All The Queen's Women

by Michelle kopra

  Indeed, it was attacking the pirate ship with lasers. Tearing holes through the hull as the mast splintered into two. The ship started to list to the left side, tipping downward, one of its crew fell with a scream. It turned away from the black ship and limped away.

  “Who is that?” Isadora asked.

  Lilly squinted in the sunlight. The ship looked familiar but it was not until it came closer and the captain waved at them that a smile came to her face.

  “That would be someone we met a while back, Shifa I think her name is. Constance ran into her and her crew in a harem in Turkey, when we first encountered Herr Statz. Shifa helped Constance escape, and then took control of that ship,” Lilly said.

  “Stand down, folks, return the suits back to the crate,” Constance said with relief.

  Lilly returned the suit then joined Constance as the black ship came up alongside The Gypsy.

  “It looks like I have come to help you again, my friend!” Shifa shouted and waved a sword.

  Petyr put out the plank, and one of the crew on the other side, women with a long black braid, and wearing a uniform of black tunic, pants and a skullcap all that blended with the ship and her sails, grabbed the plank, putting it into place so crews from both ships could walk across.

  “Shifa!” Constance embraced her friend. “Indeed I am in your debt once again.”

  “Without you, we would never be free. For that I will never be out of your debt,” Shifa said fervently, then turned and with a string of rapid instructions, her crew ran over with toolboxes.

  “We will help you fix up your Gypsy,” Shifa said. “And then share information.”

  Constance led Shifa down to her office. “Lilly and the lords will join us.”

  “I should come too.” Isadora followed, determined.

  Contance nodded. “Of course, Isadora as well.”

  The six of them crowded into Constance’s small cabin.

  “Tell me, Shifa, how did you know to come help us?” Constance asked.

  “It was easy.” Shifa’s hands motioned, and the jangle of bracelets filled the room. “Khalid had a fast ship full of interesting gadgets. One that can track all ships in the air. We had been looking for you, and found you over Lyons. But it looked like someone else was looking for you as well.”

  “Why were you looking for us?” Lord Barkley asked. Unlike Constance, he eyed the women cold and calculatingly.

  Shifa looked him in the eye, refusing to break eye contact with him. “When we last parted ways, we took the ship, but we weren’t sure of our purpose. Were we to be pirates, or spies for our emperor? No, we would be neither. We, the women of the black ship sailed the sky, learning the trade, while making money doing odd jobs. Then we heard of the Golden City.”

  “The what?” Lilly asked, never having heard of any such city in all her travels.

  “The Golden City. I heard the man with the scar mention it to my sultan when I was still his first wife. The sultan was promised to be taken there once Khalid had acquired you.” Shifa nodded to Constance.

  “A secret city?” Constance asked. “What is so important about it?”

  “That is what we wished to find out,” Shifa said. “Last week we found the man with the scar in Germany. He was with the Kaiser.”

  Any further conversation was cut short by a knock at the door. A short dark eyed woman in her late twenties nodded to Shifa. “We are done the repairs.”

  The small group left the room, joining the two crews on deck.

  “Funny thing. For all that noise, they only hit The Gypsy here, in a not so very important part of the ship,” Cap said, scratching the back of his head. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say they were trying to scare us, not kill us.”

  “Why?” Constance seemed puzzled.

  “You are the queen’s woman.” Shifa shrugged.

  As the two women moved off Lilly turned to Isadora, “I never knew you were afraid of heights.”

  To her surprise, instead of relieved, her lover looked angry.

  Chapter Four

  Germany

  “Our paths shall meet again my friend.” Shifa gave a hug to Constance and a wary nod to the men.

  The two ships parted ways. The Black Glove headed to the north, and The Gypsy east to Germany.

  That evening when the lights were out, Lilly sank into her bed gratefully. It had been a long day, and she was nearly asleep when her head hit the pillow. Dreams turned soon turned erotic, vague dreams of hands stroking her body, making her body eager for more. In her dream she spread her legs, welcoming the soft kisses and licks. Her eyes fluttered open. It was no dream. Isa was in her bed, stoking the fire deep in Lilly’s core. As she saw the red locks, part of her felt a hint of disappointment, somewhere in that dream had been Penny’s soft brown eyes.

