"Could you say that again?" Sonya asked a bit stunned.

"You are the Queen of Han your majesty." Rihan said bowing again.

"How is that possible I have no royal blood." Sonya said.

"The crown is not passed down from generation to generation as it does in Hourai. It is decided by Tentei the supreme God." Rihan said.

"Oh I see." Sonya said.

"I am glad." Rihan said with a smile.

"The team put you all up to this as a prank." Sonya said. "Ok guys good joke you had me going for a minute common out."

"Your majesty we are the only ones in this room." Rihan said.

Sonya stood up and walked to the window and looked out expecting to see the desert city of Baghdad or Samarra and maybe Al Kut. But what she saw made her go white. There was a large city with dying trees and plants.

'What the fuck?' Sonya thought.

She dropped her hand to where she kept her sidearm but found it was gone. She spun around and looked at Kou with wide eyes.

"Who are you and where is my sidearm?" She asked.

"My name is Rihan and I am your Kirin as for the thing that was at your side it is on the table over there." Rihan said pointing to the table.

Sonya walked to the table and picked up her side arm and holster. She pulled the .45 from the holster and aimed it at Rihan's chest.

"Take me back my unit or you're dead where you stand." Sonya said.

"If you kill me then you will die within a year." Rihan said without blinking.

"Is that a threat?" Sonya asked stepping forward.

"No your majesty it is not." Rihan said, "I am your Kirin and if the Kirin dies the ruler will die within a year. It is a rule passed down by Tentei."

Sonya held her weapon on Rihan but removed her finger from the trigger.

"Can you take me home? Yes or no." Sonya asked.

"Yes but if I do and you forsake your people then the land will rot and I will suffer from Shitsudo and die and then you will follow within a year." Rihan said.

Sonya felt her stomach tighten as tears formed in her eyes.

"Oh Yerk Shit Yerk" She said as she started to gag.

She ran to the vase she had annulated a few minutes before and unleashed another bombardment upon the unsuspecting vase.

"Oh gross." Rihan said closing her eyes.

"No more beer YACK" Sonya said and unloaded in the vase again.

"Oh your gonna make me sick." Rihan said. "I'll get Sana San-a. She can help."

Rihan walked out of the room and closed the door. Suyo and Kiki were in the courtyard walking to the gate when Kou walked out.

"Kiki, Suyo come here." Rihan yelled and they came running.

"Yes Rihan what is it?" Suyo asked.

"Our new Queen is very sick I need you to get Sana and bring her here." Rihan said. "And Kiki I don't care who but someone is gonna have to clean out that vase."

"I know what you mean." Kiki said. "She had her head burred in it earlier. I've sent for Jukie Jew-Kie she can handle that I can't."

"Very well I am gonna go to Mt. Hou and inform Lady Gyokuyou that I have found Han's new ruler." Rihan said and transformed into her true form.

"As you wish." Suyo and Kiki said and bowed.

Rihan vanished into the clouds leaving Kiki and Suyo in the courtyard.

"I'll go get Sana." Suyo said and walked away.

"I hope she hasn't ruined the carpet." Kiki said and walked up to the door.

Sonya was sitting on the floor holding on the toe vase for dear life when Kiki walked in.

"Rihan has gone to Mt. Hou and will be back in the morning." Kiki said closing the door. "She sent the captain of the guards Suyo to get Sana the healer and he will be here with her in a moment."

"Yerk Unless she has some aspirin she's not gonna be much Yerk help." Sonya said. "Besides it's just a hangover I'll get over it."

"Would you like anything while we wait for Sana?" Kiki asked.

"I'd kill for Yerk some water." Sonya said.

"Yes your majesty I'll be right back with that." Kiki said and walked out of the room closing the door behind her.

'I could get used to this royal treatment.' Sonya thought as another wave of nausea hit her. "NO." She pleaded. "YACK"

Fort Freedom Iraqi

"Where the hell is Blaze she was supposed to be back here at 06:00." Ellis yelled looking at his watch.

"Sir she probably got drunk and is sleeping it off in a hotel." Peskentella said. "Or an ally." He said a under his breath.

"If she is not back by 09:00 she can kiss that promotion goodbye." Ellis said and stomped off.

"Oh man the Sarg. Is gonna kill her." Terry Randolph said. 

"Well she shouldn't of had so much to drink." Jack Cernny said.

From several yards away Mike Scully was shacking off his hangover and remembering the snake like thing that grabbed Sonya.

"Man." He laughed. "They must have put something in that beer I was hallucinating."

He walked into the showers hoping the cold water would do him good.

'I wonder where she is.' He thought as he turned the shower on.

"Oh shit that's cold." He yelped when the water hit him.

Han palace

Sonya was still sitting on the floor when Kiki walked back in carrying a pitcher of water and a glass. Behind her was Suyo and Sana the healer.

"Hello your majesty I am Sana the healer." Sana said.

Sana took the pitcher and glass from Kiki and set them on the table. She reached into a small pouch on her side and took out three brown leaves and crushed them up and dropped them into the cup. She poured the water over then and handed it to Sonya.

"Drink this." Sana said. "It's bitter but it will help."

Sonya was so thirsty she drank the tea or what ever it was as fast as she could letting some of it fall from her mouth and roll down her neck. Kiki covered her mouth to hide the fact that she was laughing. Sonya dropped the glass as her stomach tightened again but this time in pain not nausea.

"Arrgg." She cringed. "What arrg what did you do to me?" Sonya asked pulling her sidearm.

