"2567-16" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 5 - The Warlady Of Dularn)"THE WARLADY OF DULARN" 2567 A.D.! By Jerome Bigge Chapter Sixteen "Everything O.K. below?" I asked, Carol climbing up on to the deck beside me, her hazel eyes glowing into mine. I wondered if she had "spoken" to Maris about "matters". I hoped she had not "queered" things with the Queen of Dularn with her jealousy. I suspected now that Maris' reactions might be a simple "side ef- fect" of her earlier "mind programming" by First Priestess Tais. "Programming" sexual feelings towards me in Maris might be a good way of making sure that Maris carried out the task "set" for her. "The Queen is a very `interesting' woman," Carol said to me. The tone of her voice leaving no doubt they had shared "secrets". "And I am now the `Warlady of Dularn'," Carol spoke with a smile, her hazel eyes glowing up into mine with a "delight" that left no "doubt" that Tais had been right all along about my amazing wife! I suspected however that Maris had been "mind programmed" so that she would select Carol. I felt however that it was an excellent idea! Carol was a "natural leader" as she had proved there on the estate, and she was "vicious" enough when "provoked" too to be just what Dularn now "needed" to "win" this war against the Empire of California. Dularn now had its own "Lorraine", I felt. "`A woman of many talents'," I smiled, remembering then what Tais had "said" there standing before my table at the "HUTCH". Carol was a woman who had led a "hard life" before she met me. She was in her way like "another" I had once known, "admired". I was at a loss for words, although I knew such had been "decided". Carol had been "picked" for her position as Lorraine apparently had been "picked" for hers. I wondered if the Priestesses of Lys really knew what they were "doing" here. "Snatching" people from one era and transporting them into another like pawns in some odd chess game. Like some "gods" of some strange "alien" mythology. I wondered if they had some means of "watching" us in "action"? "I was `worth marrying', wasn't I?" my wife teased me back, leaning against the railing. Her hazel eyes smoldered into mine. I was very "proud" of her, although I've always felt so about my wife, Carol being the sort of a woman any man might envy you for! I wanted to grab her, dance about the deck with her, but I knew this was neither the "time" or the "place" for such "antics" now! "Although I'm going to `miss' my sexy slave girl," I teased her, noting how that cut up deer hide "accented" that provocative body. Carol is not "beautiful" in the face, but she is the sort of a woman that even more "beautiful" women might well envy too! Her "skirt" was quite short, and the halter didn't "cover" much. I remembered standing there in the arena at Trella, a sword in my hand, Carol at my side, and "knowing" I had "found" my "Warlady"! That there was no other woman in the world I would have wanted to be married to just then. That Carol was truly the woman for me! I think, however, that I've always known that even at the start! Ever since that morning I looked at Carol lying there sunning herself and realized that she was truly the "right" woman for me! "You could keep me as a `slave girl'," my wife smiled back. "Although we'd have to `keep up appearances' I suppose," she teased. Sarnian Lady was rapidly closing the distance between us with every stroke of her oars. I think both of us wanted to "ig- nore" that "fact" as long as we could just then. Neither of us looked forward to what would happen even if we were "successful" in setting the trireme afire with lamp oil! The fire pump was now set up on deck, and covered by an old sail. I thought of Darlanis, of her "pride". Of what she had said there in Trella to Sanda Talen for "interfering" as she had in "certain matters"! My wife had suggested that she kill Darlanis to add to the confu- sion when we "fired" the trireme. I had refused to hear of it! Carol's archery is such that she can hit human sized targets on a regular basis at a distance of a hundred and thirty yards. At a distance of a hundred yards she can kill a dozen men in a minute! She can hit just as small a target with her bow as I could with my .357 Magnum revolver back in the Twentieth Century. She isn't as skillful a swordswoman as some, but I haven't seen very many who can equal her with the bow. She came in second in the Games here in Dularn for her skill at archery, and it was a close call! "There is also something to be `said' for the free woman," I smiled back, Carol standing there leaning up against the railing. She also looked a lot like the