"2570-11" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 8 - The Queen Of Time)THE QUEEN OF TIME 2570 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Eleven "I'll take the first watch," I said, seeing that our uni- corns were safely secured here inside the structure we were using as both a hiding place and if so necessary, a fortress. The sun now gone, only a beautiful sunset remaining, the Pacific visible there between the trees to the west, among the scattered ruins... "I don't think I'll get much sleep," Hope "grinned" back. "We have a hard ride ahead of us tomorrow," I replied. "It's not that `far' across the ruins," Hope retorted. "Perhaps not in `distance'," I answered, seeing her nod. "I think Karen `knew' something you're not telling me," she replied, the scattered rubble of the ruins of Los Angeles now stretched there out before us almost as far as the eye could see. "There could be `enemies' behind us right now," I answered. "And only Lys knows `what' ahead of us," she pointed out. "Tomorrow I `cross' the ruins to Trella," I said to her. "I suppose I might as well come along," Hope "grinned". I watched the stars coming out, Hope only a shadow there in the darkness huddled under her blanket. I had thought it best not to build a fire, fearing that the possible reflection of the light upon the interior of this structure might bring unwelcome "visitors" of the exact sort that I had no wish to now meet here! The thought going through my mind as it had before that no one I knew of had ever crossed these ruins from one side to the other! In my own time Keri and a few others had once ventured to enter a short distance, protected by a good portion of my own Royal Guard under the command of my famous captain June Colt, who was a Queen of Swords, one of the greatest swordswomen of the 26th Century... My women had reported having rocks thrown at them, seeing THINGS! June pulling back her forces, and shooting at the least movement! After that there had been no more "expeditions" into the ruins... I thought of the "adventures" we'd had ever since Tais' time "Gateway" had failed to transport us to the 26th Century, wonder- ing to myself if maybe this era might be my final resting place. That Tais would never be able to find us, and that I would live out the rest of my life here, "separated" from everyone I loved!! In the starlight I could see little of the ruins, only the darker and lighter shadows, which I tried to keep my imagination from inhabiting with monsters, well aware of the fact that those of this era, as well as mine, were a "superstitious" people much like those who had lived in the Middle Ages of Europe. The major difference between that time and this one being the Priestesses. The Priestesses at least something I could take pride in as being their "founder" in a way, despite whatever else had been done in my good name by Janet Rogers, whose actions I didn't agree with.* * The reader will note here that I have written this book telling about my own feelings and thoughts as they occurred to me then. I'm well aware of the FACT as I go over this work that I'm actu- ally Janet Rogers' "mother". That my child, Princess Ann of Tre- landar, was taken by SHE back in time to the year 1965, where she will be raised as a "foundling", where she will grow up to take a "training position" at Duval Computer. Where we will meet, where I will establish almost a "mother daughter" relationship with her that will eventually lead to the historical events of the past... I have of course "mixed emotions" over all this now, but I think it is best that I put down here just what I "thought" of things!! The fact that Janet Rogers was my own Princess Ann, my own baby, does not alter the fact that she did things I didn't approve of! The "thought" occurring to me here that no doubt Janet wouldn't have "approved" of some of the things that I've done in my life. "Your turn," I said to Hope, shaking her aware, wondering if I would get any sleep now knowing what we could be facing here... I'd flown over these ruins enough times that I pretty much knew the path we'd have to take through them, the thought going now through my mind that it might well be a "ride" like few others! Repeating to myself as I laid down huddled beneath my blanket the saying of Warrioresses that fear, like the enemy, must be fought! That the "companion" of the Warrioress is "steel", the blade she wears at her hip. The one companion who will never "betray" her! I suspect the last saying was dreamed up by a Warrioress who re- turned home from battle to find her husband in the arms of anoth- er woman, something that has often happened to women of my caste! I am usually thought of as being "fearless", a "Warrioress" who sword in hand would take on the EVIL ONE herself much as Dar- lanis once did against the "consort" of the EVIL ONE, the "being" called in THE BOOK OF LYS by the title "The Queen of Darkness". There even being a saying here in Trelandar