A small piece I put together inspired by this song written by Mercedes Lackey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTRXkLRNkCw


A young lioness queen stares up at the night sky, the only free space she knows in her world.
Many believe the life of a regent to be one of ease, she believed so too, until the day the crown was placed upon her noble brow and her freedom was forfeited for duty.
In the solitude of her room is the only time she sheds her tears, for those who serve her without question, and willingly go to die at her command.
There have been so many she has sent away who she would never see again in this life. Some were friends she had known since childhood and grew up with, others were some of her father's own aides who had tutored her in the ways of a queen.
Her heart pains every time she sees an empty chair where once sat one of her own.
Every night she steps out onto the balcony and prays to the high God to protect all those who serve her, and that she would send no more people to their deaths.