cover photo on one of her own nov- els. She had "posed" for that picture while wearing almost the same sort of a "costume" that she wore now, I remembered. I had taken that picture myself, one of some twenty four on the roll. Carol had worn a sword, a dagger, held a bow "ready" in her hand. Not her own "compound" of course, but just one we'd made for it. "Or in having both a `wife' and a `slave girl'," Carol said, her eyes glowing into mine. She had often played such "roles" in the past. Many of her chapters in her books are based upon such. The books are now again "available" thanks to the assistance of Queen Maris, Empress Darlanis, and Queen Lorraine of Trelandar! I know how "silly" they must seem now to everyone, but on the other hand, they sometimes seem pretty "real", especially to Car- ol and I, considering some of our own "experiences" in this era! "I suppose Kathi will be `useful' to do `housework'," I said then, changing the "subject" just a bit. The "topic" of our con- versation now standing by the rail on the other side of the ship. She didn't look too "delighted" at the way that things had gone! "I'm tired of kitchen work and dusting," Carol smiled back. Those had been some of her tasks on the estate among many others. "Housework" was not one of her favorite "chores" in the 20th Cen- tury, and I had no doubt that she hadn't enjoyed it here either! Especially since the "house" belonged to a woman whom she hated! "I wish we had a Priestess aboard," Lars Debolt said to me as he now joined us there on deck, his hand clasping that of the lovely Sandi, her "disheveled" appearance and the "look" of her now bruised and swollen mouth leaving no doubts she had been just very well used! His words for a moment I fear puzzling me until I realized that in this era the Priestesses of Lys married peo- ple! Sandi turning, biting the side of his neck with her teeth. Many women of this era "mark" a man when they make love, often in such a way that it is somewhat difficult to conceal the mark lat- er on. Leaving of course no doubt that you have just made love. "Maybe Queen Maris can `say a few words'," Carol suggested. "It is what we `feel' here that counts," Sandi said, press- ing her free hand to her left breast, which I saw had been bit! "It is time to get ready," I said, regarding Sarnian Lady. "A lovely day," I said as Carol stood beside me, the weapons strapped about her provocative half naked body seemingly fitting! I recalled the arena in Trella, the clash of steel, the memory of a fighting woman almost beyond compare. Of the roar of the crowd as she raised her sword high, "naked" but for the bit of leather. Carol is in her way I think now as much a "legend" as any other. "We are `together'," Carol answered, her eyes holding mine. The sun was high in the sky, hot on my bare shoulders as I stood by the fire pump, screwing the hose into the fitting, four of the strongest men aboard ready to pump the handles at my command now. The other end of the hose shoved down into a fifty gallon barrel of the lamp oil, a smoking torch there in my wife's hand "ready". The old cargo ship gently rolling in the swell, the sails hardly drawing now. Sarnian Lady, proud in her gilt and paint, like some great insect now crawling across the blue green waters to- wards us. The banners flying proudly as the trireme rapidly ap- proached. I wondered what Darlanis thought, knowing who she was now pursuing. I supposed she was delighted by the way things had apparently "turned out". She would be "freed" of Maris for good! "Got the Princess with her too," Lars spoke, looking through Maris' telescope at the rapidly approaching trireme. A cold chill of horror now going through me as I realized just "who" the Princess was! Sharon Duval, Lorraine's own beloved stepdaughter! And Lorraine had always been "touchy" about Sharon even back in the 20th Century, I recalled, remembering certain "incidents"!!! "Remember Lorraine's first book?" Carol said to me, her haz- el eyes burning hot into mine. I nodded, knowing that whatever we "did" to Darlanis, Sharon must not be harmed or Lorraine would spend the rest of her life "hunting us down" wherever we went! I felt suddenly "sick" at the thought, remembering Sharon from years ago, a lovely young girl, so utterly "different" from both her "lecher" of a father and her "dominatrix" of a step mother! "Nothing must happen to her," I said. Carol nodded. A catapult shot dropped into the sea almost "alongside" us, throwing up a burst of spray that splattered down over our decks. Darlanis had some good marksmen aboard that battleship of hers, I "mused" to myself! I did not think the Empress had bothered