Jane, Hero of Nubila Chapter 9

The Queen Who Towers

A dark and ominous feeling fell over Jane as she approached the crou temple. It was like she was walking into the most important interview of her life and botching it up would ruin her life forever. The enormous skull sitting above the temple's door wasn't doing much to dampen her apprehension either. “I wonder what kind of person this queen is?” she thought, her gaze rising up to Jaie at the temple's entrance as she reached the it's short staircase. “I'm screwed if she's anything like her daughter...”

“What are you staring at runt?” Jaie growled as she crossed her arms. “Hurry up and get inside.”

“Is 'runt' really the best nickname for me?” Jane asked, trying her best to hide her irritation. “I mean, I'm taller than everyone but you.”

Jaie let out a low grumble before pointing to the temple's wooden door. “Stop arguing minor details and get in” she growled.

“Fine...” Jane sighed before marching up the stairs, only for the princess to swiftly grab her arm before she could open the door. “Yes?”

“In there is the ruler of all crou, the greatest warrior this world has ever seen” Jaie explained as Jane pulled herself free. “You will show her the proper respect or you won't be getting off with me simply knocking you out.”

A little smirk appeared on Jane's face. “Pretty sure I knocked you out too” she snickered, causing Jaie to grit her teeth. “Don't worry, I'll mind my manners. I'm not the kind of person who attacks somebody else for no reason.”

As Jane pushed open the wooden door and entered the temple, the enraged Jaie struggled to stop herself from reaching for her sword. “Arrogant little...” she thought, clenching her fists tight as she followed Jane inside.

Not two seconds after entering the temple, Jane found herself standing face to face with a towering male crou, so tall he easily matched Gundar's imposing height. Strapped to one of the crou's arms was what appeared to be a thick metal shield that matched him in size. Like Angess and Jaie, this crou wore light armor that revealed most of his quite muscular flesh. However, unlike any crou Jane had seen, this man's horns curved outwards from his forehead, like how one would imagine typical demon's horns would look.

Nice let out a nervous laugh. “He looks friendly” she noted while doing her best to secure herself in Jane's ear should another fight break out.

“You are odd” the crou said in a gruff voice before putting one hand on Jane's head. “Where are your horns?”

Unsure exactly how to answer, Jane merely shrugged her shoulders. “Never had them” she replied.

The male crou raised an eyebrow. “A crou without horns... But then how do you store your-”

“I believe mother wished to speak with this one Bale” Jaie growled a she shoved her way past Jane. “So get out of the way.”

“No need to be so hostile princess” Bale chuckled while remaining stationary. “I'm just doing my duty as your mother's guardian and making sure our guest doesn't have any weapons hidden on her.” After giving Jane's body a slow look, a satisfied Bale stood aside. “Carry on.”

“Thanks...” Jane said as she walked deeper into the temple, passing through another doorway and entering a very long room. Many wide but short windows lined the walls, allowing sunlight to almost completely illuminate the room.

“Welcome” a calm voice greeted from the one section of the room left mostly untouched by the light. “Please, step forward.”

Jane focused her vision on the very dim portion of the room. She made out what appeared to be a simple throne of stone, the back carved up into a large spearhead. Sitting on the throne was a woman slightly concealed in shadows using one hand to signal Jane to approach.

“Come on” Jaie quickly whispered before walking towards the throne, getting on one knee when she got close. “Mother, this is the one I encountered in the Sky Mountains.”

Not wanting to antagonize the crou anymore than she already had, a nervous Jane hurried to the princess' side and quickly knelt down. Curious, she kept her eyes fixated on the queen.

Despite the queen's face was mostly hidden by the darkness, Jane could make out two long streaks of blue in her wild silver hair that reached down to her knees. The queen's horns seemed very similar to Gundar's. But unlike the gate protector, neither of them were broken off. Her attire, while similar to the other crou, appeared to be mostly made completely of large animal bones and cloth. Large wolf-like skulls served at the queen's shoulder pads. Thick ribs were tied together and wrapped around the queen's forearms and shins.

The woman in the throne leaned forward slightly. “So... You're the one who fought my daughter to a draw?” she asked, causing Jaie to avert her glare and tighten her grip on her knee.

“Y-yes...” Jane mumbled, her mind playing out a situation where the queen suddenly lunged at her to avenge her child's injuries.

“I've spoken to the others and I think I've got a good grasp on the entire situation” the queen said in a pleasant tone. “Would you be a dear and help me by confirming everything?”

“Sure” Jane said slowly, a little taken aback by the queen's tone.

