"2569-37" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 7 - The Dularnian Queen)2569 A.D.! THE DULARNIAN QUEEN AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Thirty Seven "You are still too `ill' to travel," the girl protested, watching the Princess struggle out of the bed, the expression on the woman's burned face leaving no doubts of the agony she felt. "Help Me!" Tara snapped, the pain making her voice sharp! ***************************************************************** "`Proving' anything against Pharis would be `difficult'," I said. I was also concerned what my husband might think of it too as she was, after all, his own step mother, and my mother in law! "If she is the one `responsible'..." Darlanis answered back. "There will be `those' who will consider anything we `do' to be a `trick'," I answered, well aware of what many Dularnians now felt about the Imperial Empress. "It is something we are going to have been extremely `careful' about," I now continued on then. "Lorraine warned me about getting `involved' with Valeris," the Empress admitted, giving me a grin. "I should have followed her `advice' instead of doing what I did." I nodded and smiled. "Perhaps you and I can learn to live in peace," I laughed. "You've got more `guts' than what I thought," she said. "Why's that?" I asked, watching the land going by below. "You `knew' what we faced there in your palace," she said. "At least it's `gone' now," I answered, giving her a smile. "Another twenty minutes should see us over Arsana," Darlanis "smiled", the Dularnian Strait now visible ahead of the airplane. ***************************************************************** "You are the woman that I saw there on the dock at Sana," my husband spoke as Tais escorted the old woman into the royal cham- bers. Tais swiftly explaining then to them that Tara yet lived! "My daughter is `there' with `her'," the old woman answered. Tais nodding, her eyes like beautiful gems meeting theirs then... The spaceship the Priestesses had used earlier was under repair. She had considered having herself teleported to where Tara laid, but wondered if it would be "wise" considering everything here... "That would be about fifty miles from here," Tori now spoke as she stood there beside my husband, the light of the lamps mak- ing her chain mail glisten with every movement she now made. "With the `roads' as they are now, it will be nightfall before we can get there by land," the captain of my guardswoman explained. "A ship will be `faster'," my husband smiled back in reply. Unicorns for a short period of time could travel faster than a ship, but a ship sailed on hour after hour at the same speed too! "What about Pharis?" Tori asked as she stood there, her back up against the door so that none could enter. The heavy planking and steel armor plate in the door enough to conceal their speech, although the guardswomen outside could be trusted completely as far as Tori knew. On the other hand if Tara could corrupt some- one like Pharis, how was she to know if even her women were safe? "If we can get our hands on Tara...," my husband answered. The Princess was a criminal "wanted" by half a dozen nations now! A judge and jury could decide whether or not "demonic possession" was really an "excuse" for all the "crimes" that she'd committed! "I've sent some more of my women to keep an eye on Pharis," Tori replied with a smile, the Queen of the Wyomings having gone to address a session of the Dularnian Senate a while before. "I pray that we aren't making a `mistake' here..." she added then... Well aware of "what" could happen if this all proved a "mistake"! ***************************************************************** "This will `do'," Tara hissed, her teeth gritted against the agony of movement. Much of the Princess' lovely long thick black hair now burned away, her scalp half covered with water blisters. Much of her burns had been second degree, not third degree, but she had no doubt that she would be scarred, her face now "marked" where the flames had seared it in those awful seconds before she'd thrown herself into the sea to escape that terrible agony!! The "demoness" having "abandoned" her then too for Queen Valeris. The QUEEN OF DARKNESS being well aware that Tara was now useless! "We are not `far'," the girl protested, aware of that fact. "It will `do'," Tara gasped, easing herself down to the cold ground. "If `they' come, we will `know'," the Princess spoke... Tara "wondering" to herself if it really "mattered" anymore now. ***************************************************************** "Arsana," I smiled, Darlanis nodding, the clouds just over us as we flew at a height of perhaps almost a mile up in the sky. "Your's is the more