Queen Moxie: Princess Moxie, #3

By Hank Quense

Moxie's adventures continue. This time she's the Queen and her reign is threatened. A tribe of savage Picts have migrated from up north and settled outside her borders. Then there are the forests fairies. Their king, Oberon, claims a vast chunk of her land.
In addition, Moxie's ten-year-old daughter, decides she doesn't want to be the next Queen.
What's a Queen to do with all these problems? 

 

In this humorous tale, it is now ten years since Moxie became Queen of Usca in south-west Britain. A tribe of Picts shatter her peaceful reign by migrating from the north and occupying territory just outside her border.
Moxie decides to build a fort to help control the wild Picts. To her surprise, she discovers that the fort has been built on land claimed by the forest fairies. Oberon, the King of the fairies, destroys the fort using magic.
Moxie threatens Oberon with military might. Oberon threatens Moxie with magic. To counter Oberon, Moxie asks Camelot to send Merlin to help her out and Arthur agrees.

It's downhill from there.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hank Quense
• Release date: Feb 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9780997822427

Hank Quense

Hank Quense writes humorous and satiric sci-fi and fantasy stories. He also writes and lectures about fiction writing and self-publishing.  He and his wife Pat usually vacation in another galaxy or parallel universe. They also time travel occasionally when Hank is searching for new story ideas. Other books by Hank Quense Fiction: Gundarland Stories Tales From Gundarland Falstaff’s Big Gamble Wotan’s Dilemma The King Who Disappeared Princess Moxie Series Moxie’s Problem Moxie’s Decision Queen Moxie Zaftan Troubles Series Contact Confusion Combat Convolution Sam Klatze Gongeblazn Non-fiction: The Author Blueprint Series of books is written to assist writers and authors in getting the job done. Creating Stories: Book 1 How to Self-publish and Market a Book: Book 2 Book Marketing Fundamentals: Book 3 Business Basics for Authors: Book 4 Fiction Writing Workshops for Kids: Book 5 Writing Stories: Book 7 Publication date to be announced Links? You want links? Here you go: Hank’s website: http://hankquense.org Hank's Facebook fiction page: https://www.facebook.com/StrangeWorldsOnline?ref=hl Twitter: https://twitter.com/hanque99 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanque/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hankquense/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3002079.Hank_Quense Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/hank-quense

Book preview

Queen Moxie

By Hank Quense

Other books by Hank Quense

Fiction:

Princess Moxie

Moxie’s Problem

Moxie’s Decision

Princess Moxie

Gundarland Stories

Tales From Gundarland

Falstaff’s Big Gamble

Wotan’s Dilemma

Zaftan Trilogy

Zaftan Entrepreneurs

Zaftan Miscreants

Non-fiction:

Complete self-publishing Guides

Creating Stories

Planning a Novel, Script or Memoir

Manage Your Story Design Project

© 2017 Hank Quense All Rights Reserve

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be re- sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

ISBN:978-0997822427

Published in the United States of America.

Published by Strange Worlds Publishing

http://strangeworldspublishing.com/wp

Acknowledgements

Several beta readers vastly improved this book. They are Nancy Taiani, Karin Arbarbanel and Helen Lippman.

Mark Henderson edited the book and Gary Tenuta did the cover.

A few words from the author

This story takes place in Southwestern Britain in the late 400’s C.E.. However, my story also takes place in a parallel universe, so don’t expect a rehash of conventional British history

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Other Stuff

Chapter 1

(Back to the Table of Contents)

BRUDE, KING OF A TRIBE of Picts, walked to the fire and dropped a dried out, withered carrot into it. Oh great goddess Vegan! We beseech you to grant us a successful search for new homelands. He was tall with an impressive physique, honey colored hair and blue eyes. Brude wore a cape and a kilt, both brown. Blue tattoos covered each bit of skin. They showed swirls, animals and strange designs. He wore silver arm rings on both biceps.