that goes that if you must walk the valley of shadows, evil on either side of you, with Queen Lorraine there at your side you need not fear, for the man or woman has yet to be born who can face her with steel and live! The thought going through my mind that if we didn't "make it", it would no doubt be the greatest battle any two women ever fought!! Such a "thought" putting my soul at peace, perhaps because I am a Warrioress truly born to the caste, despite my birth in the 20th Century. A woman who sword in hand, has lived the "Caste Codes"! I thought of Gayle, my oldest Princess, of Ta-she-ra, who I thought highly of despite her racial ancestry that would forever prevent her from ever being considered a candidate for the throne of Trelandar. Of little Mara, whose "interest" was in books, in learning, not in the use of arms. Of Lady Lana, her mother, who had died in battle for a cause that few now remembered. I re- called Sa-she-ra, so brave, so courageous, who had once faced a Garth with only a bow and a sword. Who had died taking the "bul- let" that Princess Tara had meant for me. I recalled Darlanis, tall and golden, the Empress whom I served as Warlady. The one woman in this time that was truly my "sword sister". Then there was Jon, in whose arms I'd found love, who had given me Eric, my Prince, who had fertilized my ovum that would be my own Princess. People whose lived I had "touched", changed for better or worse. Then also Sanda Talen, my Prime Minister, the memory coming to me of the time that Lady Tirana and I had seen Sanda making love to her husband right there on her desk. Sanda who had kept secret the "fact" that she was the sister of the late Queen Paula of Trelandar, the Queen who had died at the point of Darlanis' sword back there in 2553. Who had seen in me a "Queen" who might give back to the people of Trelandar their country, a Queen who might be able to stand sword to sword against Darlanis herself... So many people who had "believed" in a woman from a time of myth. Who had seen in me "the second Janet Rogers" everyone hoped for! The woman who could lead all of Mankind to a second civilization! Then Tais had decided to "change things" a little herself. Teleporting Bob and Carol Simmons to this time after first "mind programming" the lovely brownette into a vicious fighting woman! Perhaps even playing her "games" with Queen Maris' own mind here. That climatic battle between the Athena and the North Star having resolved an "issue" that could have been "resolved" no other way. I wondered how harshly SHE someday would judge Tais for that? I recalled too seeing SHE there on Mars, feeling that terrible urge to UNITE with SHE even at the cost of one's own life, own being!! To "drown" one's self in the infinite GOODNESS that is SHE! SHE, the Mistress of the Universe, Mistress of Time and Space, who had once spoken to me there on Mars, giving me a "warning" to carry to Tais of what the future might well now hold for Mankind! The puzzling mysteries of time travel, of "alternative futures", which even the Priestesses of Lys themselves knew very little of! "SHE," I spoke, looking up at the stars, at the Universe, "I place my soul in Your hands, to `do' with as You see fit here..." It was, I thought to myself, the most "fitting" thing I might do. And with this I found "peace" and fell into a dreamless sleep... "Lorraine," Hope spoke softly, waking me, the sky now grow- ing light in the east, a few birds, braver than most, chirping. It is an "oddity" that these ruins are not the "abode" of animal life, that what plant life grows here is often "twisted" as if it is true that this part of Trelandar has indeed been "cursed" just as the Priestesses of Lys said that it was. On the other hand it is more likely that such matters are more the result of remaining pockets of radioactivity left over from The War of 2047. That is what I tell myself, taking pride in the fact that I am a woman of "science", not ignorant superstitions like the people I now rule. "We ride," I said, looking up into her eyes, seeing her nod. "And may Lys have mercy upon our souls," she answered back. "Oh Lys, `listen' to two Warrioresses who are riding into `danger'," I spoke, my sword like Hope's now lifted to the sky as the sun came up over the horizon, lighting the ruins there before us. "We ask not life, but your `mercy' upon our souls should we `fall'." It is an old prayer, perhaps dating back centuries, but yet one I felt "proper" given the situation that we were in now. We were to "do" what no one in the history of Trelandar had ever done, what everyone in the 26th Century said couldn't be "done"!! "Now I know how the `Light Brigade' felt," Hope smiled... "I don't think we have to worry about cannons," I said. "I think Karen made the `right' choice," Hope replied. "We'll `make it'," I promised, giving her a brave smile. "Or we'll stand together before Lys," Hope answered back. "We will not stand alone," I answered, seeing