"You must have been dehydrated your majesty it will pass in a moment." Sana said stepping back she didn't know what the think Sonya was holding was but she was sure it wasn't good.

Sonya felt the pain in her stomach go away and she lowered the .45. The felling of nausea left her and she felt much better.

"Oh that stuff is beautiful." Sonya said. "What is it?"

"It is a plan that grows all over the twelve kingdoms." Sana said feeling relived.

Sonya stood up and walked to the door of the room. Kiki, Sana and Suyo followed her incase she needed help. Sonya opened the door and looked out on the courtyard and smiled.

"I'm starting to accept what you are telling me." Sonya said.

"That's wonderful." Kiki said.

"Would it be ok if I walked through the town?" Sonya asked.

"Are you sure you want to go into town so soon after arriving?" Kiki asked.

"Yes I'd like to learn as much as I can about the land as possible. Adapt and Overcome" Sonya said her military training for survival kicking in.

"As you wish." Kiki said. "Suyo gather your best men and meet at the main gate."

"Yes ma'am." Suyo said and ran down the corridor.

"Your majesty might I suggest a change of clothes." Kiki said looking at her uniform.

"What's wrong with my BDU's? Camouflage." Sonya asked.

"Nothing your majesty please forgive me." Kiki said and bowed.

Sonya, Kiki and Sana walked through the courtyard as Sonya put her sidearm and holster on her side. Suyo was standing at the gate with five men. They all bowed as Sonya approached.

"Your majesty we are ready to lay down our life's for you." They all said as they bowed.

"In the Marines we do not lay our lives down for just one man or women." Sonya said. "We lay down our lives for innocent civilians and each other." She said. "I swear now before you all that I will lay my life down for all of you."

The men looked at each other in confusion.

"The Marine's your majesty?" One of them asked.

"The United States Marine Corp." Sonya said. "Specialist Sonya Blaze U.S Marine Corp." She said and saluted.

Some of the men returned the salute though they didn't know what it was.

"Shall we go?" Kiki said as the gate opened.

Sonya took the lead of the group and walked down the path towards the town. The town was crumbling from the three years of decay but there were still many people living there.

"Kiki what happened here was it a war?" Sonya asked.

"No your majesty." Kiki said. This is what happens when the kingdom is without a ruler."

"What happened to the last ruler?" Sonya asked looking at a crumbling building.

"She ventured out on his own one day and was killed by a Youma." Kiki said.

"A Youma?" Sonya asked.

"It's a beast that brings chaos and death." Kiki said.

"Sounds like fun." Sonya said patting her sidearm and continued walking.

Sonya met many of the people that lived in the town. Many of them bowed but some were too weak. Out of all the poverty that was before her there was only one site that would stick with her until the end of her days. A man walked out of his house carrying a bundle in his arms with his wife walking behind him crying.

"What has happened here?" Sonya asked the man as he walked past here.

"We didn't have enough food to feed our only child and now she is dead." The man said and continued walking.

Sonya's heart broke at the site of the man and woman walking to the cemetery that was speckled with fresh graves. Sonya followed the two into the cemetery and to the spot where their daughter was to be burred. The man handed his wife the child's body and picked up a shovel and started to dig.

"Put the shovel down." Sonya said stepping forward. "It's bad enough that you lost your only child I can not let you dig the grave as well."

"If I don't who will your majesty?" The man said putting the shovel down.

"I will." Sonya said and picked up the shovel.

"No your majesty let me." Suyo said and tried to take the shovel from her.

"No I will do it." Sonya said and started to dig.

By the time she had finished digging the grave she was sweating heavily and had taken off her BDU top leaving only a tank top on. She set the shovel down and reached up for the child. The women gave the bundle one last hug and handed it to her. Sonya placed the child on a bed of straw she had Kiki gather and climbed out of the grave. They all gathered around the grave and were silent.

"Tentei please look after this child and see to it no harm falls upon her in the after life." Sana said and threw a hand full of dirt in to the grave.

Sonya and the others all tossed a handful of dirt into the grave and stood bye.

"Thank you your majesty." The man said.

"It was the least I could do I know what it's like to loose someone you love." Sonya said.

The man and women bowed and walked back to their house. Sonya picked up the shovel and proceeded to burry the child. When she was done she placed the head stone into the dirt and stood up.

"Let's go back to the palace." Sonya said and turned around and walked away from the grave.

They were almost out of the town when they heard a scream.

"Youma!! It's a Youma!!" A woman was screaming.

Sonya and the guards ran back to the town square where a Koucho was swooping in on the village.

"We have no arrows." Suyo yelled. "Hanta Hon-ta go get my bow."

"Yes sir." Hanta said and ran as fast as he could back to the palace.

Sonya pulled her side arm and waited for it to land. One of the place guards was in the town square trying to get everyone to safety when the Koucho landed on top of him. Sonya took the moment it was still to fire three rounds into its chest. The Koucho took off and tried to fly away but Sonya empted the clip into the bird and it fell to the ground dead. Sonya and the others ran up to the guard and see if he was alive. The man was torn up badly but he was smiling.

"Have I lived up to the Marine standards?" He asked weakly.

"You have surpassed them." Sonya said taking his hand. "You will a have full military funeral with honors."

"I don't know what that is but it must be great." He smiled and fell silent.

Sonya stood up and saluted the fallen guard.

"Take him back to the palace and prepare him for his funeral." Sonya said and walked up the path to the palace.