A few weeks after the excursion to Aurora, Ben found himself writing a shopping list of goods in his shared housing, hair ruffled from having just rolled out of bed. Gould, Grove and Tick lived with him, and one of them would surely go shopping at some point during the week. Grove had given up on alcohol entirely and was now drinking copious amounts of fruit juice. They were running low. As he was pinning the list to the door, someone rapped sharply on the other side, and, curious, Ben tried the handle, opening it to reveal Rina, dressed in a mixture of mercenary and highwayman gear – the kind he'd seen them selling for women. She still wore her crown, and her chocolate hair was neatly secured in a braid.

"Your majesty?" Ben began politely.

"Page has some business she wanted to discuss," the Queen said. "Did you want to come along? It's all very cloak and dagger and I know you like adventure."

"Let me just get my uniform on, and I'll be right with you," Ben promised, and darted off to locate his jacket and smooth down his hair. His sword and rifle were hastily slung onto his back, and he shut and locked the door to his house, following the Queen down the road to Industrial.

"I admit, I appreciate being your first port of call for your adventuring malarkey," he told her with a grin.

"I merely understand you have a short attention span," she teased. "If I'm not careful, you'll go scurrying off to some pirate ship and vanish into the sunset."

"Been reading my works, have you?" Ben asked.

"Someone was using a page to wipe up a beer stain, and when I saw your handwriting scrawled on the paper I had to rescue it. I really do need to know all the dark secrets of my allies," she replied airily.

"Not a personal curiosity?"

"That would be telling," Rina sang. "Now come on. Page won't wait forever."

A child ran up to her, holding out a scrap of paper, and smiled crookedly when she signed it. The girl's mother ran over to gather her child, and gushed profusely about the reinstated child benefits. Rina merely gave her a regal smile and ruffled the girl's hair, watching a beggar join them somewhat on their journey to Industrial. As they crossed into the cleaner, smogless streets, he turned and headed to the renovated shelter, where the owner welcomed him with open arms, waving to the Queen.

"I helped her recover her fiancé," Rina explained.

"Do you just instinctively know when people need help?" Ben asked curiously.

"Hero thing," she said with a shrug.

They crossed the bridge and navigated the streets of Industrial, making their way in silence down to the old rebel base. Rina pushed open the door and they waded through the muck and mud to Page's war room.

"It's not every day a Queen walks into rebel headquarters," Page said warmly. "You've changed the world since we last stood here."

"You were there too," Rina told her. "And without you, I wouldn't be."

"But we still have much to do," Page sighed. "Crime is becoming a serious problem now that Logan's soldiers don't patrol the streets. There's one man who has the monopoly on the crime. His name is Nigel Ferret, and when I tell you that every criminal in Bowerstone reports to him it's not exaggeration. I can't deal with him alone, and he's elusive, but I found how to get to him." She paused. "You brought Mr Finn?"

"Oi! I am her adventuring buddy!" Ben protested.

"What do you want me to do, Page?" Rina asked quickly.

"Kidd went undercover with a gang of robbers to smoke him out. Ferret's men are going to strike a tavern in Bowerstone Market," the woman told her. "If you get there in time, you can stop the raid. At least one of the thugs could tell you where Ferret is hiding."

"We had a real problem with thugs trying to raid these sewers," Ben recalled. "Every so often they'd come through from another part of the system with guns blazing. They did tone down the raids when they found a brigade of the royal army waiting for them though."

"It's good to know you kept up morale," Rina told him.

"That's practically my life's work," he informed her. "Keep the troops happy and keep up morale."

"I couldn't ask for a more skilled Major then," she decided.


They left the sewers, enjoying the cleaner air around Bowerstone Industrial, and Rina took off her crown and stuck it in her bag, ruffling her hair free. Ben was entranced by the sight, the warm brown spilling around her eyes. She noticed him watching and smiled, motioning for him to keep moving as they crossed the bridge and headed up to Bowerstone Market. The Marketplace was suspiciously quiet for the middle of the day, and the Queen drew her rifle and motioned for Ben to keep down. The doors to the Cock in the Crown were tightly shut, which in itself was odd.