“You defeated Gundar in battle and he allowed you into my realm” the queen noted. “Then you encountered two of my kin, one of them attacking you right away. You defended yourself and bested Angess in battle, only to then be greeted by Crysta and my daughter.” The queen glanced over to Jaie and let out a little snicker. “My daughter challenged you to single combat, you accepted and it ended in both of you being knocked unconscious. Then finally, you woke up here. Is that basically how it went?” When Jane nodded, the queen let out a disappointed sigh. “I see... Those kids...” The queen got to her feet and waved her hand, causing Jaie to stand back up, Jane quickly doing the same.

As the queen started to approach her, Jane found her gaze rising higher and higher. “Massive...” she thought as she stared up at the queen's face, which was slowly being illuminated as she stepped into the light. The crou was gigantic, taller than even Gundar. Jane suspected this queen was probably even taller than she was when she first arrived to Decura.

Before Jane could get a good look at the queen's face, she found ensnared by the crou's large arms. “Are you alright dear?” the queen asked as she pulled Jane in for a hug. “They didn't hurt you did they?”

“Massive...” Jane thought, struggling to breathe while being smothered by the queen's quite voluptuous chest. She tried to free herself, but the queen's iron grasp proved inescapable.

“You poor, poor thing” the queen sobbed, tears dropping from her cheeks as she gently caressed Jane's hair. “You must have been so scared.”

“Mother!” Jaie gasped. “What are you doing?! She's dangerous!”

“Dangerous?!” the queen gasped while hugging Jane tighter and tighter against her body. “You and the others attacked her and she defended herself. The poor thing! She must have been so scared!”

As the queen started to sway from side to side, Jane could feel her strength begin to leave her body. “Please... Let me go...” she begged, her muffled voice almost completely inaudible. “Can't... Breathe...”

“But we don't even know who or what she is” Jaie grumbled while rubbing her brow. “Or, why she's come here. Shouldn't you be asking her questions rather than cuddling her?”

“I suppose you're right...” the queen sighed as she loosened her grip.

Jane immediately pushed herself away from the over affectionate queen. “I almost died...” she gasped, struggling to regain enough air to stay conscious. Feeling completely light-headed, Jane quickly sat on the temple's floor. “Her strength is insane...” she thought as her gaze started to rise up towards the queen's face. “I thought Gundar was strong... But her...” Jane's eyes finally met the queen's and her heart instantly skipped a beat when she saw the crou's face. Fortunately, she was able to maintain her composure before the queen noticed.

“Something the matter runt?” Jaie asked in a harsh tone, having noticed Jane be startled by her mother's appearance.

“No, no” Jane assured as she averted her eyes from the queen's right cheek, which had been completely torn open, allowing most of the teeth on the right of her jaw to be visible. “I've just never met a queen before.”

“It's alright” the queen assured as she also sat down. “I know my scar is a little scary. You don't have to pretend it's not there Jane.”

“S-sorry” Jane mumbled as she put two fingers on the burn around her eye. “I should be more conscious of that considering-”

The queen let out a little giggle. “It's cute that your name is very similar to my daughter's” she said. “Oh, which reminds me...” With a gentle smile on her face, the queen leaned forward and gently put her hand on Jane's head. “My name is Tylia, Tylia Kaizori. It's nice to meet you.”

A warm feeling flooded through Jane's body. One she hadn't felt since she was a small child under her mother's care. “I-it's... It's nice to meet you too Tylia” she said, her cheeks blushing slightly.

“Queen Tylia to you runt” Jaie growled as she leaned against the temple's wall. “Don't forget that.”

“Jaie please, there's no need to be so hostile towards one of our own” Tylia said, maintaining her gentle tone as she continued to pat Jane's head.

“One of our own?” Jaie questioned as she raised an eyebrow. “How can you be sure of that mother? She can't possibly be a crou. Can you not see she doesn't have horns?”

Tylia let out a sigh and removed her hand from Jane's head. “Of course I can see she doesn't have them” she said. “I was being considerate to Jane's feelings. She might be really sensitive about that dear.”

“Oh, it's quite alright” Jane assured. “It's not a big deal.”

A relieved smile appeared on Tylia's face. “Well good” she said. “Jaie dear, could you get us something to drink?”

Jaie quickly bowed her head. “Of course mother” she said before exiting the room.

“Now then...” Tylia said. “Would it be alright if I asked you a few questions Jane?”

Despite the warm smile on Tylia's face, a nervous sweat started to roll down Jane's face. “Not at all” she replied, her mind once again playing out a situation where the queen suddenly attacks her, this time for saying something suspicious.