difficult," Darlanis smiled back at me. "I keep thinking of what happened to `Kathis'," I replied. "I always `believed' Tulis was my mother," Darlanis said. "I think she `loved' you even so," I told her in reply. "At the `end' there was no doubt," Darlanis answered. "You would have made Dularn a good Queen," I said. "You made Dularn a `better' one," she laughed back. ***************************************************************** "You should know," Tori suddenly said to my husband as he nodded, dismissing the rapidly breathing young guardswoman, "That Pharis has made a speech before the Senate practically denouncing your wife as now being `incompetent' to be the Queen of Dularn." Tori going on to explain that Pharis was stirring up the people, a large crowd of the citizens of Arsana having gathered to hear. "It's `hard' to `believe'," Prince Paul Blue Sky answered. "In Maris' absence it is your decision," Tori answered him. "What about my father, Queen Freydis, the Nevada?" he asked. "They went with Pharis to the Senate building," she replied. "The Dularnian Constitution protects free speech," he said. Paul had often "wondered" about that, but it was part of the laws of Dularn. What "separated" us from societies like the Empire... "I am skilled with the crossbow," Tori said softly in reply. Paul looked at her in horror, well aware of what she had "meant"! "Killing Pharis won't `solve' our problems," he "snapped"!! "What `do' you wish me to `do' then!" she quickly retorted! "Arsana," I smiled at Darlanis, the city visible before us. Droplets of a cold rain now splattering there on the windshield. The airplane's heater making the interior like a warm summer day. Darlanis' golden mesh setting off her perfection in a way that nothing else could have done. No doubt a good part of her power is due to the fact that she is the most beautiful woman of all time. A "legend" in her way just as Lorraine is with a sword... "We made good time," the Empress smiled back in reply then. "You are more `reasonable' about things than I thought," I said to her then, Darlanis and I having discussed much during our flight from Sarn to Arsana. "Perhaps it is possible that `peace' can exist between the Dularnian Federation and your `Empire'..." "Darl Jord was responsible for much of our `troubles'," she answered. "The `rest' was probably just `bad advice' on both our parts," she added, reaching over and clasping my hand in hers... ***************************************************************** A soft knock on the door interrupted their conversation just then, Tori going to the door, opening it, admitting my Physician. The guardswomen on duty no doubt well aware by now of "what" was going on now in the city, of the mob gathering outside the Senate building. Men and women who "called" for a new queen for Dularn! "I'm `guessing' here, but I think your father is `drugged'," she spoke softly to my husband, having been observing him secret- ly for some time now. Captain Tori Wells standing there in her gleaming armor, her helmet, her weapons leaving no doubts as to her caste. In her mind no "doubts" as what she might have to do. "And..." my husband breathed, looking into her dark eyes. The old woman and the First Priestess now sitting there watching. "I will `do' what I can," Tori spoke then, taking her leave, well aware that her guardswomen would be powerless against a mob, many of the citizens of Arsana being as well armed as they were. Dularn's policies of universal armament perhaps dooming them all. "If only Maris was `here'," Paul breathed, looking out the window at the gray sky to the south. A soft "buzzing" sound now coming to his ears! COULD IT BE!? IT WAS BLACK LADY RETURNING! "I'm going to take a swing over the city," Darlanis smiled. "Give the people below a bit of a `thrill'?" I teased her. It was still spoken of the time that Sela Dai, the Crown Princess of Talon, had flown her tarl low over the city even to in between the buildings in spots to avoid the fire of our own crossbowmen. "I think I can understand `how' Lorraine sometimes feels," she answered. "The possession of `powers' no other has now..." "If `things' had been `different', you could have been the Queen of Dularn," I smiled back. I wondered how the people would have "accepted" her. She was "popular" with many of them, people who saw her as being a sort of "She-Ra", not as what she "is". "Queen Tulis could have `ordered' it," I said, seeing her "nod". "I think it is `better' this way," she said, giving me a smile in reply. "Otherwise I fear what I might have `become'..." "The airplane is flying over the city," my husband said, the black metal "bird" now coming down lower over the Royal Palace. Salmona Tora there at his side, her dark eyes