They crept over to the closed doors and poked their heads above a window, watching four mercenaries hold the owners and a few publicans at gunpoint. The leader seemed to be saying something about killing those who caused trouble. She dived through the window, rolling into a kneeling position with her rifle at the ready and startling everyone inside. Before anyone could say a thing the leader was dead, and Ben's gun echoed alongside hers as he leapt in as well. A short fight ensued, barely long enough to get Ben's blood going, and when it was over Rina stooped and searched the bodies, finding a letter.

"Here we are," she began, clutching a key and the paper. "They're hiding in the sewers of Bowerstone Market."

"No one ever hides anywhere nice," Ben complained. "It's always 'the sewers' or 'the creepy cave network' or 'my mum's basement.'"

"Reaver," Rina reminded him.

"I take it back. I take it all back."

They left the pub hurriedly, leaving the bodies to be taken away, and ran over the bridge. Rina vaulted over the stairs and landed in front of a heavy metal door that rattled when she tried the handle. She slid the key in and twisted it, and the door opened. Ben followed her as she went in, rifle at the ready, and they descended a few steps and kicked open the wooden doors opposite them, revealing a room filled with thieves and thugs. Nigel Ferret was in the centre, and he looked more shocked than any of them.

"You again!" he squeaked, and he opened his mouth to say more but the queen practically threw herself towards him and he let out a shriek and fled, thugs blocking his escape route. Ben looked at the Queen, who drew her sword. They set to work, slicing and blasting through the assembled meat shields in their path. Breathing heavily, Ben dispatched thug after thief and watched the queen diving gracefully around the small underground room, her hair flying as she smashed a criminal in the face with her elbow and then stabbed him. Something strained at his trousers and he wanted to cry, downing a thug and realising that the room was empty.

"Let's go," Rina urged, and barrelled through a nearby door into the next room. Ben followed, aiding her in her carnage. Blood flew, sparks danced, and swords flashed as they methodically cleansed each new area of scum. They descended into the bowels, covering themselves in soot and blood. Both of them were going to need to get changed after this. Or need a bath. Or both.

Ben imagined the queen naked and repressed a shiver of pleasure.

There was an air of finality as they reached one door, and Rina pushed it open as the sound of a cell door sliding shut reached their ears.

"I believe I can state with relative confidence that your efforts are in vain," Ferret informed them. "Even should it transpire that you vanquish my associates, this door is completely impenetrable."

Ben noticed the lurking, hulking bodyguards loitering either side of Ferret's cell and swallowed.

"In addition to which," the criminal continued, "this cell contains a secret egress, through which I may abscond whenever I desire. Meanwhile, my compatriots shall brutalise your person."

Purple glass slipped through the queen's fingers and splashed onto the floor. Bulky shadows writhed into Balverine form all around her, and Ben reloaded his rifle and began firing like his life depended on it. Rina tore into the thugs like a whirlwind, blasting out ice and fire whilst her sword laid waste to them. It was exhilarating to watch a Hero in action, although the smell of burning skin was exceptionally unpleasant.

He'd returned to firing his gun when the Queen leapt into the air and fixed her legs around a man's neck. Her hips twisted, and Ben let out a loud moan at the sight. It was somehow incredibly erotic to watch her do that, and he managed to shoot his man without realising it. They collapsed, and the door opened once more to reveal Page, who strode in like it was nothing.

"I see you haven't lost your touch," the former rebel commented. "I'm surprised his men were foolish enough to fight you."

"Truth be told, my superlative intellect notwithstanding, it would appear that this is not, in fact, the cell I so confidently referenced earlier," Ferret admitted. "The one with the secret exit has two beds."

"Good," Rina said calmly, and, ignoring his loud shouts and offers of money, the Queen of Albion turned and stalked out of the room. Ben followed her eagerly.


The evening sun was warm on their faces as they left the hideout, but Rina quickly found hers blocked by Ben's head. She stared at him for a few seconds as the rugged soldier seemed to glare at her in a strange, frustrated fashion. With a cry of surprise, she was seized by the wrist, and dragged beneath the bridge, where the man pinned her against the wall and grasped her waist.

"You can't kill a man with your hips like that and think it won't have an effect on me," he breathed, and then his mouth was devouring hers like she was his last meal.