much to bring her own vessel to "battle readiness". We were but a ship stolen by some runaway slaves and that notorious Maris Marn of Dularn! We didn't even mount one catapult or ballistae! No doubt Darlanis wished to make this "conquest" of hers as "blood- less" as possible. "Taking" an old cargo ship "stolen" by some slaves with Maris Marn's "help" wouldn't be something the oarsmen aboard Sarnian Lady would "brag about" in the taverns of Trella! "The next one will hit," Lars Debolt warned, the first shot having been a "warning" to "heave to". Carol nodding, ordering the man at the wheel to start swinging us about up into the wind` the sails flapping uselessly overhead as Sarnian Lady approached. The fire pump had a maximum range of less than a hundred feet. We had to get close to Sarnian Lady. Awful close! Close enough to almost "see the `blue'" of Darlanis' eyes, I had warned those aboard. Carol had told everyone to strip off their weapons. She wanted Darlanis to be "careless". To think we were "terrified" of her. I recalled what Lorraine had written of her. I thought her a "proud woman"! Not the sort like Lorraine who would keep her "distance" until she was "sure" of our actual intentions! Darlanis is brave, and quite "courageous" under fire. She is "smart", but a "dumb blonde" in some ways. Not really a "compe- tent" commander I feel. Not a "Carol" or a "Lorraine", although I think she is perhaps "braver" in some ways than either of them! "I love you, Bob," Carol suddenly turned and said to me as Sarnian Lady closed the distance between us. I thought of all the other women I'd ever known, including those of this era too! None could ever compare to my brownette, I realized, not even the "Queens of Beauty" such as Darlanis and Maris now tied up below! "`One in a million'," I said, reaching out, kissing her. I saw men watching us from Sarnian Lady, Darlanis with a telescope to her eye, a young blonde haired woman standing there beside her that I knew must be Sharon Duval, now the "`Queen of Orgon'" and "Princess of the Empire of California", Darlanis' "successor" if anything ever was to happen to that magnificent "Amazon" of hers! "The `best'," Carol answered, suddenly turning in my arms, thrusting her rump right against my groin. "Just remember that." The hazel of my Dularnian Warlady's eyes burning hot into mine! "THE WARLADY OF DULARN" 2567 A.D.! By Jerome Bigge Chapter Sixteen "Everything O.K. below?" I asked, Carol climbing up on to the deck beside me, her hazel eyes glowing into mine. I wondered if she had "spoken" to Maris about "matters". I hoped she had not "queered" things with the Queen of Dularn with her jealousy. I suspected now that Maris' reactions might be a simple "side ef- fect" of her earlier "mind programming" by First Priestess Tais. "Programming" sexual feelings towards me in Maris might be a good way of making sure that Maris carried out the task "set" for her. "The Queen is a very `interesting' woman," Carol said to me. The tone of her voice leaving no doubt they had shared "secrets". "And I am now the `Warlady of Dularn'," Carol spoke with a smile, her hazel eyes glowing up into mine with a "delight" that left no "doubt" that Tais had been right all along about my amazing wife! I suspected however that Maris had been "mind programmed" so that she would select Carol. I felt however that it was an excellent idea! Carol was a "natural leader" as she had proved there on the estate, and she was "vicious" enough when "provoked" too to be just what Dularn now "needed" to "win" this war against the Empire of California. Dularn now had its own "Lorraine", I felt. "`A woman of many talents'," I smiled, remembering then what Tais had "said" there standing before my table at the "HUTCH". Carol was a woman who had led a "hard life" before she met me. She was in her way like "another" I had once known, "admired". I was at a loss for words, although I knew such had been "decided". Carol had been "picked" for her position as Lorraine apparently had been "picked" for hers. I wondered if the Priestesses of Lys really knew what they were "doing" here. "Snatching" people from one era and transporting them into another like pawns in some odd chess game. Like some "gods" of some strange "alien" mythology. I wondered if they had some means of "watching" us in "action"? "I was `worth marrying', wasn't I?" my wife teased me back, leaning against the railing. Her hazel eyes smoldered into mine. I was very "proud" of her, although I've always felt so about my wife, Carol being the sort of a woman any man might envy you for! I wanted to grab her, dance about the deck with her, but I knew this was