  An orgasm that had been building exploded from within her, biting into the pillow to stifle her ecstasy, all thoughts of Penny evaporated.

  Snuggling in each other’s arms, Lilly asked, “When was the last time you saw Diego and the others?”

  Isadora sighed. “I lost interest in silly spy games after you left. My contact with Diego and the rest soon broke. Three months ago, the queen ordered me to London, to work in the home office. As far as I knew they were still in Spain at the time.”

  Lilly sat up, pulling her arms around her chest tightly. “You know you were the one that broke my heart, not the other way around.”

  Isadora pulled Lilly back down into the warm blankets, kissing her lips. “I’m sorry I hurt you, Lilly. I should have explained before I went in to infiltrate the Basque. But I had my orders. Did you think I could just tell the queen ‘sorry I can’t do what you ask, my girlfriend wouldn’t approve’?”

  Memories of walking in on Isadora making love to a man still hurt, but they both knew that in the job they were expect to do anything to get information. That included sleeping with the enemy.

  Lilly let Isadora continue kissing while saying nothing. The queen, just like her parents, would never let her live her life in peace with the woman she loved.

  “I’m warming to the idea of a cottage in the middle of nowhere. Spain or Scotland. Just the two of us,” Lilly said.

  “Soon as this mission is over, we’ll go shopping for cottages.”

  The rest of the night they spoke and slept little.

  ***

  As they entered into Germany, the skies became grayer, taking on a steely look as clouds covered the sky.

  Below, leafless trees stood still. To Lilly it looked like they were huddling for warmth. She shivered in sympathy, and with cold. She missed the sunny skies of Spain.

  The Gypsy started her descent onto a large patch of carefully trimmed green awn next to a grey cold lake that reflected a large estate made of more grey stone, peaked roofs and lit-up windows.ing

  “Lilly, you will attend me,” Constance said.

  “I’m going,” Lord Collin said.

  “Me too,” said Lord Barkley.

  “Count me in, “Isadora added.

  Constance held up her hand. “I have to ask the lot of you to trust me. My sources here cannot have their identity exposed. Trust me. They know everything that goes on in Berlin.”

  With that, Constance refused to answer any more questions Isadora slammed at her. Even when the lords backed off.

  Walking on the stiff grass frozen with dew, Constance slipped an arm through Lilly’s, the two of them holding hands for warmth.

  “Tell me,” Constance said. “How well do you know Isadora––you worked with her in Spain?”

  Lilly braced for the questions she feared Constance would ask. She never lied to her boss before, would she have to know?

  “We worked together for three years. I guess I thought I knew her as well as anyone could know another.”

  “Do you trust her?” Constance asked.

  “No,” Lilly said and surprised herself with the response. She never fully asked herself that question all those years in
Spain, or afterward. However, a small part of her had reservations about the woman she loved for so long.

  Lilly looked over to see Constance nod and pat her hand. “A wise decision, my friend.”

  Lilly wondered what Constance knew but before she could ask, an image appeared in the front main windows of the second story of the hotel.

  “Ahh,” Constance chuckled. “Die Engländerin is waiting for us.”

  ***

  Lilly soon discovered Die Engländerin was German for ‘the English woman’ the most famous woman in all of Germany.

  “Vicky!”

  “Connie!”

  Constance broke free of Lilly’s embrace and ran across the marble hallway of the main floor of the Schlossberg. Her heels clicking against the floor were mimicked by the other woman who embraced Lilly’s boss.

  Lilly watched in amazement. The English woman, nicknamed by the German people, was none other than the German empress and queen consort of Prussia, the princess royal Victoria, daughter of Queen Victoria.

  Amidst their squeals, a butler in a stiff uniform approached the queen consort, bowing while speaking quietly in German. Lilly watched the Princess Royal roll her eyes.

