,” Tsubame said stopping so the woman could catch up with her once she snapped out her shock.

  Saha slowly came to stand next to her and together they continued through the crowd.

  “You have no evidence of that,” Saha said, her lips pressed tightly together as though there were anyone around to actually care about what they were saying.

  “I don’t need it. You’re the only one with both the motive and the guts to pull it off. Not to mention that it doesn’t matter. All I have to do is accuse you and it’s my word against yours and I think we both know whose word pulls more weight.”

  “Then if it would be that simple, why haven’t you said anything.”

  “Because unlike you, I don’t get satisfaction from settling a petty personal vendetta when it doesn’t benefit me. I have nothing to gain from telling anyone that you poisoned Fathi, nor do I care enough about his wellbeing to be angry at you. If anything, keeping your indiscretion secret benefits me much more than turning you into the council would.”

  “And how is that?”

  “You must have figured out by now that my aims are much higher than becoming the mistress or even the wife of a dictator. You actually did me a favor by putting Fathi out of commission for me so I didn’t have to do it myself,” Tsubame replied.

  “Why are you telling me all this?”

  Tsubame stopped walking and waited for Saha to follow suit before turning to look at the woman.

  “Because this is my way of letting you know how insignificant you are. That if you had any inclination in that pretty little head of yours to try to hurt me, you had better think twice. There’s a lot more going on around here than power hungry dictators that can’t set their egos aside for their own benefit or because they crave the thrill of war or woman competing for the favor of the men in power and both of them getting in the way of each other’s dicks. You’re getting in way over your head. Lucky for you so was Fathi, so you won’t be facing any repercussions from those who would have cared to give them to you. But consider this a warning,” Tsubame said.

  “Or what?”

  Tsubame turned from Saha and began to walk again while saying, “The sandstorm was just a display of the powers I possess. If you don’t want to be on the receiving end of that and end up like Ahmed did, I’d advise you take heed.”

  Tsubame didn’t have to be looking at Saha to know that she had pressed the right button. She felt the flare of anger and envy at her before the woman withdrew her emotions into a dangerous calm, the kind of calm that came before a storm suddenly blew through or when you were in the eye of the storm. It was deceitful. The woman walked with Tsubame in silence a few moments longer before saying she had left the smoked paprika back at the other booth. Tsubame let her go alone, pretending to be too tired to walk back. Once she left, out her peripheral vision Tsubame saw Nika dressed in a similar garb as her maids approach her from her right side.

  “Where are you going with all this Tsubame?” the woman asked.

  “That’s one hell of a way to greet me after such a long time Katinika,” Tsubame said.

  “Greetings is a pleasantry used for strangers to show they have fucking manners. You know I h
ave manners when I decide I want to use them, so why waste time with it. Now answer the question.”

  “So demanding…”

  “Tsubame,” Nika said in a warning tone.

  “Are you trying to threaten me, Nika?”

  “We both know you’re hardly moved by threats,” Nika said. “You’re not moved by much of anything which is why I’m here asking what it is you’re up to. Why are you taking the fall for that girl?”

  “Did Marcel tell you that?”

  “No. But I do know that you just flaunted everything you know from your high perch like it was bait and that fucking maid was a wild beast. And you know what happens when you taunt wild beasts too long.”

  “Yes. I do. They attack.”

  “Since you obviously know that then, that means you also know the maid is going to tell the council everything you just told her and tell them you killed Fathi, which brings me back to my original question, where are you going with all this?”

  Tsubame sighed, seeing that the woman wouldn’t leave her alone unless she gave her an answer and so said, “I hardly know why I do things nowadays myself. I make plans, I manipulate things, but sometimes the universe decides to nudge me in a particular direction by making something happen that I didn’t include in my plans and I just… go with it—the girl can’t take the fall.”

  “And you doing it won’t ruin your plans?” Nika asked.

  “No.”

  “And is that because you’ve calculated it or because you’ve looked into the future.”

  “You know that spoils all the fun,” Tsubame chided.

  “Spoil the fun? I rather spoil the fun and not get killed by your antics.”

  Tsubame laughed. “When have I ever gotten us into any trouble that I couldn’t get us out?”

  “I can remember quite a few close calls,” Nika pointed out.

  “But we’re still here. Trust me on this one. We’ll be fine. It may not be going exactly according to my original plan, but it is going the way it’s supposed to go,” Tsubame assured.