Brude’s tribe lived fifty miles north of the Roman wall on the rocky western shore of Galloway in Northern Britain. Sixty Pict warriors and their families gathered around three beached boats. A large crowd of more Picts stood off to the side and a dozen more boats lay further away on the beach.

A cold wind swept down from the mountains in the north and small grey clouds scudded across the sky. Everyone shivered and stamped their feet.

Brude dropped a wrinkled radish into the fire and chanted the prayer again. He followed with a strawberry and a small beet, praying each time for a successful voyage. He stood back from the fire and kept an eye on the warriors as they approached the fire.

Ulga, Vegan’s chief priestess, watched like a hawk waiting for one of the men to make a mistake with the prayer. She was middle-aged, scrawny and pinch-faced.

All the warriors had the handle of a battle ax stuck under a belt. They dropped offerings into the flames and recited the prayer. Most of the offerings consisted of a twist of grass or a spring flower or a twig with new buds.

Brude had the tribe’s totem hanging from a chain around his neck and he clutched the gold carrot-shaped figure hoping Vegan would accept the sacrifices and answer his plea and the ones from the warriors.

Brude’s people lived in an area with little productive soil and the tribe’s recent growth meant they faced hunger from insufficient food. A scarcity of food weakened the warriors and a weak tribe wouldn’t survive long, not with the other tribes always looking for an excuse to attack and capture slaves. His tribe needed new land and Brude’s position as King decreed it was his job to find the land and seize it if necessary.

Brude wasn’t sure he was doing the right thing, but doing nothing wasn’t an acceptable alternative. His decision to take a strong contingent of warriors on the journey left the rest of the tribe vulnerable to an attack. If he took fewer warriors, they wouldn’t be able to defend themselves if they ran into hostile tribes.

He had been King for less than a year since his father, the previous King, had died. Among the Picts, a king was a semi-inherited position. If the dead king’s oldest son was big enough and strong enough to beat off all the challengers, that son became the new king. Brude had fought ten other Picts before his position was secure.

Once the sacrifice was completed, Brude kissed his wife. He hugged Taran, his twelve-year-old son, and Arga, eight-year-old daughter, then climbed into a boat. The crew pushed it off the beach, splashed into the water and jumped on board. They seized the oars, six to a side, to row away from the shore. The other two boats followed Brude’s.

Once safely away from land, they hoisted the mast with its square sail and stowed the oars. The north wind drove the boat southward into the unknown.

Brude wondered what his immediate future held. Maybe he'd find a good piece of land and the tribe could move. It was equally possible that after they landed, they would be attacked by warriors who lived nearby and resented armed visitors. Either way his life would change dramatically before the voyage was over.

MOXIE, THE QUEEN OF Usca, sat on her horse and watched her forces battle the warriors from Cornwall. Behind her on the small rise, the Usca banner flapped and crackled in the wind that forced Moxie to pull her cloak tighter to ward off the chilly spring air.

The men had churned the meadow grass into mud in many places.

Across the field, King Mark ran up and down the sideline screaming obscenities, encouragements and threats to his players.

Now Queen for ten years, Moxie had gained weight and her face was creased with worry lines caused by the stress of ruling. She was short with a stocky frame, a flat face, a small nose with dark, beady eyes and dark walnut hair.

With only minutes left in the game, the score was tied. Both teams played with a half-dozen starters lost to injuries. Victory now depended on the few key players left standing.

Moxie’s stomach clenched and her mouth was dry.

A Cornish player knocked down one of her defenders and kicked him behind the kneecap. The attack surprised Moxie. Usually the brutish Cornishmen simply kicked downed players in the head or the groin. The kneecap kick indicated a rare degree of sophistication. Two of her players came to drive off the Cornishman and help the injured player off the field. More players from both sides joined in and soon a battle took place with all the players involved except the goalies, and the Cornwall goalie ran toward the pack.

Tristan threw a few punches, backed out the brawl and ran to the unattended ball laying at mid-field. He dribbled the ball toward the open Cornish goal. Their goalie saw Tristan and ran back to defend the goal. With the goal mouth out of reach, he veered toward Tristan. From ten yards out,

Tristan kicked a goal an instant before the goalie plowed into him and sent him rolling across the grass.

