by Chris Hechtl
“Handling is out,” she asked, leaning back. He gave a short choppy nod and then a bark of laughter at the very idea. “Ah, I see not,” she said making a moue. “Well, if he must go then so be it.”
“Not for some time though,” Rojer sighed. “Not until this battle is won,” he looked away, pensive about the coming battle. There was much glory to be had, it could cement his leadership. Pyror hadn't been happy about his none too subtle prodding about the succession. He and Serena had children though. But the battle... it could all be won or lost there. He had to take the risk of course; he had to be there, to lead.
The risk, he thought, turning slightly and shifting in his plush chair. “Yes, indeed,” he murmured.
“A missive my dear?” the duchess asked, smiling as she sat on the edge of his desk.
“A thought that a battle is a dangerous place to be. I'll have to have a word with the proper parties though...”
“To make it more dangerous for some more than others I suppose,” Serena smiled.
“You know me so well my love,” he said, leaning forward as she leaned down to kiss. She smiled as they broke the kiss.
<==={}------------>
Sue reluctantly briefed the Queen about her husband. The conversation eventually led to her encounter with Ryans. She realized as she told the story that she was unloading, that she had to unload to someone. It was self justification she realized. But when she saw how the Queen's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed in an angry thin line her heart sank. She suddenly agreed with Ryans, this was no place for her to be, spying on him for the Queen. She was giving her something to use against him, helping a potential enemy, someone who could easily order their deaths, she thought with a pang. She tensed at that thought and then put it aside, firmly changing the subject.
The doctor commented about the United States and slipped in that she was American-Canadian. The Queen blinked at her. “You see, my mother is American, my father is a Canadian member of parliament,” she said proudly.
The Queen blinked at that in confusion. “Explain please,” she said.
“Well, you know how you have your council? The royal cabinet?” The Queen pursed her lips. Some of that wasn't translating over well Sue assumed. “Um, the Domina and Dominus who run the various ministries? Domina Ciara who runs textiles...”
The Queen nodded. Some of the ministers had finally returned to the castle. Many had been out on various errands to oversee the start of the New Year.
“Well, we have a similar thing on Patria, Earth. My country, at least Canada has a sovereign,” she indicated the Queen, “who also oversees several other countries. Each of these nations have a parliament to run the day to day affairs of the Kingdom.” Sue launched into an explanation of various governments. The Queen nodded at appropriate intervals. After Sue explained the concept of parliament the Queen was intrigued but confused. She waved the gaijin away so she could think about the new concepts in peace. Stating she was wearied from the new ideas.
<==={}------------>
Wanda and Ryans talked when he noticed Deidra wearing her clothes. He knew damn well what she was up to when Deidra shot him an amused look and practically did a bump and grind as she walked away. He got Wanda alone in her lab and slammed the door behind him. “Wanda, stop giving her... look. Stop giving them, damn it!” he threw his hands up in the air. “Stop interfering in this! You women and drama! Soap operas! You can't damn well leave well enough alone you've got to meddle! You've got to try to fix shit, to fix people up, to try... damn it can't you women understand the entire concept of NO?” he snarled pacing.
She blinked at him in surprise. Ryans wasn't normally known for his temper tantrums. She'd rarely ever seen one, and this was the first time she'd ever experienced it firsthand. “Stop giving the princess advice and information to use against me. I mean it,” he snarled through gritted teeth.
She pursed her lips, her own temper rising. “I'll talk to anyone I damn well feel like. I'll lend my clothes to anyone I want. If you don't like that you can kiss my ass,” she said, eyes glittering stubbornly. “If you don't like it you can stuff it where the sun doesn’t shine or I'll damn well do it for you,” she growled right back at him.
Ryans took a step back, mentally getting the shreds of his temper back under control. He was seeing red; Wanda had no idea how angry he was right now. He controlled it, throttled it. His grandparents would never forgive him if he hit a woman. Hell, he'd never forgive himself! He tried to put what she said in perspective. He couldn't browbeat her into listening to him and following his directives, that was for sure, he thought with a mental snarl.
Wanda gave Ryans a look when he calmed down. “Worried about robbing the cradle?” she asked, with what some would think of as a smile.
He snorted. “Not so much, gee, she's only fifteen or sixteen years younger. Apparently in this culture that's acceptable,” he said with a deadpan face.
Wanda chuckled. “Okay, so you are a little. What else?”
He gave her a long look. He knew she was picking his brains and he didn't like it but maybe if he told her it would persuade her to help him instead of the enemy. “I don't want to be trapped here. I want to do a lot more with my life then sit in a drafty mold infested castle waiting for some idiot to try to poison me, or stab me, or some neighboring ruler to invade.”
“Ah.” She nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, there is that. The whole, whose going to try to bump me off this week..., a paranoid’s worst nightmare come true,” Wanda replied sheepishly.
“So, I do have legitimate reasons for wanting to go my own way. Not be raped by you women,” he snarled.
She shot him a look and then looked away. “Cheap shot,” she said coldly.
