My interpretation of a balad called "The Queen and the Soldier" (by Suzanne Vega?). I'm doing a series of these.... well, the others should be looser, but I wanted to concentrate on rendering texture and materials here, and have more of a portrait than a scene.
If you're talking about the contrast between the Queen and the Soldier, I actually like it a lot. It not only adds depth to me, but almost seems to provide an interpretational "barrier" of sorts, separating the Queen and him. She is always in the light, always present to her people, while the Soldier works behind the curtains and in the darkness, where many cannot see him or his actions.