Mysterious Destiny Bright Lights and Thunder Part I
Page 32
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The English nobleman, who had recently lost his battle to Jehanne, arrives in England and reports to the king, “You should have seen how she led her troops. No woman can do something like that unless she is a witch.”
“We will have to eliminate her. We can’t keep losing battles. What will people think of the English losing battles to the French? Not to mention that they are led by a woman!” the King replies. “Noblemen should not be beaten by a woman. What is she doing out on the field of battle anyway? Women are supposed to be cooking, sewing and taking care of the men in their family.”
“You forget, your Majesty. We have killed many of their men. We have made sure that their taxes are high and that their economy is so poor that their men will join the armies in order to earn money to support their families. In this way, our noble French brothers don’t have to personally fight against us.”
“We need this war to continue,” insists the king. “We need the money we gain through the sale of armaments to both sides.”
“You are exactly right, my King. All of these years, we have been controlling the war. We can’t have some woman come in and begin winning battles. Obviously, she doesn’t know the rules of the game. It’s one of the best ways that we have to guarantee the constant flow of gold coins into our treasury. If she continues winning the battles, the war will be over and we will be out of money.”
“I want the witch taken care of. Whatever you need to do to get her off of the battlefield…do it! JUST GET IT DONE!” the King commands.
“She’s a woman. It shouldn’t be any problem, your Majesty.”
“Don’t underestimate her. She’s beaten every noble that she has come up against.”
“I’ll work with our allies.”
“I don’t care who does it. Just take care of the witch.”
“Your wish is my command,” the English noble states, as he backs away from his sovereign and leaves the royal court room.
Taking his soldiers with him, he rides with an eagerness known to all those who have been sent on a special mission.
In the evening, while he and his troops rest, doubts begin to plague him concerning being successful on this mission. “I can’t wait to get rid of that witch.” Pictures of her angels standing by her side flash before his eyes. “If she truly does speak to angels, how can I have her killed without permission from God? Yet, the King is God’s representative here on earth in secular matters. He said to kill her. But since she’s a woman, what if I just tell her that I will give her a castle when this war is over? I’m sure that she would like that. Every woman wants her own home. Maybe she would stop winning the battles if I offered her money, and a home with land. I’ll try that first…” the thoughts continue to swirl through his mind for some time.
After finding out where Jehanne is, he sends a messenger to ask for permission to speak with her.
“Don’t go, Jehanne!” Pierre cautions her. “That is the same man that called you a witch. Why would he want to talk to you now?”
“I’ve got to go, Pierre. He just got back from speaking to the English King. What if they want to end the war?”
“They have only lost battles since you arrived here, Jehanne.”
“…Exactly. Now they know what it feels like to lose. Maybe this has made them look at things differently.”
“Jehanne, you are so naïve as to how men think! If you are truly going to go to speak with him, then I am going with you.”
“Ha, that’s exactly what ‘my angels’ said you would say.” She says with a smile.
“Your angels know about this?”
“Why yes. They know everything.”
“Did they tell you that it would be all right to go?”
“It’s always my decision, Pierre.”
“What have you decided then?”
“I’m going, of course.”
“You’re really going to go?”
“I wouldn’t miss this excitement for the world.”
“What if it’s a trap?”
“I asked ‘my angels’ that question. They told me that it wasn’t.”
“I’m still going with you.”
Arriving at the designated meeting place in a huge grove of trees, Jehanne and Pierre quickly survey the surrounding area. Finding no other troops in the area they dismount their horses.
Walking up to the English noble, Jehanne says, “I’m here. What do you want?”
“As you probably know, I just came back from talking to our King.”
“Yes?”
“He wants me to offer you money and a castle with adjoining land.”
“Really…how much money are you offering?”
Pierre looks shocked at what he has just heard her ask.
“That would be worked out when the war is over.”
“…The castle and land… where would that be?”
“That would also be worked out when the war is over.”
“And what would I have to do to get this money and land?”
“We want you to stop winning the battles.”
“You are so afraid of me that you would offer me money, a home and land, IF I LOSE BATTLES?”
“We’re not afraid of you. We just want you to be part of the game that both the English and French are playing.”
