The Mad Queen

Chapter One-Hundred and Three

 Love between a man and a woman is not possible. A man cannot love what is less. A woman will never be able to love someone above her for though she may act submissive, she will always hate those with power over her. She may spend years pretending, being obedient and loving. But she was created by the goddesses. By those who scheme and lie. The relationship between man and woman is not love. It is a transaction. It is ownership. Feelings do not matter as long as everyone knows their place. As long as women worship and sit bellow their husband. As long as they give him a son.

~Sons of the Pure Holy Script.

"Holy shit," I say as Una opens the boxes on my bed. My hand grazes over the soft, rich red coloured material as I pick it up.

"Ola has the best materials," Una grins as she begins to take off her uniform. I nod my head and gulp.

"I've not worn a dress for ages," I gulp as I continue to look wide-eyed at the dress.

"Hurry up and get dressed! We can't be late to our own victory part!" she urges as she throws her uniform on my floor. I had wanted to show Kai my new uniform, but Una had insisted we didn't have time and had to get changed.

"What about our hair?" I ask.

"Definitely keep your warrior braid. This is a celebration of being a champion warrior," she tells me as drop the corset to the floor.

"Is that your mark? I meant to ask earlier." I nod my head and smile.

"Yes," I reply. She smiles too.

"Seems appropriate," she replies. I pull on the dress and my eyes widen. I have never worn anything like this before.

"Fucking hell, Ana! You look..." Una's eyes are wide. "You are getting laid tonight," she jokes. I shake my head.

"Yeah, no. I don't think so," I tell her. She laughs and raises an eyebrow.

"I've seen those looks between you and the Solavar," she smirks. "He is not going to be able to keep his hands off you," she tells me. My heart practically explodes just thinking about it. I smile confidently and I look at myself in the full-length mirror. I let out a breath.

The dress is a rich red in colour and simple. Nothing like the grand designs we had at the palace. Just a beautifully cut red bit of cloth. Thin straps around my shoulders and a neckline that is cut into a low V. Low enough to show quite a lot a cleavage. The material then sits tightly to the rest of my torso, hips and thighs. It falls away slightly at the knee's, leaving a little train on the ground. Then, there is the slit all the way up my right leg. It's beautiful. Una is right, it looks spectacular on me. The tattoos going up my arm only adding to the look. Their complicated designs a spectacular contrast to the dresses simplicity. My smile widens as my confidence grows as I admire the way it hugs my body. The excitement fills my veins as I anticipate Kai's reaction. I turn around and look at my back with a gulp, all that confidence going. The back is exposed. All but the thin straps crossing it in an X shape.

"I can't wear this," I say, feeling my eyes sting as I go and take it off.

"Why?" Una asks and looks at my back. She gasps. We have gotten changed together plenty of times together, but I've not shown her the thick white lines that paint my back. I even kept my top on when I was being measured in the shop. Only changing when I knew they couldn't see. "Ana," she whispers. "We all have scars here," she tells me. "They are nothing to be ashamed of." I gulp, feeling my throat dry as I look away.

"I'm not ashamed of them," I reply. "I just don't want people to see them. Not like this," I gulp. She nods her head.

"Ana," she says and pulls my face up to look into her eyes. "You look spectacular in this dress. Even with the scars. Don't let your past traumas ruin your present," she tells me. "Tonight, we are going to go and celebrate our massive victory looking confident and sexy. We are going to get smashed and we are going to have fun. You have achieved something magnificent and you deserve this. I won't ask what happened to you or who did this. If you want to tell me then you'll tell me. What I will say, is don't let it stop you. Or whoever did this has gotten what they want." I feel my eyes sting with tears and I hug her tightly.