"I'm not sure, but since you're queen, he's trying everything to get into your bed. You refused him, but he tries to get you anyway."
"And he really thinks he can conquer me by killing my man, and the father of my children?"
"Even the best succumb in battle."
"I will kick him out of my lands and give him a lesson he won't forget." Jessamine clenched her teeth. "The lord of the Kelvans will regret crossing the sea to conquer the Queendom of Maadre!"
***
Keldar was a strong foe, very ambitious compared to other kings. His kingdom was much smaller than the Amazons Country, even smaller than the Kaden Kingdom which had already attempted the conquest, but this hadn't stopped him from trying. He was thirty, a widower and a warrior, and had one of the strongest fleets of the time.
He had been attracted by the legends about the country, but mostly the beauty at the head of it. He knew the first queen was believed to have lived almost two centuries, but lifespans had shortened with the time passed and now Jessamine was just another beautiful woman who could become his next wife.
The war was a stalemate until the day he managed to capture Jessamine. He learned that the queen was traveling with only ten female guards, coming back north from the capital where she had buried her favorite slave. Before she could join the army that she led in person, he sent a patrol to intercept her. He kept her generals busy while a small group of his most trusted men slaughtered her escort and brought her to a ship ready to sail away. On the same day the young queen was headed for the Kelvan Kingdom, and Keldar's men were retreating from the Amazons Country.
He finally met her properly only when she entered his castle in chains. The king of the Kelvans was tall and handsome, and he knew it. Still, he was impressed by her beauty, in spite of the haggard look due to the fight and subsequent abduction. She carried herself like a queen in spite of the chains and he decided she was his most prized possession.
"Welcome," he greeted her, pretending not to notice her frown. "I'm sorry to have cheated and used force, but you turned away all my ambassadors and my gifts. It wasn't easy getting to talk to you. I only wanted to ask you to seal an alliance with a wedding."
"The Amazons don't marry foreign men to steady their borders," she replied haughtily. "Our territory is surrounded by the sea, and we have a powerful fleet."
"That I defeated," he said with a hint of mockery. "I brought my army to your shores and met your famous female army. Although I've seen men among your soldiers, why is that?"
"A new tradition. And you didn't defeat us, you had to cheat to capture me!"
"In war and love everything is allowed. You can't expect all your enemies to be loyal, Jessamine, men aren't loyal by their very nature."
"That's why we keep them subdued, and forced them to cover themselves with the Modesty Cloth in public until three years ago."
"Something you abolished, my sweet queen, which makes you more interesting than your predecessors. You must consider us a little more than animals..."
"Not you! You're worse than any living wild animal! You won this war, but you haven't conquered the Amazons! You'll have to tame me first!"
"It will be a pleasure," he grinned, looking at her from head to toe with appreciation. "There's a corner of my harem waiting for you. Like you, I have many concubines, it will be up to you to become my wife or stay at the level of my Varian and Sannish slaves."
"Bastard!" She spat at his feet, then was dragged away and locked in a cage almost as big as a room, with only a bed in it. Iron bars divided her from the rest of the room and she didn't have a very big living space. And no privacy - no curtains nor canopies on the double bed.
Keldar went near the cage to observe her through the bars with eyes full of lust. The queen of the Amazons in person was beautiful, more beautiful than any given description. But she was an Amazon, hard to tame. Although she was probably ignorant of courtship and seduction games.
Keldar smiled, satisfied. The beautiful queen wouldn't be able to resist him.
***
"What?!" Morwenna gaped at Ileana who stood still and impassive under her eyes.
"The Kelvans are gone, and they captured Jessamine," she repeated flatly. "You're supposed to join the council to help decide what to do next."
"Me?" Morwenna giggled nervously. "Jess is alive, isn't she?"
"Yes, but you might be appointed Regent until we manage to free her." Ileana wasn't too happy about it, but she had no choice. Morwenna looked even less enthusiastic about it.
