Princess Rescue Inc (49 page)

“They
will certainly serve as a warning to others my lord,” the general said with a
nod.

“Yes,
see to it,” the King said. The general saluted him with his fist, bowed over it
and then left without a backwards look.

“Fools
all of them,” the King muttered. He took a drink from his mug and then threw it
across the room. It hit the tent wall and stained it. “Fools!” he raged.

<==={}------------>

Wanda
smiled as she and Tau did inventory. Tau was a fountain of information,
peppering her with descriptions and explanations to equal what she tried to
pass on to him. She had found out that the sulfur the Imperium had stockpiled
was from an inactive volcano to the south east. Tau told her how they gathered
it. He was sober and intent as he explained; she wasn't sure why at first. “Men
go there and haul out the sulfur on their backs by hand, walking leagues up and
down the rocky hills, breathing the fumes in through a cloth over their faces.
It takes dedication to do it, not many live for more than ten years before
dying of lung disease,” he explained. “My father did it so I could become what
I am today,” he said.

“Damn,”
she mumbled, holding the yellow powdery substance in her hand. It slowly
crumbled as her grip tightened. “Then we better make sure it's put to good use
then,” she said firmly.

<==={}------------>

Rojer
was not amused by the Baron's attempt on Perry's life and counseled the Baron
to patience. Pettigrew was there and nodded sagely, further humiliating the
Baron. He simmered, a cloud of resentment lingering around him. Finally he
stormed out to find a man to practice with. He needed to vent. “He'll probably
end up killing the poor sap in his condition,” Selena commented.

“Better
if it's one of his men than one of ours,” the Duke replied. He nodded to his
steward. “See that our men are... busy,” he said. The steward nodded and left.

“And
now for you my dear,” Rojer said, looking to Serena. She smiled and cocked an eyebrow
at him. He snorted. “Now don't play innocent with me, I heard you ordered a new
dress. A fetching one I assume. But not too influenced by the gaijin I hope?”
he asked.

“Nor
too expensive you really mean?” she asked with a sweet smile. There was of course
steel behind that smile. Her husband knew better than to interfere with her...
distractions. She sat on the edge of the desk, crossed her arms and looked at
him expectantly.

“No,
I dare say it'll cost a bundle. Does it at least come with shoes this time?” he
asked.

“You'll
see,” she smiled at him. He snorted, shuffling a set of papers on his desk.
“Was it all bad with Doland and Pyror?” she asked, smile disappearing.

He
sighed. “Can't fool you can I?” he asked, giving her a sidelong look. She
snorted softly at the very idea. He smiled a little and picked up his wine
glass. “Yes, my dear it was. Oh not just Pyror, but also the knowledge this
gaijin leader has of our people and our ways. He is off on some things but he
knows too much for our own good.”

“Ah,”
Serena said, caressing his shoulder. She looked at him with loving eyes.
“Should he then be dealt with?” she asked softly.

His
eyes cut to hers and then away. He tapped his right fingers on the desk
bloater, unsure. Ryans... Ryans was the keystone to the others. He wasn't
certain what Perry would do with Ryans gone. Ryans was also a crafter of the
machines the gaijin used, or so his spies had reported. That was something else
to be considered. He wasn't certain of all their inventions but some were quite
innovative and good. Good if he could take advantage of them of course. “He is
of much use to us now. But the future... the future is a different thing.”

“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?”