“Is it? You're trying to manipulate me, to force me into something I damn well do not want and have repeatedly said no to. What was that thing you women drilled into a guy's head? No means NO? No means keep your fucking hands to yourself?” he asked coldly.
She flushed. “So what do you want to do?” she asked, looking away and busying her hands with her work. She needed to change the subject; he was getting way too hot and bothered over this. Couldn't he see... no he couldn't. He had so many walls up he was blocking out all the possibilities, she mused.
“I had intended on exploring, and if the world was viable and had no people, then set up a colonization effort. That's obviously out the door,” he sighed, shaking his head.
“You sound disappointed,” she said looking at him.
“That people are here? No,” he said. He shook his head and shifted on the stool he was sitting on. “These people had some pretty good ancestors, survivors. Gotta give them their due, they got here and thrived despite being in an alien environment.”
Wanda smiled. “That they did. Did you notice that all walks of life are here? All races of man, and even parts of different cultures? Oh the primary culture is medieval, mostly Roman, but I think that's due to the fortification need, and need for central authority.”
He chuckled. Yeah, I don't think Asian paper houses would stand up to a basilisk or a rhinotrike or a dragon.”
“Something like that,” Wanda smiled, nodding. “But there are some Asian influences, why I saw a couple of houses in town that were positively pagodas! They even have the slanted roofs and lung chi dragons carved into the rafters.”
He blinked at her then shrugged. He remembered something about that on the trip to the capital come to think of it. “Okay. So where does this conversation lead?”
She smiled. “Well, it just means that anything can influence people here, and they are ripe for change. Some of the cultures and people here encourage it.”
He sighed. “So? That doesn't mean I want to stay.” He shook his head. To go from a technological society to this? Sure some nut job in the SCA or a Luddite would love it for a while, but it would pall come winter.
“Sometimes we have to do what we don't want, to do what's right. Or necessary,” she said giving him a
long look.
“Who say's I'm the one that has to do it?” he demanded looking at her. “Who say's I have to be the one to sacrifice my dreams, my goals? What about everything I've planned and poured blood sweat and tears into? All the people back home who work for me and are counting on me?” He was snarling now, he got up and paced. “I don't see you or the others volunteering to make such a sacrifice! Give up a latte and bagel in order to eat rotten porridge, drink from a sewer and go to the bathroom in a hole and use leaves as toilet paper? Trapped in a loveless marriage with a woman who'd kill me the moment she thought she could get away with it and the mother in law from hell literally lording it over me? Talk about pissing in the wind!” He threw his hand about.
She shook her head. “You got me there. But it's something to fix. Just like the castle. Slavery, justice system, medicine, god, there's something to end. What an imprint you'd make there!” she said and realized he was right. She was thinking of what he could do here but what about her? She was a scientist, a chemist, look what giving them bleach had done? The castle had never been cleaner! She grimaced and ran her hands through her hair. “You're right though, where to start? How much of a dent can one person really make?”
He eyed her again. “I'm not so much interested in getting my name in the history books as moving mankind forward. Setting up the infrastructure to go to new worlds, to repair our own, to touch the stars. The cutting edge stuff. Explore new frontiers. Where no man has gone before...”
“You almost had it there,” she said with a half smile.
“What?” he demanded. He stopped confused.
“Star Trek. Never mind, it's not important,” she said getting up. “I've gotta get back to work, you think about it.”
“Sure, I'll put it right up there on my to do list,” he sighed then shook his head. “I've got something for you to remember. Buckland. He didn't exactly make a big dent here did he?”
She froze and then shook her head as she walked out.
<==={}------------>
Deidra was vexed when her monthly started the day after she had rested with Ryans. She went back to court in her court dress and makeup. Instead of flirting with him she avoided him in the morning until the cramps and bleeding were under control.
It was a way to drive him off; the face paint and outfits were a major turn off to him. He took one look in passing, nodded politely to her but kept going. She didn't understand why he avoided her company and was hurt and angry at being spurned.
She came to realize the reason when her mother ordered her to seduce him and she attempted it once more after an evening meal. The attempt was half hearted and he slipped away with an excuse that someone was calling him on his radio. He left with one hand to his earpiece, pulling out his phone.
She tried to think about the situation as she slowly walked to her rooms for the night. She was tempted to go to his rooms but his reaction and rejection burned. He was definitely uncomfortable with her presence, something he hadn't been the other evening. From the parapet walk above she spotted him talking with Wanda and Charlie. He was relaxed, talking and laughing not stiff and trying to avoid their presence. Her sister Zara approached and he didn't flinch or beg off. She became instantly jealous.
She studied her sister, watching her. Zara wasn't flirting with him, she knew better. But she was talking with him and he was receptive, speaking with all three women as equals. That was something she still couldn't quite grasp, all the gaijin were respectful of her and the other nobles but only to a point. They treated them as equals, not above their rank and station.