"Oh! But I can't be queen, Ile..."
"Only Regent, and only until we free Jessamine," Ileana promised.
"What if we can't free her?" Morwenna worried.
"You'll have to sit on that throne until Joelia is fifteen."
"But she's six!"
"I know." She was present at the birth of the future queen, while Morwenna wasn't. And even if Joelia was as smart as her mother, they really had no choice.
Morwenna sighed.
"Fine. I'll come with you to the council room. I really hope we get Jessamine back soon!"
So did Ilenia. But she just nodded with pursed lips. She knew Morwenna was an Aristocrat to the bone who had never touched a sword in her life, but hopefully in the council there were wiser women who could come up with a plan to free Jessamine.
***
Jessamine was nervous and upset: Keldar hadn't come into her bed yet, but was assiduously courting her. That wasn't how men behaved outside the Queendom of Maadre, and Jessamine knew it. She had heard many stories of rapes, bullying and oppression that never occurred in her country except in very few cases, when Uncatchable men tried to get some form of revenge. That was what Huntresses were for: they captured those untamables and punished them. Jessamine expected Keldar to behave like those men, forcing her to accept him.
Instead he visited her once or twice a day, chatting with her as if she weren't locked up in a cage, talking about his customs and traditions as if she were a revered guest, and slipping compliments here and there. He had given her comfortable and suitably elegant female clothes, allowing her to change into them without him watching – and he had taken away her tunic, breeches and chain mail from the very first day. Once a week a wooden tub filled with hot water was brought inside the cage for her bath - and again she was left alone to enjoy it.
He looked at her in a way that left her dizzy and angry at the same time, and she didn't know how to get rid of him. In spite of all the attentions and apparently civil behavior, she was still a prisoner. Only he visited her in the cage, and the servant who brought her meals wasn't allowed to talk, or even look, at her.
"So tell me, how come you call yourselves Amazons?" he asked one day, sounding genuinely curious.
"Our first queen, Amazonia, said we were all her children," she explained proudly.
"Oh, yes, the queen who lived two hundred years," he smiled. "How do you think it's possible?"
She shrugged.
"She was the daughter of a goddess," she said.
"And you think that a goddess actually graced a man with her body?"
"Why not. We do need men to reproduce."
"And what were you called before the birth of the Queendom of Maadre?"
"Maadrians. We were scattered tribes with common roots. Amazonia united us. Through the centuries the Daughters of Amazonia shortened their name to Amazons."
"So the Maadrians became Amazons." He pondered, sipping his wine.
She didn't like the way their conversation was heading, so she decided to counter-attack before he asked another stupid question.
"What are your origins, Keldar? Where do the Kelvans come from?"
"The kingdom was born from the ashes of the Moren Empire," he answered. "After we got rid of the Magical Races... which makes me wonder. Maybe they ran away to your lands and created the Queendom of Maadre?"
"Magical Races?" she asked, puzzled.
"Yes, they're long lived," he smiled. "The Gen
n are back in the lands of the Varian Empire nowadays. They're all blond, with pointed ears... I hear all the Amazon queens are blonde, maybe Amazonia was a half-blood?"
"I don't know about that," she replied, nervous at the thought of a logical explanation to her country's most famous myth. "Some queens had to wash their hair with camomile every day to be blondes."
"Of course, your men aren't all blond, and the magical blood has been diluted through the centuries. But Amazonia was a natural blonde like you, wasn't she?"
"So they say," she grumbled.
"So you can't rule out the fact that maybe she had Genn blood," he said, looking satisfied about his own conclusions.
She wished she could reply to that, destroy his own myths and legends, but she had nothing against them. And she didn't know much about the Magical Races, so she was totally at loss with words.
"It's not a bad thing," he continued. "I mean, the Magical Races are not only long-lived, but also possess real magic. Although I guess there isn't much left in you... Maybe I should invite a Genn here to help you find your roots, what do you think?"
