"Please, Mother, lie back in your cot. Your people will understand, and will still follow you if you do not participate in this battle. It is unwise in your current state to be galumphing off into a maze of swinging swords," a woman pleaded.

A much older woman stood before her daughter. She was getting well into her older years now, with graying hair and prominent wrinkles. Her body was pock-marked with battle scars she had acquired over her vast number of years, and she wore them proudly. But a lifetime of fighting had not done her body well, and now the old woman had grown quite sick. She felt weak and fragile, and no matter of food or herbs would help her. She had trouble standing upright, much less wearing a full suit of heavy armor and wielding a large two-handed greatsword.

"I'm sorry, my sweet Neria, but I cannot sit idly by while my soldiers charge into the battle that I ordered. I do not care that I am sick. There are some soldiers in much worse condition than I that are sent into the fight. They are my people and I shall stand beside them in defense of our Kingdom."

Neria's voice dropped to a worried whisper. "Mother, you know as well as I that if you go out there, you will die."

"Then so be it," the Queen murmured.

Neria grew angry, straightening herself and catching her Mother's eye. "Why do you have this death wish? Why do you wish to leave the Kingdom without its ruler? You will only destroy the people you fight so hard to protect."

The Queen shook her head, and placed her hand on Neria's brow. "Nay, child. They will not be without their Queen. You are my only child, my pride and joy. You are the heir to the throne and I know you will make an excellent Queen."

Neria backed away from her Mother's touch, a look of horror plastered on her face. "No, by the gods no! I am not ready just yet, you are not going to die just yet."

"Neria, my dear, you must do this. For me, and for our people. You knew this day was coming, and I can see that you are well prepared. You shake your head and gnash your teeth because you do not want to lose me. You know I will never leave you, and that I will watch you until the day you join me in the sky. But for now, you must do what is best for the Kingdom. You must protect them through these hard times, through this war. I know you will do it with cunning and grace. Do not forget that though I may leave my body behind, I will no longer feel pain, or sorrow, or heartbreak. I shall know nothing but joy and freedom. I will be in a better place, and you must remember that I have deserved an eternity of peace. I do not wish to see you cry over this; over my happiness."

"How can I do that? You have guided me these twenty four years of my life, from my birth until this very day. I have never been away from you for more than a month, and now I shall go on knowing I will not see you for many, many more years. I will not be able to talk to you, you will not be able to comfort me. You shall never see your Grandchildren with your own eyes, you shall never speak to them. You may be happy but I must go on living without you."

"One day we all must return from whence we came. The Gods gave me life, and now I must give my life to another, so they in turn may experience all the wonders of life. And though I may never speak with my grandchildren that does not mean I will not know them. I will follow them and guide them through their lives, just as you will watch them their final years after you yourself has passed."

"If we could live in happiness for our eternity, why are we suffered through life at all? Is this our punishment for some wrongdoing?"

"If we did not live and feel those bad feelings, sorrow and despair and hopelessness, we would never truly feel happiness, now would we? We would not even know the meaning of happiness. We would be empty husks with no emotions."

A silence fell over mother and daughter, one that neither was willing to break. Neria still struggled to cope with this thought that her Mother would be rushing into the field of battle when she herself was so weak. Though there was a chance the Queen would survive the battle, there was a larger chance she would fall. How could she rise up after such a grim event and take charge of the people her mother had cared for all these many years? Would she be able to?

"Queen Karia," called a voice just outside the tent.

"You may enter," the Queen answered.

A knight in a full suit of armor took a step into the darkened tent and bowed low to his Queen. "Your majesty, your soldiers are ready for battle and awaiting your word."

"Give me several moments. I need a few last words with my daughter."

"Of course." He bowed again before backing away.

Without speaking the Queen grabbed a helmet from a stand beside the tent entrance, slipping it over her head. The rest of her armor was already equipped, and she couldn't help realizing how much heavier it felt now than it did only days earlier. Grabbing her sword, she swung it over her head and slid it in place on the sheathe on her back.

"Please Mother, don't do this. Don't die here, so far away from the sea."

The Queen stopped before the tent flap, letting a heartbeat of silence pass before answering. "The sea. How I miss it so. I shall have returned to its shores before the next dawn."

And with that the Queen stepped through, a glimpse of fading sunlight piercing the dark corners of the little room. She looked for all the world to be a hero, standing tall and proud, ready to give up everything in defense of the land she loved.