neither the "time" or the "place" for such "antics" now! "Although I'm going to `miss' my sexy slave girl," I teased her, noting how that cut up deer hide "accented" that provocative body. Carol is not "beautiful" in the face, but she is the sort of a woman that even more "beautiful" women might well envy too! Her "skirt" was quite short, and the halter didn't "cover" much. I remembered standing there in the arena at Trella, a sword in my hand, Carol at my side, and "knowing" I had "found" my "Warlady"! That there was no other woman in the world I would have wanted to be married to just then. That Carol was truly the woman for me! I think, however, that I've always known that even at the start! Ever since that morning I looked at Carol lying there sunning herself and realized that she was truly the "right" woman for me! "You could keep me as a `slave girl'," my wife smiled back. "Although we'd have to `keep up appearances' I suppose," she teased. Sarnian Lady was rapidly closing the distance between us with every stroke of her oars. I think both of us wanted to "ig- nore" that "fact" as long as we could just then. Neither of us looked forward to what would happen even if we were "successful" in setting the trireme afire with lamp oil! The fire pump was now set up on deck, and covered by an old sail. I thought of Darlanis, of her "pride". Of what she had said there in Trella to Sanda Talen for "interfering" as she had in "certain matters"! My wife had suggested that she kill Darlanis to add to the confu- sion when we "fired" the trireme. I had refused to hear of it! Carol's archery is such that she can hit human sized targets on a regular basis at a distance of a hundred and thirty yards. At a distance of a hundred yards she can kill a dozen men in a minute! She can hit just as small a target with her bow as I could with my .357 Magnum revolver back in the Twentieth Century. She isn't as skillful a swordswoman as some, but I haven't seen very many who can equal her with the bow. She came in second in the Games here in Dularn for her skill at archery, and it was a close call! "There is also something to be `said' for the free woman," I smiled back, Carol standing there leaning up against the railing. She also looked a lot like the cover photo on one of her own nov- els. She had "posed" for that picture while wearing almost the same sort of a "costume" that she wore now, I remembered. I had taken that picture myself, one of some twenty four on the roll. Carol had worn a sword, a dagger, held a bow "ready" in her hand. Not her own "compound" of course, but just one we'd made for it. "Or in having both a `wife' and a `slave girl'," Carol said, her eyes glowing into mine. She had often played such "roles" in the past. Many of her chapters in her books are based upon such. The books are now again "available" thanks to the assistance of Queen Maris, Empress Darlanis, and Queen Lorraine of Trelandar! I know how "silly" they must seem now to everyone, but on the other hand, they sometimes seem pretty "real", especially to Car- ol and I, considering some of our own "experiences" in this era! "I suppose Kathi will be `useful' to do `housework'," I said then, changing the "subject" just a bit. The "topic" of our con- versation now standing by the rail on the other side of the ship. She didn't look too "delighted" at the way that things had gone! "I'm tired of kitchen work and dusting," Carol smiled back. Those had been some of her tasks on the estate among many others. "Housework" was not one of her favorite "chores" in the 20th Cen- tury, and I had no doubt that she hadn't enjoyed it here either! Especially since the "house" belonged to a woman whom she hated! "I wish we had a Priestess aboard," Lars Debolt said to me as he now joined us there on deck, his hand clasping that of the lovely Sandi, her "disheveled" appearance and the "look" of her now bruised and swollen mouth leaving no doubts she had been just very well used! His words for a moment I fear puzzling me until I realized that in this era the Priestesses of Lys married peo- ple! Sandi turning, biting the side of his neck with her teeth. Many women of this era "mark" a man when they make love, often in such a way that it is somewhat difficult to conceal the mark lat- er on. Leaving of course no doubt that you have just made love. "Maybe Queen Maris can `say a few words'," Carol suggested. "It is what we `feel' here that counts," Sandi said, press- ing her free hand to her left breast, which I saw had been bit! "It is time to get ready," I said, regarding Sarnian Lady. "A lovely day," I said as Carol stood beside me, the weapons strapped about her