She glared at him. She knew her roots, she didn't need him to tell her who she was! She had enough of his talk, so she turned her back on him, deciding to ignore him. But he embraced her from behind and she could feel his body against her back.
"How did I offend you?" He sounded sweet and humble, and she didn't know what to think anymore. "I thought I was treating you with all due respect."
"I'm not one of your courtesans, so stop flattering me," she said bluntly, trying to free herself from his arms. She managed only to allow his hands to slip on her breasts.
She gasped while he brushed her neck and shoulder with his lips. Slowly Keldar forced her to turn around and gave her a long kiss. Dazed, she let him do what he wanted. Prisoner and charmed by his tenderness, she allowed him to get what he desired, enjoying his touch more than she wished to admit.
Coming back to her senses when all was done, she was overcome by a wave of rage. If only she still had her knife, she'd cut his throat there and then! But she wouldn't allow him to see how humiliated she felt. She composed herself as her hatred for the man who had killed Notturno augmented. If only her body weren't so weak...
He opened his eyes and noticed her frown. He smiled and caressed her cheek with one finger.
"Are you still mad at me?" he asked.
"If you think you've won my heart, you're wrong," she shrugged.
"Of course, you hate me more and more," he teased. "I know, my beautiful queen, in your words you're still my enemy, but you belong to me now."
"You have seduced my body," she said icily, "but I don't belong to you. My Favorite is better than you in giving me pleasure and I love him."
"Your Favorite is dead," he retorted. "I captured you because you actually had a funeral for him! So much for allowing him to be also your bodyguard and soldier. You should have left him in your Apartment."
"He had Gladiator training and refused to stay at Maadre," she grumbled, her heart aching again at the thought of her loss. "He has been by my side until that axe ripped his chest."
"I had to have you, my beautiful queen, and would do anything to get to you."
"You cheated, you said so yourself, but still I don't belong to you."
He scoffed, but soon had to realize she hadn't surrendered. He had her body, more than once, but he hadn't tamed her. Still, he managed to impregnate her, and she had no way to avoid pregnancy. She wasn't happy, but gave him the news, observing his reaction - just as mild as when she turned him down or insulted him. Sometimes she really admired his self-control, she could never drive him mad to the point of physically hurting her. And she could be mean when she wanted to, in spite of her sweet face and usually gentle manners.
"If you agree to marry me, your son shall have a father," he said, serious.
"I'm a Daughter of Amazonia, Keldar, I don't care who my daughter's father is," she reminded him bluntly.
"Amazonia is long gone, and you're only a queen," he said. "You're a prisoner of a foreign king. It seems to me it's a humiliating position."
"It is because you make it so. If you treated me like a male prisoner it would be less humiliating!"
"But you're a woman, and that's the reason why I captured you," he smiled. "Besides, I had asked you to marry me."
"I will not marry, Lord of the Kelvans, now leave me alone!" she snapped.
He bowed and left.
Jessamine wanted to scream and cry, but she wouldn't give him that satisfaction.
***
Ileana watched the children play in the nursery of the palace with a frown, caressing her own round belly: she was expecting again. The Kelvan ambassador had told the council that Jessamine was pregnant and she would probably soon marry King Keldar. The council was considering discharging her and crowning Morwenna in her place - although Morwenna herself refused the responsibility. She wanted to enjoy her Apartment, not having to worry about a whole country.
Ileana had talked to Theresa who was as depressed as her. She had no idea of how to free Jessamine and the council wasn't really helping. If someone else (or even Keldar himself) attempted an invasion, they'd probably succeed, as nobody was leading the country. Theresa was a priestess, she knew nothing of war, and the three generals kept fighting among themselves. The men of the army had been sent home, and again it was all female.
Ileana wondered where she could find help to free her friend and bring her back to her home country and her children. Although she was pregnant too, from Carino again, therefore she couldn't move around much.
