“Nice neck.” Hazel mused. She was out of breath from the suddenness of what happened.

Catherine raised her eyebrows. “Yes, thank you. I know my neck is flawless. So do you mind lowering that blade? I should like my neck to remain this way.”

The Empress showed no fear at all. Caramel eyes regarded her with caution, but her posture was straight and relaxed. Despite the blade to her neck, she held her head so straight the golden crown remained on her head.

Hazel hesitated. Why was she not afraid? Hazel outnumbered the Queen’s guards 5 to 1, yet Catherine didn’t seem phased in the slightest.

The men surrounded them in a circle, much like the circular garden they stood in. Sunlight reflected off their steel, blinding Hazel as she looked. They squirmed, eager to protect their queens, and to get out of the heat.

She looked at Catherine. Her hands struggled to hold up her blade as the scent of flowers suffocated her. The Empress held her chin high. Her eyes bore into Hazel, watching her, reading her, but somehow… they still seemed gentle. That’s all it took for Hazel to lower her blade and sheathe it. Catherine breathed a sigh of relief. “Sheathe your weapons,” she commanded.

Her guards glanced at each other and then at Hazel’s men. After a moment, they sheathed their weapons one by one. Hazel looked at her right-hand man. Hunter had one eye on her and the other in his enemies. He stood more still than Catherine did, ready for anything. Hazel nodded. He sheathed his weapons. Then the rest of her men did the same in unison.

“Well, then. Now that the weapons are away. Perhaps we can finally introduce ourselves properly.”

A gentle grin sat on her face. Her short, brunette hair paired with her maroon dress suited her. It reminded Hazel of when she wore dresses. Everything about the Empress reminded Hazel of the time she was a gentle queen.

She sighed. “Alright, then. I am-”

“Hazel Montgomery. Warrior Queen of the Dragon People,” Catherine stated.

Hazel frowned. “How do you-”

“Everybody knows that name, Hazel. It’s not every day or every millennium even that a girl from a magicless world arrives.”

“Yes, but how did you know _I_ am Hazel?”

Catherine smiled. “It’s simple, truly. When rumours of you first arrived, people painted a picture of a sweet girl. A pacifist. A peacemaker. But then more tales arose; tales of you facing tragedy and pain, tales of you birthing children and losing them, tales of dead friends and lost homes. You may have held a blade to my throat with the fierceness of a broken mother and the power of a queen, but your eyes held the stolen love of a little girl.”

Catherine spoke with a grace and tenderness that stunned Hazel into silence.

“There are few women in the world that can fit that description,” she concluded.

Hazel froze. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She glanced at Hunter, who stood ready for her command. Every man behind her was ready to die for Hazel. She knew this. So she faced the Empress again, hand on her sword. “The attack you sanctioned-”

“The attack my husband sanctioned.” Catherine interrupted again. “I haven’t seen my husband’s face since we conceived our second son. A boy 20 years of age. I assure you, anything my husband did, I had nothing to do with. I didn’t even know he did it.”

“So you somehow know all the business of a stranger, but are unaware when your own husband slaughters a temple?”

“My husband’s affairs do not interest me. You, though… you do. Very much so. Come.” Catherine turned to the side and gestured to the door leading into the palace. “It is quite warm out here. Let us speak inside. I would like to get to know you.”

Hunter grabbed her arm. He did not want her to risk it. However, Hazel didn’t look at him. She couldn’t help but to be curious. Yes, she was supposed to take the palace. Hazel was going to take the palace, but not before figuring this Catherine out first. Plus… the heavy armour she wore made her pant a little.

“Stay here.”

No man posed a question. They couldn’t pose a question. All they could do was watch as the Queen and the Empress entered the halls, unguarded and together.

(this isn't technically the prompt, I'm just proud of this section I wrote, rough or not, and wanted to share it with people.)