“Your Majesty?”

“Ah, Brogg. Put aside that sword and sit over here at my table.”

“Thank you, Milady.”

“This morning I was thinking of appointing some new Captains. However, I have since changed my mind, Brogg. You will remain as the one and only officer, giving out my orders, of course.”

Brogg sat to attention, his chest puffed out proudly. “Oh, thank you, Milady, thank you. I’ll make you proud of me. You won’t regret this. Wait and see, I’ll—”

Tsarmina silenced the babbling Captain with a wave of the woodpigeon carcass.

“Enough chattering, Brogg. Let me tell you what you must do to earn this great honor.”

“I am yours to command, my Queen.”

“Good. I want traps, lots of traps. Snares, nets, pits—anything we can think up.”

“Traps, Milady?”

“Yes, traps, you great buffoon. I want traps laid all over that forest out there.”

Brogg grinned as recognition dawned. “We’ll capture some woodland prisoners.”

“Capture, kill, maim—I don’t care, as long as it makes those creatures afraid to set paw outside their hiding place, wherever they may be. I’ll turn the tables on them, and they’ll never pen us in again. Give them a good long summer of my scheme, and they’ll be only too willing to accept my terms—those who are left after the traps begin their work.”

“Right, Milady. I’ll start today. How about some covered pits with sharpened stakes at the bottom?”

“Excellent, Brogg. At last you’re talking my language. Also, we could arrange some thin strangling nooses concealed in the deep loam.”

“Great idea, Milady. How about some big nets and trip ropes?”

“Splendid. Make sure you have lots of poisoned hooks tied in the net meshes. Oh, and don’t forget the old bent sapling trick with the hidden noose. You can always bank on some lumbering badger or hopping squirrel to step into it, eh, Brogg.”

“Yes, Milady. Imagine all those woodlanders dangling upside down by their back paws. Huhuhu!”

“Hmm, just like apples waiting to be picked.”

“Oh, huhuhu. We might just leave them to ripen until autumn before we pick ’em, Milady.”

“Heehee. Very good Brogg. I never imagined you had such a sense of humor.”

“Oh, I have my moments, Milady.”

“Well, make sure your moments are all victorious ones from now on, my one and only Captain.”

Brogg saluted awkwardly, knocking the chair over as he rose. “Yes, Majesty. I’ll get right down to it this very morning.”

Tsarmina caught the end of his cloak, pulling him back. “There you go, rushing and dashing about like a sparrow after a fly. Priorities, Brogg. If you must do a job, do it properly. Take your time. Gather the right equipment together, organize the troops into squads, give each one a team leader and offer rewards for the most ingenious traps and the best results. Do you see the idea?”

Brogg’s face brightened at the power he was about to wield. “You’re right, Milady. I’ll spend all today organizing, then we can make a start first thing tomorrow.”