The Queen's Punishment
The Queen's Punishment A short glimps into a world where the dead walk the earth and want to bake cookies.
"Jace, it's just a silly superstition. The dead are not inherently evil. Just because a person's heart stops beating doesn't make them instantly turn into monsters. It's just in the movies." she said as she sat next to Jace on their bed. "Something has to make them evil, either their situation or some magical influence."
"I dunno, you're pretty evil.." He said with a big grin.
"Evil in a good way I hope?" She said as she tickled him.
"Oh, I think so. You don't have a taste for brains do you?"
"Yes, I do...Brains, brains.." She stood and shuffled across the floor with her arm stretched out in front of her, "Brains..." She shuffled towards Jace, grabbed his head and sniffed then kept shuffling, "Brains"
They both broke out in laughter.
"Don't laugh too hard, something might fall off."
"Oh don't be silly. I'm a creature of magic and if I did fall apart I'd just reform. I'm a Lich, not a mindless animated corpse."
"I don't understand, I thought you were an animated corpse.. you look like one."
"Yes, but do I feel like one?"
Jace ran his hands over her shoulder which felt as smooth and warm as any live raccoon girl's, "No, you certainly don't, you feel warm and alive." He nipped her shoulder and felt her fur and skin between his teeth even though his eyes told him there was nothing there except bones and a few bits of dried skin and fur.
"That's the difference, the magic makes me whole even though I look like a corpse. We were created like this."
"Why? I mean why would someone create you? Your race even, I mean it is not really practical."
"Actually we were created to be an instrument of destruction. Nearly 500 years ago, a powerful king decided he wanted a huge army but wanted it on the cheap so he tried to hire a wizard to create one. All refused no matter what wealth he offered. Finally he decided to kidnap and hold for ransom the wife of the most powerful wizard alive to force him to do the king's bidding. The king demanded the wizard create an army. The wizard told him he couldn't just make an army from thin air, he had to make an army from something or specifically ones. Being the wizard was a necromancer the only someones he could use would be the dead. The king considered it a moment then told the wizard to raise the dead so that he could create an unstoppable army."
"The wizard burned the king's words into the castle walls and then used his magic to raise the dead of the kingdom thus creating the Lich race. He then teleported his wife and himself to a far away land and was never seen again."
"So, you were part of an undead army?"
"Well, see that is the thing. The wizard raised the dead but he left the actual recruiting of the undead to the king. The wizard had followed the king's instructions to the letter and raised the dead. We were created with no specific compunction to form an army or even follow the king's orders. We were like we were in life, individuals with individual wants. About half of us were female and most were old when they died so their greatest desire was to see their families again and spoil their grandchildren. If you wanted an army to bake cookies for grandkids we were very useful."
"Those that were left did form an unstoppable army of sorts though. The king sent his men out to gather his army and found no one was particularly interested in being a soldier for this dufus of a king. The king then offered to pay us but when you look like a mouldering corpse, you don't need to eat or drink and you are pretty much indestructible what are you going to need money for? Then he threatened our living families. He got is undead army then and just about the time we were all trained and armed we disappeared one night and captured every living soldier we could then we went to the king's castle and relieved him of his administrative duties as were most of his ministers and cronies."
"What did you do with them?" Jace asked.
"Most of the ministers returned to government service after renouncing their loyalty to the king, many were more than happy to do so. Some were exiled to neighboring kingdoms by their own request and many simply retired. The king was stripped of his wealth and power then turned out into the street to make an honest living. He eventually became a baker I think, I hear he was a lot happier as a baker than a king anyway."
"What, no great revenge, no beheadings?"
"One thing we know better than any living person is death isn't a punishment Jace, it a great big nothing. Killing is a convenience for the living only, we Lich don't care to kill. Punishment only occurs with the living, the dead neither learn nor feel."
"So how did you become Queen?" Jace asked as he ran his hand over her breasts which felt wonderful and alive even though his eyes told him there was nothing there but a ribcage. He closed his eyes.
"Well... mmmm... that feels nice... anyway, I was at the castle when we captured the king and he recognized me as his dead cousin. Since I was of royal blood, the assembled Lich there pointed to me and said I was now queen. I have been queen now for close to 500 years now, although its mostly an honorary title for the sake of tradition these days. It does have it's perks though, like you."
"Yes, well, about that. I do apologize for what I said. I spoke from a position of ignorance."
"And for the hundredth time Jace, all is forgiven. It's mostly our own fault by staying hidden from the world nowdays. Most citizens haven't even seen us or even know what I look like outside of old paintings. With our 500 years of peace and prosperity, we are not relevant to today's world and to those who see us now tend to think of us as bad Hollywood effects. We have created a free and open society and you can say anything you want about us without fear of reprisal except personally insulting the Queen. It's tradition mostly and not really enforced but every once in a while someone, like you, needs to be reminded that we are still in power and won't tolerate personal insults. You have served your time and you have been freed." She turned to him and kissed him on his muzzle. "There, do I still seem like a walking corps that makes Queen Elizabeth of England look like a porn starlet in her prime?"
"No, my Queen, you don't." Jace said as he returned the kiss. His punishment had been to spend a month in the queen's bedchamber. That had been three months ago and yes, at first it horrified him to even be in the same room with her but over time he found she was beautiful as a person and the fact she felt, smelled, tasted and sounded very much alive and vibrant he decided his eyes were lying to him. He had fallen in love with the Dead Queen and he was the happiest he had ever been in his life and dreaded the day she finally grew tired of him but that didn't look like it would be anytime soon.
The End