then meeting his. 2569 A.D.! THE DULARNIAN QUEEN AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Thirty Seven "You are still too `ill' to travel," the girl protested, watching the Princess struggle out of the bed, the expression on the woman's burned face leaving no doubts of the agony she felt. "Help Me!" Tara snapped, the pain making her voice sharp! ***************************************************************** "`Proving' anything against Pharis would be `difficult'," I said. I was also concerned what my husband might think of it too as she was, after all, his own step mother, and my mother in law! "If she is the one `responsible'..." Darlanis answered back. "There will be `those' who will consider anything we `do' to be a `trick'," I answered, well aware of what many Dularnians now felt about the Imperial Empress. "It is something we are going to have been extremely `careful' about," I now continued on then. "Lorraine warned me about getting `involved' with Valeris," the Empress admitted, giving me a grin. "I should have followed her `advice' instead of doing what I did." I nodded and smiled. "Perhaps you and I can learn to live in peace," I laughed. "You've got more `guts' than what I thought," she said. "Why's that?" I asked, watching the land going by below. "You `knew' what we faced there in your palace," she said. "At least it's `gone' now," I answered, giving her a smile. "Another twenty minutes should see us over Arsana," Darlanis "smiled", the Dularnian Strait now visible ahead of the airplane. ***************************************************************** "You are the woman that I saw there on the dock at Sana," my husband spoke as Tais escorted the old woman into the royal cham- bers. Tais swiftly explaining then to them that Tara yet lived! "My daughter is `there' with `her'," the old woman answered. Tais nodding, her eyes like beautiful gems meeting theirs then... The spaceship the Priestesses had used earlier was under repair. She had considered having herself teleported to where Tara laid, but wondered if it would be "wise" considering everything here... "That would be about fifty miles from here," Tori now spoke as she stood there beside my husband, the light of the lamps mak- ing her chain mail glisten with every movement she now made. "With the `roads' as they are now, it will be nightfall before we can get there by land," the captain of my guardswoman explained. "A ship will be `faster'," my husband smiled back in reply. Unicorns for a short period of time could travel faster than a ship, but a ship sailed on hour after hour at the same speed too! "What about Pharis?" Tori asked as she stood there, her back up against the door so that none could enter. The heavy planking and steel armor plate in the door enough to conceal their speech, although the guardswomen outside could be trusted completely as far as Tori knew. On the other hand if Tara could corrupt some- one like Pharis, how was she to know if even her women were safe? "If we can get our hands on Tara...," my husband answered. The Princess was a criminal "wanted" by half a dozen nations now! A judge and jury could decide whether or not "demonic possession" was really an "excuse" for all the "crimes" that she'd committed! "I've sent some more of my women to keep an eye on Pharis," Tori replied with a smile, the Queen of the Wyomings having gone to address a session of the Dularnian Senate a while before. "I pray that we aren't making a `mistake' here..." she added then... Well aware of "what" could happen if this all proved a "mistake"! ***************************************************************** "This will `do'," Tara hissed, her teeth gritted against the agony of movement. Much of the Princess' lovely long thick black hair now burned away, her scalp half covered with water blisters. Much of her burns had been second degree, not third degree, but she had no doubt that she would be scarred, her face now "marked" where the flames had seared it in those awful seconds before she'd thrown herself into the sea to escape that terrible agony!! The "demoness" having "abandoned" her then too for Queen Valeris. The QUEEN OF DARKNESS being well aware that Tara was now useless! "We are not `far'," the girl protested, aware of that fact. "It will `do'," Tara gasped, easing herself down to the cold ground. "If `they' come, we will `know'," the Princess spoke... Tara "wondering" to herself if it really "mattered" anymore now. ***************************************************************** "Arsana," I smiled, Darlanis nodding, the clouds just over us as we flew at a height of perhaps almost a mile up in the sky. "Your's is the more difficult," Darlanis smiled back at me. "I keep thinking of what happened