As Jane's heart started to race, Nice whispered in her ear. “Stay calm minion” she said, bringing a little relief to Jane. “I'll help you through this. Just act normal and say what I tell you to say.”

“Don't be so nervous, just answer honestly” Tylia said, maintaining her warm smile. “First question; Where did you come from?”

“I don't know how a human gained the power to grow to crou size and I don't care.” Gundar's warning echoed in Jane's mind. “However, there are other crou beyond these mountains who will. Please, for your own sake, stay at that size and do not tell anyone you're a human.”

Jane hesitated for a moment as Nice whispered into her ear. “Decura” she answered. “I... I swam here from Decura.”

Tylia seemed surprised at Jane's answer. “Decura?” she mumbled. “You mean the southern continent? That Decura?” When Jane nodded, Tylia started to rub her chin. “I see...”

“I... I grew up there” Jane explained, parroting Nice's whispers.

“With your family or by yourself?” Tylia asked, her expression having shifted from a warm and welcoming one to an intense stare.

“By m-myself” Jane said, feeling a little overwhelmed by the queen's gaze. “I never knew my real parents.” Jane's story started to form itself in her mind, blocking out Nice's whispers. “For as long as I can remember, there was a bunch of reyn who raised me while I lived in a forest next to their village.”

“Not bad...” Nice mumbled to herself. “Now hopefully she believes you.”

“The reyn... I guess they're just as kind as their cousins the nor'rey” Tylia pondered. “Tell me Jane, how long did you live there?”

Jane started to answer 'Twenty years', only to clam up when Nice started making sharp grunts to silence her. “Crou live a lot longer than most races” the kassi quickly explained. “Just pick a number between two hundred and three hundred.”

“Well according to the reyn, I lived there for two hundred and ninety-five years” Jane corrected. “They kept me fed and in exchange, I watched over their village and helped them deal with any problems they had.” Jane couldn't help but smile as a familiar face appeared in her mind. “There was this kind lady named Judy. She would always make me smile every time we spoke.”

Tylia could see both happiness and sadness clashing in Jane's eyes. “I believe I already know the answer but... Why did you decide to leave?” she asked. “What drew you here?”

A heavy feeling fell over Jane as she recalled Judy's fate. “Judy... She died...” she explained. “I... I just couldn't bring myself to stay there anymore after that. So I decided to journey here to meet other crou.” Nice suddenly whispered something, Jane quickly repeating the kassi's words once again. “Although...”

“Although?” Tylia repeated.

“Now that I've finally met other crou, I'm starting to think I'm not one” Jane said as she put a hand on her head. “I mean, I don't even have horns.” Jane's eyes suddenly widened when she realized what she'd said. “Nice, why did you make me say I might not be a crou?” she thought, her nervous sweat quickly returning as she struggled to keep her gaze on Tylia's still quite intense stare.

Tylia let out a low growl before slowly rising back to her feet. “Not a crou?” she asked as her towering body loomed over Jane. “Jane, stand.”

Jane and Nice both gulped. “Uh oh...” the kassi whimpered as her body began to shiver thanks to Tylia's terrifying glare. “Did I misread her? Jane, get ready to run.”

Remaining silent as she got back up, Jane's heart started going a mile a minute. She felt like the queen's intense eyes were about to burn a hole through her head. She wanted to raise her fists, but Jane found her arms frozen in place by some kind of unseen aura of dread emanating from Tylia. Suddenly, the queen threw her arms forward at such an incredible speed that they seemed to disappear for a moment. Before Jane even had time to react, she was pulled in closer to Tylia.

“Oh you poor, poor thing!” Tylia wept, tears falling from her face as she wrapped her arms around Jane. “Just looking for a place you can belong! Jane dear, it doesn't matter if you don't have horns! You're still a crou to me!”

“Lucky...” was all the exhausted but also relieved Nice could sigh. “For a second there I thought we were done for.”

“I might still be done for...” Jane thought as she was once again being smothered by the queen's chest. “Can't breathe...”

“You're welcome to stay here for as long as you like Jane!” Tylia sobbed as she continued to tighten her grip, much to Jane's dismay. Thankfully, the queen loosened her grasp enough so Jane could breathe. “You look like you've had such a rough life...” the queen said, struggling to speak through her tears as she stared at the many scars on Jane's body. “But it's okay now dear, you're safe with us. That is, if you still want to stay...”

A relieved Jane nodded. “Only if it's not too much-” was all she had time to say before being pulled into another hug, this one easily twice as strong as the previous two. “My spine...”

TO BE CONTINUED....