provocative half naked body seemingly fitting! I recalled the arena in Trella, the clash of steel, the memory of a fighting woman almost beyond compare. Of the roar of the crowd as she raised her sword high, "naked" but for the bit of leather. Carol is in her way I think now as much a "legend" as any other. "We are `together'," Carol answered, her eyes holding mine. The sun was high in the sky, hot on my bare shoulders as I stood by the fire pump, screwing the hose into the fitting, four of the strongest men aboard ready to pump the handles at my command now. The other end of the hose shoved down into a fifty gallon barrel of the lamp oil, a smoking torch there in my wife's hand "ready". The old cargo ship gently rolling in the swell, the sails hardly drawing now. Sarnian Lady, proud in her gilt and paint, like some great insect now crawling across the blue green waters to- wards us. The banners flying proudly as the trireme rapidly ap- proached. I wondered what Darlanis thought, knowing who she was now pursuing. I supposed she was delighted by the way things had apparently "turned out". She would be "freed" of Maris for good! "Got the Princess with her too," Lars spoke, looking through Maris' telescope at the rapidly approaching trireme. A cold chill of horror now going through me as I realized just "who" the Princess was! Sharon Duval, Lorraine's own beloved stepdaughter! And Lorraine had always been "touchy" about Sharon even back in the 20th Century, I recalled, remembering certain "incidents"!!! "Remember Lorraine's first book?" Carol said to me, her haz- el eyes burning hot into mine. I nodded, knowing that whatever we "did" to Darlanis, Sharon must not be harmed or Lorraine would spend the rest of her life "hunting us down" wherever we went! I felt suddenly "sick" at the thought, remembering Sharon from years ago, a lovely young girl, so utterly "different" from both her "lecher" of a father and her "dominatrix" of a step mother! "Nothing must happen to her," I said. Carol nodded. A catapult shot dropped into the sea almost "alongside" us, throwing up a burst of spray that splattered down over our decks. Darlanis had some good marksmen aboard that battleship of hers, I "mused" to myself! I did not think the Empress had bothered much to bring her own vessel to "battle readiness". We were but a ship stolen by some runaway slaves and that notorious Maris Marn of Dularn! We didn't even mount one catapult or ballistae! No doubt Darlanis wished to make this "conquest" of hers as "blood- less" as possible. "Taking" an old cargo ship "stolen" by some slaves with Maris Marn's "help" wouldn't be something the oarsmen aboard Sarnian Lady would "brag about" in the taverns of Trella! "The next one will hit," Lars Debolt warned, the first shot having been a "warning" to "heave to". Carol nodding, ordering the man at the wheel to start swinging us about up into the wind` the sails flapping uselessly overhead as Sarnian Lady approached. The fire pump had a maximum range of less than a hundred feet. We had to get close to Sarnian Lady. Awful close! Close enough to almost "see the `blue'" of Darlanis' eyes, I had warned those aboard. Carol had told everyone to strip off their weapons. She wanted Darlanis to be "careless". To think we were "terrified" of her. I recalled what Lorraine had written of her. I thought her a "proud woman"! Not the sort like Lorraine who would keep her "distance" until she was "sure" of our actual intentions! Darlanis is brave, and quite "courageous" under fire. She is "smart", but a "dumb blonde" in some ways. Not really a "compe- tent" commander I feel. Not a "Carol" or a "Lorraine", although I think she is perhaps "braver" in some ways than either of them! "I love you, Bob," Carol suddenly turned and said to me as Sarnian Lady closed the distance between us. I thought of all the other women I'd ever known, including those of this era too! None could ever compare to my brownette, I realized, not even the "Queens of Beauty" such as Darlanis and Maris now tied up below! "`One in a million'," I said, reaching out, kissing her. I saw men watching us from Sarnian Lady, Darlanis with a telescope to her eye, a young blonde haired woman standing there beside her that I knew must be Sharon Duval, now the "`Queen of Orgon'" and "Princess of the Empire of California", Darlanis' "successor" if anything ever was to happen to that magnificent "Amazon" of hers! "The `best'," Carol answered, suddenly turning in my arms, thrusting her rump right against my groin. "Just remember that." The hazel of my Dularnian Warlady's eyes burning hot into mine! |
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