her nodding. THE QUEEN OF TIME 2570 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Eleven "I'll take the first watch," I said, seeing that our uni- corns were safely secured here inside the structure we were using as both a hiding place and if so necessary, a fortress. The sun now gone, only a beautiful sunset remaining, the Pacific visible there between the trees to the west, among the scattered ruins... "I don't think I'll get much sleep," Hope "grinned" back. "We have a hard ride ahead of us tomorrow," I replied. "It's not that `far' across the ruins," Hope retorted. "Perhaps not in `distance'," I answered, seeing her nod. "I think Karen `knew' something you're not telling me," she replied, the scattered rubble of the ruins of Los Angeles now stretched there out before us almost as far as the eye could see. "There could be `enemies' behind us right now," I answered. "And only Lys knows `what' ahead of us," she pointed out. "Tomorrow I `cross' the ruins to Trella," I said to her. "I suppose I might as well come along," Hope "grinned". I watched the stars coming out, Hope only a shadow there in the darkness huddled under her blanket. I had thought it best not to build a fire, fearing that the possible reflection of the light upon the interior of this structure might bring unwelcome "visitors" of the exact sort that I had no wish to now meet here! The thought going through my mind as it had before that no one I knew of had ever crossed these ruins from one side to the other! In my own time Keri and a few others had once ventured to enter a short distance, protected by a good portion of my own Royal Guard under the command of my famous captain June Colt, who was a Queen of Swords, one of the greatest swordswomen of the 26th Century... My women had reported having rocks thrown at them, seeing THINGS! June pulling back her forces, and shooting at the least movement! After that there had been no more "expeditions" into the ruins... I thought of the "adventures" we'd had ever since Tais' time "Gateway" had failed to transport us to the 26th Century, wonder- ing to myself if maybe this era might be my final resting place. That Tais would never be able to find us, and that I would live out the rest of my life here, "separated" from everyone I loved!! In the starlight I could see little of the ruins, only the darker and lighter shadows, which I tried to keep my imagination from inhabiting with monsters, well aware of the fact that those of this era, as well as mine, were a "superstitious" people much like those who had lived in the Middle Ages of Europe. The major difference between that time and this one being the Priestesses. The Priestesses at least something I could take pride in as being their "founder" in a way, despite whatever else had been done in my good name by Janet Rogers, whose actions I didn't agree with.* * The reader will note here that I have written this book telling about my own feelings and thoughts as they occurred to me then. I'm well aware of the FACT as I go over this work that I'm actu- ally Janet Rogers' "mother". That my child, Princess Ann of Tre- landar, was taken by SHE back in time to the year 1965, where she will be raised as a "foundling", where she will grow up to take a "training position" at Duval Computer. Where we will meet, where I will establish almost a "mother daughter" relationship with her that will eventually lead to the historical events of the past... I have of course "mixed emotions" over all this now, but I think it is best that I put down here just what I "thought" of things!! The fact that Janet Rogers was my own Princess Ann, my own baby, does not alter the fact that she did things I didn't approve of! The "thought" occurring to me here that no doubt Janet wouldn't have "approved" of some of the things that I've done in my life. "Your turn," I said to Hope, shaking her aware, wondering if I would get any sleep now knowing what we could be facing here... I'd flown over these ruins enough times that I pretty much knew the path we'd have to take through them, the thought going now through my mind that it might well be a "ride" like few others! Repeating to myself as I laid down huddled beneath my blanket the saying of Warrioresses that fear, like the enemy, must be fought! That the "companion" of the Warrioress is "steel", the blade she wears at her hip. The one companion who will never "betray" her! I suspect the last saying was dreamed up by a Warrioress who re- turned home from battle to find her husband in the arms of anoth- er woman, something that has often happened to women of my caste! I am usually thought of as being "fearless", a "Warrioress" who sword in hand would take on the EVIL ONE herself much as Dar- lanis once did against the "consort" of the EVIL ONE, the "being" called in THE BOOK OF LYS by the title "The Queen of Darkness". There even being a saying here in Trelandar that goes that if you must walk the valley of shadows, evil on