Alethea Morris and the Adventures of the Nemesis Air-Ship
an excerpt

“Hold it right there, your Grace.”
Alethea turned in time to see a sergeant-monk from the invading army standing with a few of his fellows in the hall.
“We have the capital surrounded, your Grace, we will have things under control in no time. This occupation can be a peaceful one if you would only see the wisdom of working with us.”
“I would not, sergeant. I am afraid that doing so would be perilous to myself, my country, and my child. You have take my husband's life, no matter what you might say, and I am one to take your's.” She leveled a pistol at the man, settling the baby against her shoulder with one arm.
“You are out numbered.”
“I only need to kill you, sergeant.”
“You wouldn't dare.”
Stony determination settled over the queen's face. A face once renowned in the civilized world for it's free and easy smile. With her thumb she rolled the mechanism that readied the flint. The sweat on the sergeant-monk's face told her everything she needed to know.
They weren't carrying rifles or pistols.
“You would be amazed what I would dare for myself, my country, and my child.”
'Don't think,' Basil had told her when showing her how to aim, how to shoot. 'Hold your breath, wait between heart beats, and what ever you do, don't close your eyes. The hand is a terrible tool with which to aim a weapon, and yet, it is the tool you have.'
The pistol erupted in just the terrible bang she'd learned to expect. The ball of lead propelled by the gunpowder within hurled through the air to the sergeant's forehead.
As instructed, she did not close her eyes, and in that moment, she watched the ball enter his skull, killing him and spraying his mind across the soldier's behind him.
She killed her first man, and in the ensuing chaos, she ran for the rider's gates.