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RAID

"You I just don't get it. I try so hard to bond with her and she just ignores me. She hasn't spoken to me since!" Emile ranted.

Fox nodded his head terrified.

"It is ridiculous!"

"I agree," Fox answered quickly.

Emile paused and looked at the man. "You know it is beyond me that you can be around Mistress Qurick and be scared of me."

"Only when you're in a mood," Fox corrected.

"Scared of me when I'm in a mood," Emile amended.

"Well I'm not in love with you!" Fox explained.

"Yes but I also don't hit people with brooms," Emile argued.

"I hear it's effective!" Fox turned back to his experiments.

"It is ridiculous!"

"I agree."

"This isn't a real conversation Fox! You have to contribute!" Emile snapped.

"Emile, what you want is somebody to just say you are a fine parent and she is in the wrong!" Fox fiddle with a green capsule.

"If you know that why aren't you saying it?"

"You're a wonderful parent and she is a ridiculous child!" Fox shot her a beaming smile.

"Good. Now try it again with a bit more sincerity!"

The smile fell. "You are an incredibly needy woman."

Emile exhaled noisily. "I've heard that."

"My queen this experiment is very important!"

"Ah ha!" Emile suddenly said, pointing her finger.

"Ah ha what?"

"People only say 'my queen' when they want something… or to get me to leave!" Emile crowed.

"I tried so hard to be subtle," Fox murmured.

"Well because of that I'm not leaving!' Emile crossed her arms and stubbornly glared at Fox.

"Fine but I'll tell my wife that Tristan is having trouble satisfying your urges and you would like her to talk you through it!"

"Bye Fox, have a nice day!"

Emile left the workshop with a huff. Even her own rogues didn't want to hear her whining about her children issues. Even Tristan had gone 'scouting' to avoid her. He had taken Korella, Shadow and Armand, the three most interested in it.

Emile saw Nimue carrying a basket of herbs and pounced.

"Hello Nimue," Emile sang.

"Yea gods," the older woman muttered. "How are you Emile?"

"Awful Nimue and you know why? It's because…"

"Emile I really don't care! Well I do but not enough to hear you go over the same event over and over again. Ask my advice and be done with it!"

Emile made a show of quivering her lip.

"Oh do not do that!" Nimue protested.

"Fine! What's your advice?"

"Talk it through with her. And yell back at her." Nimue shifted the basket to her other hand.

Emile surveyed her. "You really aren't a parent are you?"

"Oh gods no!" Nimue started laughing.

"Hmm I thought so. I can't yell at her!"

"You really think so?" Nimue raised an eyebrow.

"Yes!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Kyrilla protect me, you are the most selfish ungrateful child that ever existed ever ever."

"Well mother I think it is better than being a dim witted useless old woman," Isolde retorted.

"Old woman?" Emile gasped. "I am still very attractive for my age."

"And shallow," Isolde added.

"I'm queen of the rouge. How is that useless? Do you even know what I do?"

"Well from what I've seen you mostly go to parties and from my understanding of royalty they mostly sit on a throne and do nothing. Arthur excluded from that." Isolde yelled.

"You know nothing about it. I've almost died about eight times, I've saved you're father's life once and other things. Oh I've killed people!"

"That is such an achievement," Isolde muttered sarcastically in Sais.

"Don't curse at me in other languages," Emile responded in the same language.

"You speak Sais?" Isolde lowered her voice.

"Among other languages. And I've been kidnapped! That's right, I've been kidnapped for my country. Hows that for taking one for the team!"

"So what were you doing dancing naked on the bar?" Isolde had calmed down a little and seemed to be willing to listen to her mother.

"Half naked, and I just do that for fun."

"Mother!"

"That was a joke!"

"This is not a joking matter." Isolde was back to screaming.

"You're a very angry child aren't you?" Emile mocked.

"See you never take me seriously!"

"Well how can I when you are such a brat all the time?" Emile demanded.

"Dad takes me seriously," Isolde countered.

"Honey, your father takes everything seriously," Emile argued.

"It's better than being mocked."

"Alright. We had information that those raiders I told you about were going to attack Camelot soon and there is no better place to get gossip on criminals than those bars," Emile sighed. "And on that note, if I catch you in one again I'll kill you."

"So you were there for information?"

"But now we don't have the information we need because our outing got cut short by a tantrum." Emile glared at her child.

"It is not likely they are going to attack any time soon," Isolde snorted.

There was banging and screaming. Emile looked at her daughter mouth agape.

"Isolde, that was a little scary."

"Is that them?"

Emile ran to the window and swore. "It's them. You know this is your fault?"

"How is it my fault?" Isolde demanded.

"You talked about them. You cursed us!" Emile walked towards the door.

"I did not," Isolde said following her.

"We have to find the children. Most of the younger ones are with Fulicina. She's teaching them letters." Emile's demeanour has shifted. She was completely serious and it reminded her of her father.