She studied her sister once more. Her sister had set trends this fashion season by emulating the gaijin. Gaijin fashion was always a fashion trend, something new and different to catch the eyes of the men folk and to scandalize the older generations. Zara... she studied her sister as she moved about and sucked in her breath. Zara had no wig, her hair was down and she had little makeup on! In fact none at all that she could see from a distance! Could that be it? Zara looked like... could he be attracted to... well, mother had said that her father was most amorous when she had no makeup on... could that indeed be it? So simple?
She rested a hand on the edge of the wall as she watched them talk. Could she really do that? Emulate the gaijin? She thought, frowning. She realized that he was attracted to the natural looking gaijin. Natural and natural acting, not play acting or court acting. Should she try to emulate the gaijin as her sister had? If she wanted to... if she wanted to continue her line she would have to she realized.
The next morning she started to dress down, to copy some of the female gaijin's makeup, much to the pique of the royal makeup artist Druzilla. Her first attempt didn't go over well so she pulled Wanda aside for a quick lesson. Wanda lent her a kit and made another Mary Kay party joke that Deidra of course didn't understand.
She immediately started a trend in the court with the simple summer dress she'd borrowed from Wanda. Her mother asked about it at lunch. She smiled politely. “Well, it's warm mother,” she said picking up a feather fan and fanning herself. “And this is quite cooler. I've already put in an order for the odd shoes Wanda wears. Flip flops she calls them.” Her mother's eyes flashed and she cocked her head, a sure sign that she wasn't buying that excuse.
“And no, it's well, okay a little competition with Zara,” Deidra admitted. The Queen's eyes narrowed but she didn't quite buy that either. Finally off to the side and out of ear shot of others she told her mother she was trying to be more attractive to Ryans.
“The makeup doesn't run in the heat,” her mother admitted. “At least when you wear so little.”
“And I'm more comfortable.”
“Do have a care with the court and the sun dear,” her mother warned her. Deidra nodded reluctantly. “Did you drive him off with your...” she indicated Deidra's tummy and cleared her throat.
“I... I'm not sure. I do know that wearing court dress wasn't working mother. Court dress and manners were part of what was driving him away I believe.”
The Queen sighed and then fanned herself. “I wish we could get you two away to the mountains in the retreat for a month or so. The lack of pressure might be the catalyst needed.”
Deidra looked at her mother with an eye and then snorted. “I think the war takes precedence mother. And kidnapping him to drag him off to the mountains to seduce him would have far reaching consequences,” she said, indicating the gaijin military leader Perry with her fan briefly.
Her mother followed the pointed fan and then pursed her lips and then nodded slightly. “How long do you plan to do this?”
“As long as it takes mother. For life if necessary. If you want things this way then it seems a small price to pay,” Deidra replied, lifting her chin slightly.
“I do say that that dress is far too... the winter and all...” the Queen murmured looking at her again. “Though seeing Andreas's reaction if I wore it,” she had a devilish smile. Her daughter snorted.
“No mother you can't borrow it. It's too small for you. Though you could ask Domina Ciara to make one,” Deidra hinted. Her mother snorted and then shook her head.
“Now that would scandalize some if not all of the court,” she said. “Pity, I think I'd enjoy it,” she said looking away. She looked at her daughter again, eyes twinkling. “I was quite the terror to your grandmother in my youth. I did many of the same things as you are doing now daughter, but not to this… she indicated the dress. “Extreme.”
“I'll do what I must mother,” Deidra said firmly. “Besides, it does sort of grow on you,” she admitted. She had even shaved her legs.
“Yes dear, if it's what's needed, then do so,” her mother reluctantly agreed.
Deidra blinked in surprise at her mother's agreement. Finally she smiled slightly and walked off. Over the next several days she tried different outfits to get his attention but he was always busy or out in the capital. The low cut dresses and such scandalized and titillated the court but intrigued some o
f the more adventurous into emulating her. Some of the younger members of the court ordered new dresses and outfits like the gaijin wore or cut down and simplified their current wardrobe. She had to stay one step ahead to stand out from the sudden unwanted competition.
<==={}------------>
Deidra and her mother enlisted Sue and other girls in the hunt once more when her latest efforts didn't completely pay off. The girls joked about war paint and hunting men. It took time to translate the concepts. Sue limited herself to a general discussion of various things, but the royal trio kept steering the discussion to Terran men and Ryans in particular. She knew what they were up to, so did her best to avoid the subject. Of course Wanda and Charlie had no such compulsion.
Corporal Patterson had been with them for a short time, an invited guest of Zara. The two of them were fast friends, and she frequently lent things to Zara and helped her with various ideas. Unfortunately she couldn't stay since she was on guard duty in a few hours and had to beg off and leave. Zara pouted a little but finally got over the loss as they continued to talk.
The Queen was drawn off for a last minute consultation and left as well. Before leaving she gave her daughters a stern and knowing look. Both women knew what it was about, their mother wanted more information on Ryans and the culture the gaijin came from.
Sue commented delicately about the rapes once more. She was probing, trying to see how her mental state was but also trying to shut down their intel effort. “I mean is this the best time I...”
When Zara and Deidra finally got what she meant they laughed. “We're not virgins. We know what we're doing,” Zara giggled, covering her face with her hand.