either side of you, with Queen Lorraine there at your side you need not fear, for the man or woman has yet to be born who can face her with steel and live! The thought going through my mind that if we didn't "make it", it would no doubt be the greatest battle any two women ever fought!! Such a "thought" putting my soul at peace, perhaps because I am a Warrioress truly born to the caste, despite my birth in the 20th Century. A woman who sword in hand, has lived the "Caste Codes"! I thought of Gayle, my oldest Princess, of Ta-she-ra, who I thought highly of despite her racial ancestry that would forever prevent her from ever being considered a candidate for the throne of Trelandar. Of little Mara, whose "interest" was in books, in learning, not in the use of arms. Of Lady Lana, her mother, who had died in battle for a cause that few now remembered. I re- called Sa-she-ra, so brave, so courageous, who had once faced a Garth with only a bow and a sword. Who had died taking the "bul- let" that Princess Tara had meant for me. I recalled Darlanis, tall and golden, the Empress whom I served as Warlady. The one woman in this time that was truly my "sword sister". Then there was Jon, in whose arms I'd found love, who had given me Eric, my Prince, who had fertilized my ovum that would be my own Princess. People whose lived I had "touched", changed for better or worse. Then also Sanda Talen, my Prime Minister, the memory coming to me of the time that Lady Tirana and I had seen Sanda making love to her husband right there on her desk. Sanda who had kept secret the "fact" that she was the sister of the late Queen Paula of Trelandar, the Queen who had died at the point of Darlanis' sword back there in 2553. Who had seen in me a "Queen" who might give back to the people of Trelandar their country, a Queen who might be able to stand sword to sword against Darlanis herself... So many people who had "believed" in a woman from a time of myth. Who had seen in me "the second Janet Rogers" everyone hoped for! The woman who could lead all of Mankind to a second civilization! Then Tais had decided to "change things" a little herself. Teleporting Bob and Carol Simmons to this time after first "mind programming" the lovely brownette into a vicious fighting woman! Perhaps even playing her "games" with Queen Maris' own mind here. That climatic battle between the Athena and the North Star having resolved an "issue" that could have been "resolved" no other way. I wondered how harshly SHE someday would judge Tais for that? I recalled too seeing SHE there on Mars, feeling that terrible urge to UNITE with SHE even at the cost of one's own life, own being!! To "drown" one's self in the infinite GOODNESS that is SHE! SHE, the Mistress of the Universe, Mistress of Time and Space, who had once spoken to me there on Mars, giving me a "warning" to carry to Tais of what the future might well now hold for Mankind! The puzzling mysteries of time travel, of "alternative futures", which even the Priestesses of Lys themselves knew very little of! "SHE," I spoke, looking up at the stars, at the Universe, "I place my soul in Your hands, to `do' with as You see fit here..." It was, I thought to myself, the most "fitting" thing I might do. And with this I found "peace" and fell into a dreamless sleep... "Lorraine," Hope spoke softly, waking me, the sky now grow- ing light in the east, a few birds, braver than most, chirping. It is an "oddity" that these ruins are not the "abode" of animal life, that what plant life grows here is often "twisted" as if it is true that this part of Trelandar has indeed been "cursed" just as the Priestesses of Lys said that it was. On the other hand it is more likely that such matters are more the result of remaining pockets of radioactivity left over from The War of 2047. That is what I tell myself, taking pride in the fact that I am a woman of "science", not ignorant superstitions like the people I now rule. "We ride," I said, looking up into her eyes, seeing her nod. "And may Lys have mercy upon our souls," she answered back. "Oh Lys, `listen' to two Warrioresses who are riding into `danger'," I spoke, my sword like Hope's now lifted to the sky as the sun came up over the horizon, lighting the ruins there before us. "We ask not life, but your `mercy' upon our souls should we `fall'." It is an old prayer, perhaps dating back centuries, but yet one I felt "proper" given the situation that we were in now. We were to "do" what no one in the history of Trelandar had ever done, what everyone in the 26th Century said couldn't be "done"!! "Now I know how the `Light Brigade' felt," Hope smiled... "I don't think we have to worry about cannons," I said. "I think Karen made the `right' choice," Hope replied. "We'll `make it'," I promised, giving her a brave smile. "Or we'll stand together before Lys," Hope answered back. "We will not stand alone," I answered, seeing her nodding. |
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