  “You know I refuse to speak German, Heinz.” She link arms with Constance. “This is my dear Connie. We will have lunch in my private study.”

  The man, obviously not happy with his mistress, nodded and left to do as she ordered.

  “Vicky this is my friend, and another of Mama’s worker bees. Lilly, this is Victoria, the English Woman, as the Germans like to call her behind her back.”

  They both giggled.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Lilly.” The queen tilted her head with a twinkle in her eyes. Then took Lilly’s hand in her porcelain hands, and gave it a small shake. “Any friend of Connie’s is a friend of mine, call me Vickie.”

  “Pleased to meet you––uh––Vicky,” Lilly said uncomfortably. It was one thing to work for the queen of England. It was something else to link arms with the queen of Prussia and skip down the marble hallway.

  Vicky led them through the ornate mansion into a small room, with Persian carpets, and several comfortable wings chairs arranged around a large fireplace that housed a warm and cheery fire.

  Vicky sat in a chair, pulling out a small piece of embroidery. “Since Fredrick died I find sewing helps me stay calm. Now tell me everything.”

  “I need your help,” Constance said, coming straight to the point.

  The door opened and a maid rolled in a cart full of tea, cookies, and little finger sandwiches. When she left, Vicky laughed. Although she was a clone of her mother with ebony hair, big blue eyes, and pale skin, Lilly was surprised by how jolly Vicky was with her big smiles and twinkling eyes.

  “Me? I’m just a widow. What could I tell you that you didn’t already know?”

  Constance laughed. “You are a queen whose son is an emperor, my dear you do not fool me, or Mama. You have the pulse of the Germanic nation under your thumb.”

  Vicky giggled. “What do you want to know?”

  “The man with the scar.”

  “Ah.” Vicky was suddenly serious as she poured herself a cup of tea. “Herr Statz.”

  Both Constance and Lilly waited for Vicky to take another sip of her tea and compose her thoughts.

  “I had heard of rumors of the man. He has a network of spies all over Europe.”

  “But why?” Lilly asked. “Gleaning information is one thing, but his spies are abducting the queen’s informants around Europe.”

  Vicky looked sympathetic. “To him information is as good as gold. His spies have gleaned secret from every head of state in Europe.”

  “Speaking of gold, have you ever heard of a place called ‘the Golden City’?”

  Vicky shook her head.

  “What about Willy? Does Herr Statz have him under his thumb?” Constance asked.

  Vicky sighed. “I don’t know what he has on my son the Kaiser, but the two of them do have some sort of arrangement.”

  “Is it possible the spies he’s been kidnapping are here in Germany?” Lilly asked.

  “They are not here,” Vicky said. “He is keeping them in England.”

  Chapter Five

  England

  The night was black. No stars or moon to guide The Gypsy back to England. Lilly shivered; even in her warm woolen jacket, she still felt cold as the crew sat silently on the bridge waiting for Constance to give the order to disembark.

  They were ready to go into battle as they crossed the channel.

  “Where do we land, Lady C?” Cap asked in a whisper.

  “The boss lady has Intel that we can find Herr Statz just outside Dover in an old stone castle. It been abandoned for a century. When we break in we should find the spies taken captive in Spain.”

  The Gypsy landed with a bump. Isadora gripped Lilly’s hand. By the light of the moon, Lilly saw the panic in her lover’s face.

  “No worries Isa, we’ll get through it safely, with Diego and the others.” Lilly squeezed Isa’s hand, with reassurance.

  Isadora shook her head. “I’m afraid, Lilly. Let’s go now. Why wait until the mission is over? We can slip back over the channel on a boat, or better yet, head north to Scotland. Just us, Lilly–and a cottage and a yard full of chickens and geese, and whatever else farming lesbians keep.”

  Lilly laughed, but looked around to make sure no one heard. “I promise to run away with you. Once we are done here, and our friends are safe.”

  Lilly did not say it aloud. However, she knew she could never leave this life. This was what she lived for. This was why she joined the queen’s secret service. She wanted to help people, to fight evil injustices–to make a difference in people’s lives.

