A heartfelt Thank You for the encouragement received. I'll do my best as not to disappoint.
This chapter will likely open up many questions as to how and why - they will all be answered in due course.
I'll just have to ask your forgiveness if and when the update frequency suffers from real life.
Written to Loreena McKennitts Mask and Mirror

Edit before too many people get worked up: I'm not going to go down -that- road, although I like leaving things to dark imaginations.
And besides, I do care about logic and reason, even where seemingly none exists. Rest assured.

Between Worlds

Only one wing of the palace compound had survived the fires; blackened by soot and covered in a fine layer of ash it now sat on a ridge overlooking the western mountainside rising from the sea and a newly formed depression in the surface littered with the smouldering ruins of former glory to the east.
The remains of the main hall had been swallowed in a sinkhole opening up as the caverns beneath its foundations, which ages ago contained a lava reservoir, had caved in. Smoking roof beams and pillars jutted out of the ground while flickering flames still burned where cracks in the black rocks permitted the remaining gas to vent, illuminating the hill fog blanketing the surroundings in a leaden, yellow glow.
The thick mist dampened the soft clicking noises of the cooling rocks to a faint whisper, counting away the small hours of the night.

'Bring warm water, cloth and any blanket you may find.'

Bowing deeply, the two stormguard made space for their queen and exited the small room adjacent to the makeshift royal chambers in slow and measured steps. The air was thick with incense that fought a losing battle against the smell of damp, charred wood and rotten eggs drifting through the shutters, mingling with the scent of stale fear, blood and decay.

Himiko wrinkled her nose as she let her eyes wander over the body laid out before her on a thin mattress: on her back, head slightly raised, hands crossed over her chest and with a small heap of weapons at her feet.
She looked unconscious, the unsteady rising and falling of her chest barely visible in the soft light of the single oil lamp hanging from a corroded decorative chain.
Every now and then, the flame hissed slightly, showing a wavering bluish tint.

Inclining her head, she rested her chin on the tip of the triangle formed by her folded hands and studied the figure before her with a deepening frown; beginning at the chafed boots, moving slowly over the worn out cargo trousers and pausing there with a slow shake of the head; afterwards lingering on the remains of the figure hugging top that was all but glued to the body with grime and dried blood. Her eyes widened slightly, with pursed lips and furrowed brows, before her face emptied of all emotion at the sound of approaching, heavy footsteps.

'Remove her clothing and burn it. Do not put any strain on her.'

With precise and continuous movement the guard's dagger sliced through the filthy fabric, the emerging reflection of the pale athletic body ghosting over the stoic, shiny demon mask of the Sun Queen's chosen warriors.
The oil lamp hissed again as Himiko leaned forward slightly, following the path of the blade with her eyes, her lips parting in a soft exhale.

Finished with his precise and delicate work, the soldier gathered up the bundle of rags and boots and left his queen in the chamber in company with the creature that under different stars would have been her undoing.
Himiko softly closed the door and slid in place the iron bar, leaving a trace of moisture from her fingers on the cool surface; the metallic sound ringing clear and loud in the stillness of the night.
Removing her splendid white robes and adornments, revealing a simple, bleached and almost worn looking dress, she hesitated for a moment before kneeling beside the warrior's resting place. Her slender fingers dipped the first piece of cloth into the water, causing rippling reflections of the candlelight which illuminated the room in faintly shimmering waves.

The water dissolved the layers of dirt into brownish paint with streaks of red, covering the woman's left arm in ornamental stripes, accentuating the muscles hardened in her ordeal together with the deep gash in the upper part of the limb. Freshly cleaned and soaked again, the cloth removed the pattern to reveal a multitude of cuts and scrapes, several of which were already showing an angry red around the edges.
A slender finger traced each and every one of them.

Blotches of reddish water had begun to show on the white dress from her lap downwards to her ankles after finishing soaking and cleaning the mat of foul smelling hair; tangled in a mess of soil, twigs and decomposing blood.
For long moments her eyes rested on the still peaceful face before beginning to work on the upper body, caressing it in careful, light touches of warmth. Not once did her fingers now touch the skin without the cloth between as her soft motions drew intricate patterns over chest and belly.
A single drop of water slid down between the woman's breasts, causing the queen to pause in her administrations as she followed its way around one of the soft mounds and down along the ribcage, leaving a tiny trail over the garish bruises covering all of the left flank.
As a softly hitching breath escaped her, she traced its path with a finger an ever so tiny amount above the surface and watched the spot where it had disappeared into the underlying blanket for a little while.

Grey light was already filtering through the shutters and cracks in the wooden walls as she let the last piece of cloth fall back into the grimy water that closed over it with a red and oily sheen.
Having dressed again in unblemished garments and after adjusting her robes to her satisfaction; she unbarred the door and returned to the side of her unwitting patient, taking in the sight of the naked form outlined against the sheets in the twilight of the early morning.

As she knelt down once more and spread out her hands inches over the body, shortly after the scraping sound caused by the lifting bar had filled the outside hallway, the door opened a fraction and a gray faced servant with sunken eyes cast a careful glance into the room.
The queen smiled a dark little smile before turning her head and fixing the hunched figure with a cold stare.

'Leave. Now. Lest I'll have you whipped.'

A fraction of a second later only the still moving dust spoke of the intrusion; Himiko turned back to her subject with faint amusement playing over her features, soon to be replaced by a mask of deep concentration.

Rocking gently back and forth, chanting softly, raising her arms above the woman before her and spreading out her unblemished fingers, her face drained of all expression while her irises turned the colour of the night sky. The space between her palms and the abused body blurred like air over heated stone on a summer day, fine threads the darkest shade of blue, on the very edge of visibility, creeping across the open wounds, mingling with the shades of green and purple covering the cracked ribs and finally disappearing like water into dried out sand.

The queen sank down with a sharp sigh just as the first rays of sunlight creeping over the horizon thrust their spears through the single window and a tiny whimper found its way between the survivor's cracked and dried out lips who began to throw her head from side to side while grasping unsteadily at the empty air.

Reaching out, Himiko took one of the hands in both of hers and stroked it softly, quietly beginning to sing the first softly murmured verses of an age old lullaby.
Sam's loving voice, in a flawless ancient dialect, filled the room and Lara stilled almost instantly, sinking back into exhausted sleep, oblivious to her best friend using pieces of rope taken from her gear to tie her wrists and ankles to small metal rings in the floor shortly after.
The robes shrouded her in white waves as she finally left, casting a glance over her shoulder.

'Rest well. You shall need your strength.'