The General (GXG) (Lesbian Story) (Book Three)

Chapter Ten

*The Royal Tour, Part Two: Day One*

Laylah's POV

As we followed Queen Audrey into the castle, I could feel her aura surround me. Now, every King and Queen I've met so far, even briefly, had their own powerful aura but this was different. This was suffocating. I'm not quite sure why her aura seemed more powerful than everyone else's but I'll be damned if I don't find out before this week came to an end,

"So," Queen Audrey started, breaking the almost deafening silence that had suddenly overcome us, "How has The Tour been going so far?"

Not knowing who she was directing her question at, I looked at Brooklyn, who gave me a small nod in response,

"It's been going well." I replied, "This is the second kingdom so we're almost halfway through. It's been very insightful though."

"Good. I'm glad. I haven't been Queen for very long but even I know the importance and significance of a Royal Tour. While I'd like to think of myself as an open book and I am willing to answer majority of your questions, there will also be a line in which you shouldn't cross. I'll be sure to let you know when you're treading too close."

Although we couldn't see her expression, we really didn't need to. The tone of her voice was enough to let us know that she wasn't joking and it was best we didn't ask questions regarding it either. So on that note, I decided to change the subject,

"I understand. How has it been for you being Queen? You were a noble but you weren't raised as a royal so I'm intrigued as to how you run your kingdom."

She continued to lead us through the halls but continued facing forward. She hadn't turned to face us once. While I knew she was probably not someone to get on the wrong side of, I was still highly intrigued by her and I was going to see just how much I could get out of this week at Dranthoven,

"It's been difficult but rewarding. Around eighty-five percent of the kingdom are very accepting of the fact that I am now Queen, alongside Clara of course. The remaining fifteen percent are bitter at the fact that not only is it two women leading them, but lesbian women at that."

I could understand that. I remember when Queen Calliria found Queen Corinne. I was only nineteen at the time and despite the fact that Selestris was barely even a fully-fledged kingdom at the time, news like that didn't just go unheard of. However, five years down the line, while there was probably still some people out there unhappy at the fact that they had two Queens leading them, neither one of those Queens let it phase them. They overcame the adversity and proved that they were fit to run Equanoras,

"People tend to hate what they don't understand. When I told my Dad that I was a lesbian at seventeen, he looked like he was going to cry, saying how I was going to ruin the lineage of our people. He said I needed a man by my side to help run the kingdom and two women were unable to do that. Imagine his surprise when news of Queen Corinne spread around only two years later. It took him a while to come around but after he saw how Equanoras has been thriving, he came to the conclusion that sexuality isn't what defines or determines how well you can run a kingdom. It's down to competence, determination and drive."

Queen Audrey turned to face me briefly and smiled, "I couldn't have said it any better myself. Although, I never would've guessed that you batted for the other team."

I laughed at that. I tended to get that response a lot, "Yeah, I get that a lot. I guess I don't look like your typical lesbian but then again, neither do you. I'm not even sure there is such a thing as a typical lesbian."

"I don't believe there is. However, people look at us and see feminine women. When they see a feminine woman, they expect them to be with a masculine man. That is the view of society, has been for many many centuries. There are now two kingdoms who both have two Queens. Ironically, it's those two kingdoms who sit at the top of the pack."