to `Kathis'," I replied. "I always `believed' Tulis was my mother," Darlanis said. "I think she `loved' you even so," I told her in reply. "At the `end' there was no doubt," Darlanis answered. "You would have made Dularn a good Queen," I said. "You made Dularn a `better' one," she laughed back. ***************************************************************** "You should know," Tori suddenly said to my husband as he nodded, dismissing the rapidly breathing young guardswoman, "That Pharis has made a speech before the Senate practically denouncing your wife as now being `incompetent' to be the Queen of Dularn." Tori going on to explain that Pharis was stirring up the people, a large crowd of the citizens of Arsana having gathered to hear. "It's `hard' to `believe'," Prince Paul Blue Sky answered. "In Maris' absence it is your decision," Tori answered him. "What about my father, Queen Freydis, the Nevada?" he asked. "They went with Pharis to the Senate building," she replied. "The Dularnian Constitution protects free speech," he said. Paul had often "wondered" about that, but it was part of the laws of Dularn. What "separated" us from societies like the Empire... "I am skilled with the crossbow," Tori said softly in reply. Paul looked at her in horror, well aware of what she had "meant"! "Killing Pharis won't `solve' our problems," he "snapped"!! "What `do' you wish me to `do' then!" she quickly retorted! "Arsana," I smiled at Darlanis, the city visible before us. Droplets of a cold rain now splattering there on the windshield. The airplane's heater making the interior like a warm summer day. Darlanis' golden mesh setting off her perfection in a way that nothing else could have done. No doubt a good part of her power is due to the fact that she is the most beautiful woman of all time. A "legend" in her way just as Lorraine is with a sword... "We made good time," the Empress smiled back in reply then. "You are more `reasonable' about things than I thought," I said to her then, Darlanis and I having discussed much during our flight from Sarn to Arsana. "Perhaps it is possible that `peace' can exist between the Dularnian Federation and your `Empire'..." "Darl Jord was responsible for much of our `troubles'," she answered. "The `rest' was probably just `bad advice' on both our parts," she added, reaching over and clasping my hand in hers... ***************************************************************** A soft knock on the door interrupted their conversation just then, Tori going to the door, opening it, admitting my Physician. The guardswomen on duty no doubt well aware by now of "what" was going on now in the city, of the mob gathering outside the Senate building. Men and women who "called" for a new queen for Dularn! "I'm `guessing' here, but I think your father is `drugged'," she spoke softly to my husband, having been observing him secret- ly for some time now. Captain Tori Wells standing there in her gleaming armor, her helmet, her weapons leaving no doubts as to her caste. In her mind no "doubts" as what she might have to do. "And..." my husband breathed, looking into her dark eyes. The old woman and the First Priestess now sitting there watching. "I will `do' what I can," Tori spoke then, taking her leave, well aware that her guardswomen would be powerless against a mob, many of the citizens of Arsana being as well armed as they were. Dularn's policies of universal armament perhaps dooming them all. "If only Maris was `here'," Paul breathed, looking out the window at the gray sky to the south. A soft "buzzing" sound now coming to his ears! COULD IT BE!? IT WAS BLACK LADY RETURNING! "I'm going to take a swing over the city," Darlanis smiled. "Give the people below a bit of a `thrill'?" I teased her. It was still spoken of the time that Sela Dai, the Crown Princess of Talon, had flown her tarl low over the city even to in between the buildings in spots to avoid the fire of our own crossbowmen. "I think I can understand `how' Lorraine sometimes feels," she answered. "The possession of `powers' no other has now..." "If `things' had been `different', you could have been the Queen of Dularn," I smiled back. I wondered how the people would have "accepted" her. She was "popular" with many of them, people who saw her as being a sort of "She-Ra", not as what she "is". "Queen Tulis could have `ordered' it," I said, seeing her "nod". "I think it is `better' this way," she said, giving me a smile in reply. "Otherwise I fear what I might have `become'..." "The airplane is flying over the city," my husband said, the black metal "bird" now coming down lower over the Royal Palace. Salmona Tora there at his side, her dark eyes then meeting his. |
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