The scrum continued unabated.

Mark, red in the face, roared for his players to stop fighting and to score a goal.

The Cornish team regrouped and swarmed toward the Usca goal.

Moxie glanced at the timekeeper and his hour clock. The man had placed the whistle in his mouth so Moxie knew that a minute or less remained in the game.

Standing in front of the goalie was the huge figure of Harry, her paramour, the father of her daughter, the general of her army and captain of the team. Harry knocked down every player who came within his reach. Even with Harry’s help, her goalie had to make three saves within seconds of each other. Still the Cornish team crowded the area in front of the goal, punching and kicking Usca players out of their way.

Moxie gulped air after she realized she had stopped breathing.

The time keeper blew his whistle and the referee announced, Time, gentlemen. Usca wins five goals to four.

The whistle ended the game and signaled the start of the traditional post-game melee. One Cornish player ran over and punched her goalie in the mouth. Harry decked the man. Moxie’s disabled players limped or hopped toward the action, anxious not to miss out on the fun.

Moxie knew the scrum would last until only one team had players left standing.

The win put her in first place in the Southwest Conference of the All- Brit Football League. The football season was still young, but her team had a good chance of making the playoffs in the fall.

King Mark of Cornwall mounted his horse and looked toward Moxie. Even from a distance, Moxie could see the anger on his face. Mark was notorious for being a sore loser.

Moxie urged her horse forward and rode to meet Mark in the center of the football field. When she arrived, Mark snarled, You only won because you cheated. You used a ringer, my nephew Tristan. He plays on the Camelot team.

Nonsense. I didn’t cheat. Tristan no longer plays for Camelot. King Artie exiled Tristan and he’s been staying at my castle for months now.

I still say you won by cheating. Otherwise my lads would have beat your team. Mark jerked his reins, turned the horse’s head and rode off the field.

Moxie shook her head. It seemed as if everything she did made life more difficult. Even a simple football game made relations with Cornwall more difficult. Some day, Moxie mused, all these complications would come together and overwhelm her and her queendom.

Moxie suppressed those thoughts and turned her mind to the journey back to her castle. It took her team three days to march to the playing field at the edge of Cornwall. With all the injured slowing them down, it would take at least four days to return. Maybe more. She would have to see to the food rations and might have to buy more food on the way home.

IT SEEMED HER PROBLEMS never ended.

A week later, Moxie stood on the castle battlements early in the morning looking east. She surveyed her land. In the distance beyond the farmlands, a forest loomed. Beyond the forest was Camelot, a few days’ ride.

All looked peaceful from up high. On the ground, she knew nobles bickered over trivial issues. Peasants fought nature to make a living. Predators — both human and animal — stalked the weak.

With all the injured players, it had taken four days to travel back from Cornwall using the few paths through the forests. Because of the match she had been away from the castle for a week. Not a long time, but from the mountain of problems she faced on her return, one would think she had been gone for months. Of immediate importance, she had to defuse three petty disputes among her noblemen. Each argument threatened to escalate into a battle. A dozen other minor issues had mushroomed into major headaches demanding her attention. A few other important matters would be settled at a meeting with her advisors in a few minutes.

Now twenty-seven, Moxie had been Queen ever since she had overthrown her treacherous uncle who had seized the throne in her absence. Her one ambition was to leave a thriving queendom for her nine-year-old daughter, Aethelwine. However, Moxie sometimes had doubts the queendom would be thriving by the time Aethelwine took over. Every advance took forever to implement and get accepted. It seemed that everyone fought tooth and nail to maintain the status quo even when the status quo was obviously inferior to the new advance. For every two steps forward, progress took one step backward.

Moxie walked to the north side of the castle stepping around the places where the parapet had crumbled. The castle had been built by her grandfather over many years and neglected ever since. Neither her grandfather nor her father believed in spending money on maintenance.

Below, the