“Ah. Maybe I need to know more about this game so that I can play it appropriately. Would you explain it to me?”
“Now you are starting to sound like someone who would be a good partner in our games,” he says, salivating at the very idea.
Jehanne motions for him to continue. “As you can see, the English always won the battles until you came along. Once in a while we will give a battle to the French, so that they won’t get discouraged. But we are the ones who are equipped with the better weaponry.”
“Why is that?”
“It is because we pay our soldiers more money than the French do.” Laughing he continues, “That’s because we tax our people at a higher rate than the French do.” Leaning over closer to Jehanne, he whispers, “Then we charge our soldiers higher prices for their uniforms, protective armor, and weapons. You see, in the end, we get all the money back that we give to them.”
“So that’s the game? You charge your people high taxes so that their men will have to leave their homes to come to fight for you?”
“…Right.”
“Then with the pay they receive, planning to send it back to their families, instead, they need to spend it on articles to protect themselves from harm, always hopeful they’ll be able to return to their families.”
“Right… isn’t it genius?”
“Would you mind if, Pierre and I go over there” pointing in the direction of their horses, “and talk about it before I give you my decision?”
“That would be fine. Just remember we have a great plan. You know how long the game has all ready been successfully played. We would like you to be a part of it.”
Pierre and Jehanne stand up and walk over to where their horses are tied so that their words can’t be over heard.
Pacing back and forth, Jehanne looks at the ground. She begins speaking, attempting to keep her anger under control.
“I am so angry, Pierre!”
“You are?”
“Yes. They play games with people’s lives and think nothing about it.”
Pierre breathes in a sigh of relief. “I am so glad to hear you say that, Jehanne. When I heard you talking to him, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.”
“I just wanted to make sure that what I had heard since before the day I got here was true. I wanted to know if it was really a game. And, straight from his own mouth, you heard him. It’s a game! Who do they think that they are to put other people’s lives at stake?”
“They think of no one but themselves, Jehanne.”
“You are so right, Pierre. I never knew people existed that thought that way.”
“Apparently there are a lot of people like that.”
At the sound of a branch cracking a few yards from where they are talking, Pierre quickly says, “Don’t look up, Jehanne. Pretend that you didn’t hear that. Apparently, if you don’t join in their ‘game’ they are preparing to make sure that you don’t return to fight against them.”
Looking back at Pierre, all the while pretending to write in the dirt, she says, “Don’t worry, Pierre. Remember, my angels said that this would not be a trap.”
Within seconds a strong wind rips the noble’s tent from the ground and sends it flying toward, Jehanne and Pierre.
“WATCH OUT, JEHANNE!” Pierre yells as he grabs her and pulls her to the ground. The tent flies above them, in the direction of the twig they thought they had heard break.
“I THINK THAT THIS IS OUR TIME TO LEAVE, PIERRE,” Jehanne yells back, jumping up to run with Pierre for their horses.
Once mounted on their horses, Pierre rides toward the French armies when he notices that Jehanne is not with him. Looking back he sees Jehanne, riding her horse toward the English noble.
“What are you doing, Jehanne?” he mutters to himself as he slows his horse and reigns it back in her direction.
The English noble is just now starting to stand up. With his back toward Jehanne, taking careful aim with her bow and arrow, she shoots the noble directly on his backside. Hitting her intended target, she declares, “There is my answer, you sorry excuse for a human being.” Riding closer to him, as he is holding his backside and crying out in pain, she yells in anger, “AND KNOW THIS I WOULD NEVER TAKE YOUR BLOOD MONEY. I WOULD NEVER LIVE IN A HOME GIVEN ME BY THE ENGLISH, NOT AFTER ALL YOU HAVE DONE TO THE FRENCH OVER THE YEARS! LEAVE FRANCE ON YOUR OWN! OR I WILL DRIVE YOU OUT ONE BY ONE!” Turning her horse around, she rides back toward Pierre, who has watched the exchange as he rides to her side.
“Jehanne what are you doing?”
“I was just trying to make a point Pierre.”
In a great deal of pain the noble yells, “I knew that she was a witch,” as he looks at his servant. “You saw the wind take my tent didn’t you? I will make sure that she pays for what she has done to me this day.”