a bit of fun....

"You're familiar with our customs, human?" the new Voina leader asked.

"Not particularly, Your Grace," I said.

"At the coronation of a new Voina Queen, the first visitor to the city to the city that morning--the first who is not of the Voina people, obviously--is expected to become the monarch's first concubine."

"I've heard of such customs among certain cultures, Your Grace," I said, "though of course, being a woman, and you being the Queen of the Voina, I'm surely exempt from such rules?"

"By no means are you exempt, Vera Starbuck," Queen Ouremna said.

"But Your Grace..." I began, seeking a way out of this quandry.

"We Voina are shape-shifters, as you know," the Queen said.

"Ah well," I admitted, "that changes things, Your Grace."

"So it does, Vera Starbuck. I think we'll get on very well, yes...?"
 
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