Carino joined her and put one arm around her shoulder.
"News?" he asked.
"Jess is pregnant," she grumbled. "She's going to surrender."
"What can we do for her?" he wondered, worried for his sister.
"Nothing. I don't have a ship, nor women, or I'd free her myself. Those three witches are too busy fighting among themselves to come up with a decent plan of action. If I had Oriana's ships and Stella and Chiara's army, I'd know how to use them!"
"You have friends, though. Even if the old ladies ignore you, we could find somebody else. Why don't we visit, I don't know, Clelia? Antonella? I can help with coaxing..."
She smiled fondly at him - he was still gorgeous and knew how to please. He loved her, but was ready to give himself for the safety of his sister and the good of his country.
"Who is going to look after the children while we're gone?" she asked. "Notturno is no more, my mother is too old..."
"They have their nannies and servants," he replied. "They live at the palace. And your sister can take care of them better than Morwenna. Besides, I don't think anyone wants Jessamine's place..."
She put her arms around his neck.
"Then I will have your new baby, and we'll be off," she decided. "But I hope in the meantime the council finds a way out for Jessamine!"
"We can always hope..." he smiled.
***
Jessamine gave birth in her cage, and Keldar stayed by her side, serious and silent. At first she thought he had come to humiliate her again, but soon understood he only wanted to support her. Exhausted, she thought his behavior was strange: he was a man and a king. He wasn't bound to assist his prisoners, slaves or concubines, when they gave birth. Why he had decided to be present baffled her, but she was too tired to inquire.
His cuddles were welcome after the pain, and he looked so crazy about her, that she surrendered and agreed to marry him. She got out of the cage to go into the king's bedroom as queen. But a queen of the Kelvans, with no power, no voice, no rights - not even to dress as she pleased. Male clothes and chain-mail were forbidden to her. In many ways she was still a prisoner of that man who now called himself a husband.
The firstborn was a boy, Kalvin, the second a girl, Nives, and Jessamine started to get used to her husband and new life. Cut off from her country and her friends, she gave herself up to the loving man who was now a
t war with the neighboring Sannish Kingdom. Jessamine didn't know who attacked first and didn't really care. It was her "husband's" business, and sometimes she hoped one day he wouldn't come back from the battlefield.
Two years after their wedding, Keldar captured Aster, prince of the Sannish and brother of the Varian Empress. The young man in chains was brought to the great hall, but refused to submit. Jessamine admired the courage of the young warrior who was only a couple of years older than her. She wondered if he had been ambushed like she had been, or if it was just the outcome of a battle for the unfortunate prince.
Aster wasn't handsome, he had black curly hair, blue eyes and post-battle bristle. He was bold and wild like a barbarian, and she knew he'd die rather than kneel before Keldar. When speaking among themselves, their dialect was hard to understand for her, so she could only stare at the prisoner, wondering what was actually being said between Aster and Keldar.
She didn't say a word in the great hall, but later went to see him in his cell. When she entered, he looked up and stared at her with both adoration and desperation, and waited for her to speak first.
"You don't like Keldar, do you?" she asked.
"I hate him."
"Why? It's not only because he's trying to conquer your lands, is it?"
He hesitated, but didn't avert his eyes.
"True," he said. "But he has you, and I can't stand it. He took you by force when he wasn't even worthy to kiss your feet." He spoke slower now, trying to use her mother tongue so she could understand him.
She stared at him puzzled, but he was looking at the little barred window now.
"My brother-in-law thinks I'm crazy to consider an alliance with the Amazons," he continued. "He won't save me, not even for Reika's sake. I doubt he still loves her like he used to. The Imperial court corrupted both." His accent was very endearing and she was happy to discover they could communicate so well.
"The Varian Emperor poisoned his brother to take his place," she said sharply. "I doubt he was corrupted afterward. I'm sorry for your sister who tied herself to such a man."
Tales of the Queendom of Maadre Page 18
