She waited for the whoosh of the blade, the splatter of her dearly beloveds blood that would undoubtedly follow, but it did not come. A second passed, and then another, still nothing.
Opening her eyes, she was instead greeted by the incredulous sight of her husband with the point of a long sword driven completely through his chest.

"No... it can't be!"  Lord Dregg gasped in astonishment, gazing down at the silver blade that the Commodore had driven right through his back.
The older man was covered in blood and sweat, and he and a squadron of Island gaurds had fought their way through to aide the trapped royals.
The bigger man stumbled forwards, and Adelaide watched with bated breath as his life force dwindled right in front of her, and he collapsed dead.
As he died, so did the fighting. The barbarians, stunned at the loss of their leader, were quickly overwhelmed by the newly re-envigorated Aelford and Islander fighting forces, making their surrender was inevitable.

The message soon reached the remaining barbarian ships, which had all drawn closer to the Kingship since the start of the battle, and those of which had not been already sunk by the superior island fleet, or sinking and in the process of being abandoned, raised makeshift white flags.

Weak and woozy, Adelaide rose to her feet. The back of her head throbbed and it felt as if the ship was spinning around her. Yanking off her crude wedding ring she threw it down as hard as she could onto to the body of her now dead former husband before spitting upon him. A gesture interpretation heavily implied that death had done them part.

She looked back at Iolas and Simon, still sprawled against the deck railing, injured and bloody, but both beamed up at her with exhausted smiles.
"What would you like done with the prisoners Your Highness?"
The Commodore asked.
Adelaide glared out at the cretins who had desecrated her homeland, killed her brother, captured, raped and tried to enslave her people; and for the briefest moment it looked certain she would say nothing other than
kill them all.
But her lips pressed together in a fine line and the murderous rage dimmed from her eyes, instead she said,
"Take them as prisoners."

The world started to dim, and soon the queen succumbed to darkness, blacking out from her not fully healed but now newly awakened head injury.
She crumpled to the ground before anyone could catch her, but Simon quickly jumped up, forgetting his own injuries and scooped her up.
He hauled her down below deck with Iolas tailing close behind, cradling several cracked ribs.
"Do you think she will be ok?"
Simon asked the Prince as he laid her down in the princes chambers, the biggest and nicest bed on the ship.
"We'll have to find her a doctor and soon as we land, but I think so..."
Iolas said, more hopefully than assuredly, and Simon noted for the first time the Prince's tenderness toward her, pulling the blankets up tightly around her body.

Adelaide slept deeply as the barbarians were rounded up and locked away ironically in the slave holds of their own ships. The sun had just set, the stars came out to guide the combined fleets back to Aelford.
The Guardian would sail at full speed, to quickly return back to Aelford, whilst the rest of the ships would sail slower, along with the slower, captured barbarian vessels.

Upon the deck, Iolas spotted a woman out of the corner of his eye with long red hair, thinking it was Adelaide, and ready to drag her back below deck to continue resting, he turned quickly and began walking towards her. It wasnt her, Instead the Prince noted a woman with hair the same red shade as his mother, a clearly half barbarian child on her hip, fast asleep against her shoulder. His brow furrowed as he noticed more and more the similarity between the two.
She looked so familiar.
Unable to cease his curious approach, Iolas tried to shake off the feeling of deja vu. Like a strike of lightning, it hit him where he had recognized her from. The portrait, of course, his mother's family portrait that hung in the hall.
The one she brought over from her faraway land, when she had come to marry his father.
The person in question was not much older than a child in the painting he had seen, and but despite the obvious passing of time, her face was unmistakable.
He recalled more than a decade ago when his mother had received word that her clan had been attacked and the youngest princess had been stolen.
It had to be her.

"Princess of Aileena...."
He bowed respectfully to her.
"Ava, I believe... Is that you?"
"Yes it is I." She replied, looking him over like a hawk, as it had been years since she had been addressed with the proper respect.
"Do I know you?"
Iolas rose from his bow and took a step towards her.
"No, but I know who you are, dear Aunt. My mother is Queen Fedelma. Formerly Princess Fedelma. Your eldest sister. I am your nephew, Prince Iolas."
She looked him up and down, but a long lost look of familiarity filled her beautiful features.
"You look so much like my father, your grandfather, it must me true."
She smiled for what looked like the first time in a long time, shifting the sleeping child over onto her hip, she placed a hand on her relatives shoulder.
"I never thought I would see another member of my family ever again. It is an honor to meet you, young nephew."

After they talked for nearly an hour about the current state of his family and, Iolas felt as if he had known this woman all his life, she was kind to him, and a fire still burned in her amber colored eyes, despite years of trauma, rape, and abuse.
"Where will you go now that you are free? My ships will gladly take you any of the other ladies of your makeshift court anywhere you wish to go. I'm sure many of you must want to go home?
He asked, referring to the other noble women Lord Dregg had taken as multiple and unwilling brides.