"What about Father and the others?"

"You're father can take care of himself for the most part and the army will have to do what they can." Camelot had a very small infantry and cavalry. It was not a foolproof army and they relied upon woad assistance.

Namede slid up to Emile. "My queen. Raiders attack."

"That would explain the screaming. Has messengers been sent to the woads?"

Namede nodded.

"Gather the Rogue fighters and assist where you can Namede!" Emile instructed. "I have to watch the children."

Namede raced away. Isolde had never seen her mother so authoritive. It frightened her a little bit.

"I just hope none of them have gotten into the castle," Emile mumbled.

Two raiders ran around the corner.

"Now that's your fault," Isolde told her mother.

"Yes thank you Isolde." Emile stepped in front of her daughter, shielding her from the raiders.

"Mother, what exactly do you think you're going to do to them?"

"That's what I wanna know," One of the men sneered.

"After we beat her down, can I have the younger one?" The dirtiest of the pair asked his comrade.

"Suits me!" His mate replied.

"No you are not touching us!" Emile snapped as the first one ran at her. Isolde screamed, scared her mother was about to get killed.

Emile ducked under the sword, kicked his legs out and broke his neck. She snatched up the fallen sword and ran the other man through.

"They never expect to get killed by women," Emile mused as she wiped the sword clean.

Isolde was gaping at her mother.

"Oh I'm sorry, was that too useless for you?" Emile waved the sword in the air. She picked the men clean of weapons and kept going. She rounded the corner and pushed open the door. Lyndaal and Kel looked ready to kill her until the recognised it was Emile.

"Thank god," Kel breathed and crossed herself.

'Thank him for this too," Emile said and threw the other sword to her.

"Do I get any toys?" Lyndaal grinned. Emile tossed her two daggers.

Emile looked at the people in the room. Baltimore and Kaye were there with weapons tentatively drawn. The younger children were cowering in the corner with Fulicina and Vanora.

"Where are the rest of them?" Emile demanded running to hug her three youngest.

Fulicina answered haltingly, "I don't know!"

"Why have you got a sword?" Dowanna added, "Did you take Dad's?"

"No I stole it from another man! Isolde, hold you're little brother and mind your sister!"

Emile went to Lyndaal. "Korella?"

Lyndaal managed a smile. "With Tristan. I suppose that's as safe as any of us can be."

"Boys." Emile addressed the men with a nod of her head. They smiled weakly but had no chance to open her mouth as the door pounded open and ten raiders strode in.

"Six against ten, almost fair," Lyndaal noted.

"It is sad that they will die so quickly," Kel noted.

'Let's make this fast. I need to go back to yelling at my daughter," Emile joked.

The biggest raider opened his mouth with a sneer.

Lyndaal held up a hand. "No don't talk. We've heard it. You will crush us, take sexual advantage of our bleeding bodies and castrate our men."

"And take our stuff. Don't forget that," Emile grinned.

"Of course. And raid and loot all our possessions. See we could practically say the speech for you!" Lyndaal shrugged.

"It does get a bit boring," Kel informed them sarcastically.

The men yelled and charged.

"You made them mad, Mum," Baltimore told Kel.

"Not now honey. Just kill them!" Kel advised.

Emile slashed the one who had tried to speak but had suffered a blow to the side of the head with the hilt of a sword. She collapsed to the ground.

Lyndaal killed the man with a throw of her dagger. It hit him in the throat.

Kel hauled Emile to her feet and managed to block a blow. While the mans sword glanced of Kel's Emile pushed hers into his stomach.

Kaye had engaged a man and was doing very well. Vanora was yelling encouragement from her position in front of the children. There was a cheer when he cut the mans throat. Baltimore had a cut on his arm and had been knocked down but he drove his sword into the mans foot. The man screamed and Baltimore stood, punched him in the face and pulling his sword free to run him through.

"Nice," Emile approved, gingerly rubbing the side of her head where a trickle of blood oozed.

"Marry me!" He pleaded.

"Focus, Baltimore!" Kel counselled.

Suddenly Wolf burst around the corner. The four-legged animal took in the scene and the individual scents of the people and attacked the unfamiliar ones.

"Zephyrus gives good presents," Lyndaal decided as she watched two raiders get mauled.

The last four fell easily to Wolf, Emile, Kel and Kaye.

When they were all dead Wolf skulked up to the children, rolled over on his back and whined until they patted his stomach.

Lyndaal was regarding the knife in the mans throat.

"Good shot," Kaye commented.

"I was aiming for between the eyes," Lyndaal shook her head. "I'm slipping."

Isolde was watching her mother stunned.

Emile noticed and gestured at the carnage. "You think I'm useless? I speak lots of languages. I'm good with weapons and better unarmed. I can make Tristan do what I want and I'm partly responsible for the peace Camelot has endured."

Isolde had no words. She sat down and regarded her mother.

MD666