  The signal given, she moved in the darkness towards the ladder to descend off the ship.

  “Lady Constance,” a hushed voice said then a man in uniform appeared. “Captain Reginald of our majesty’s secret forces. We were sent to aid you.”

  Behind him were the shadows of men sent by the queen.

  “Glad you could make it, Captain.” Constance shook his hand. “Have your men surround the castle. On my mark, we go in and rescue all the queen’s women.”

  The captain nodded and moved toward his men. After brief instructions, they fanned silently around the cold stone walls of the castle, followed by Constance and the crew.

  “Go!” Constance gave the hand signal and everybody moved in.

  Lilly bent low while running toward the dark hulking castle. She found an unlatched window. She crawled through it and found herself in a dark and dusty room. The castle, although seeming abandoned from the outside, had lights. Somewhere in the distance, a generator groaned away.

  “Mum?” The captain’s men were behind her.

  “Follow me,” she whispered.

  Lilly opened the heavy door slowly, so it wouldn’t creak. She poked her head out the doorway and almost screamed as guards walked by. She motioned the men behind her to go forward when the coast was clear.

  Following the guards at a safe distance, Lilly hoped they would lead her to her friends.

  Something about these people seemed out of place. Then she realized this was a multicultural organization. There were German, Frenchmen, Egyptian, Chinese, and Russian, all wearing the same dark blue uniforms.

  She followed them through the hallways until they entered into a central round room. It was filled with consoles, blinking lights, and brass knobs. Something about the uniforms jiggled Lilly’s memory. She knew why the pirates did not sit right with her.

  “The pirates wore the same outfits!” she muttered to herself.

  “Mum, over here.” One of the men waved at a room across the hall. “The prisoners are in here.”

  Across the hall, the door was open. Lilly saw Diego sitting on wooden chairs, tied up with twine. Their faces were blank. She thought at first they were asleep, but then noticed their eyes were open.

  It felt wro
ng to Lilly; they were sitting there unguarded, like bait.

  “Let’s get them out,” one of the men said, making a move to cross the hall.

  “No,” Lilly said. “I don’t think these people are here to fight us.” A memory of the pirates surfaced. “I believe we have been set up.”

  Her brain furiously assessed the situation as she motioned them to follow her back in to the room they came in through.

  “Unlatched window, I was a fool!” she muttered.

  “Lilly?” Constance looked surprised to see her second rushing through the halls, without regard for the men they were trying to avoid.

  “It’s a trap. Quick, get back in The Gypsy.” Lilly waved, looking around. The other girls were there, but there was no sign of Isadora. A bad feeling formed in her gut.

  “Why?” Constance looked confused, but she trusted Lilly and was moving back toward their exit.

  “Diego was bait.”

  “Bait? For what?” Gertie asked.

  “For us. We were the target all along.” Lilly pointed to a woman with long black hair wearing the same uniform walked by, she also wore a blank expression on her face. “Vicky said Statz got his information by acquiring spies. I think he used my old friends as bait to lure us here. We have to get out before he catches us.”

  Behind them a loud clap, then another, until Lilly realized someone was applauding.

  Herr Statz, the man with the scar appeared behind them. He had on a black leather-flying jacket, leather gloves, and a cap covering part of the scar on his face.

  “Congratulations my girl. You figured it out.” He moved forward. “I prefer spies that know how to think on their feet. Makes my job of overseeing them so much easier.”

  He clapped his hands again and the door opened, letting out the prisoners. The guards ignored them. As Lilly suspected, Diego and the others worked for him.

  “Mama!” Lilly cried as Mama Esposita walked out, face as blank as the others. “No!”

  Her friends walked by as if in a trance, to stand behind Statz.

  Next to Diego, stood Isadora, looking miserable. The feeling in Lilly’s gut grew.

  “Everything that happened was a ploy, wasn’t it, Isa?” Lilly felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment as well as anger. “Everything from the pub up till now.”