"I appreciate your offer, but  unfortunately many of my sister wives were taken so young and from places so far off that they do not know where home is anymore. Alas, we have been together so long and through so much, that I doubt we could bear to be separated, and even if we could, we do not know if our families could accept us again, or that our children would be treated with respect. On that note, as cruel as he was, all of our children have the same father, and by their blood we are bound. It would be cruel to separate them."
She sighed sadly.
"Most importantly I believe... we have been at sea for so many years, I highly doubt once we set foot onto dry land, that any of us will ever want to see another ship ever again. I was hoping that our newest sister would allow us a small home in her land, where we may be at peace."

"I have no doubt she will."
Answered Iolas in understanding.

Aelford was reached by noon the following day, and Iolas had the still unconscious Queen transferred to the now badly desecrated, but still standing Capital palace.
Adelaide began to come to as a team of servants carried her in a litter to her old room.
"What... what is going on?"
She said groggily, glancing to Iolas, who walked along side of her.
"We won. That's what's going on." Smiled the Prince.
"Now you must rest. When you feel better, then you will make a decision on what to do with your prisoners of war."
Added Iolas as the servants lifted her from the litter and onto her large bed.
"No. I will do that now."
She stated, rubbing her eyes.

"Adelaide... you need to rest, that can be done later. Simon is sending for a healer."
Argued Iolas.
"Iolas, what did I say about arguing with me?"
She asked.
"I cant recall exactly, but probably something about cutting off my head, that was usually your go too."
Replied Iolas playfully, causing Simon to smirk.

"Very well then, My Queen..."
He said with irony.
"How would you like the prisoners handled?"
She contemplated it for a moment, but it did not take very long for her expression to harden.
"Bring in the Captain of the Bloodhound."
She ordered.

Iolas shot her a surprised look, but instead of arguing he resigned himself.
"Very well."
The large man was hauled out from under the brig of The Guardian where he had been imprisoned and brought before the Queen.
Chained and bound, he was set down on his knees at the foot of her bed.
Iolas stood at her side, across from Simon at her other, a sword once again on his hip, ready to protect her once more despite his bodies own damage.

"Empress..." Greeted the Captain, his tone suggesting clearly that he cared not if he lived or died.
"I take it you've brought me here to express the fate of my men."
"You are correct."
She said, voice void of any emotion, as regal as a bedridden royal could be.
"Remove his chains."
Adelaide ordered.
Simon and Iolas shared a look, but dare not argue with her.
Iolas nodded for one of his gaurd to do so.

"You alone are the reason I am choosing not to execute every single last one of The Scourge, or to make my current form of punishment much crueler than it shall be."
Stated the Queen.
"Despite your barbaric nature, you showed me kindness aboard your vessel when you had no reason too.
Protected me from your men in your own ways, and I see that now."
She continued.
"But what your people did to my homeland and others is not without consequence; your kind destroyed so much and tried to enslave us all. To kill you all and dispose of your bodies, or to imprison you all for life, would take away from my already much more limited resources. So instead, I have devised a punishment much more suitable for the crime, and its criminals."
Adelaide narrowed her eyes.
"I shall enslave you all instead."
Her statement caused even the gaurds in the room to gasp in horror. Slavery was not the Aelford way.

"Calm yourselves men."
She held up a hand.
"No. I am not opening a slave trade here in Aelford. Not a single soul will ever be bought or sold here."
She reassured.
"Our city is in shambles and what better punishment for those who made it that way then to have to rebuild it?
For 10 years from this day foward, every prisoner of this war is now an indentured servant to the Kingdom of Aelford. For 10 years you will rebuild the cities, you destroyed and homes you vandalised, work the farms you burned and the villages you pillaged.
You will be fed and housed well. You will be treated with much more dignity than a single slave of your empire was ever shown."

"And after 10 years?"
Asked the Captain, disbelief in his voice.
"You will be released. Those who wish to leave will be provided with enough funding for passage to a destination of their choice, but if any wish to stay, they may also do so as a free man, and will be given citizenship and land."

"You are more more generous than most, though I feel some of my men may prefer death to slavery."
Replied the Captain.
"Most people do, and that is the lesson I am trying to teach."
She responded bitterly.
"But to be fair, I can offer the option of execution to any man who would prefer it to my terms."

The Captain nodded in understanding and was led from the room.
Not more than a moment after the door closed behind him a knock followed.
"Lord Simon, you sent for a healer, and we have found one."
Announced Adelaide's chamber maid.

"Send them in."
Called back Simon.
The door opened and standing behind it was a tall, strongly built woman with eyes like the midnight sky.
Simon's eyes went wide.
"Delilah?!?"

______________

A/N: Sorry I accidentally posted this half finished earlier today, so if you got a notification,  my apologies.
Hope you enjoyed.
Super excited to read y'alls thoughts.
-QueenOfGeeks