"FREE-40" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 9 - The Freedom Fighters Of Trelandar)Freedom Fighters of Trelandar A Tale of Adventure in the Second Dark Age Book Nine of the Warlady Series By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Forty "I don't know..." Lana protested as we stood together at a "dockside" street corner in Trella. Our disguises such that none would have recognized us here. Lana did make a pretty good look- ing blonde, especially with her eyebrows "bleached" so that none might suspect her own true "color". Before us the headquarters of the Prostitute Guild for the Empire of California, run by Dar- lanis' own "favorite", Miss Lara Warsan, aka "The Queen of Sex". It was early spring, the year now 2553, time to "hatch" my plot. To put into action the ideas I'd developed here over the winter. "Lara's `Trelandarian', she's heard of me," I pointed out. "She's just a `pet' of Darlanis'!" Lady Lana Daris retorted. "Dogs `turn' on their masters," I smiled back at Lana. Carl smiling at a prostitute, who gave him a big warm grin right back. These were all "Guild" prostitutes, their distinctive neck bands leaving no doubt. Lara's women, Darlanis' "eyes and ears" here. They also all bore arms, the common short sword of Trelandarians, their loyalty to their mistress something that others had noted. "I feel as if we're walking into Hell to `confront' the Evil One," Lana answered, her hazel eyes meeting mine through the mesh of her veil. Her beautiful gold hair glistening in the sunlight. Like me she'd worn a broad brimmed hat to shade her from the sun, her black silk blouse and matching skirt leaving no doubts here. I wore quite similar attire, posing here now as an Imperial Lady. My milk heavy breasts held securely by a nursing halter so that they would retain their shape after little Sarah was weaned here. "It is the desire of any true Warrioress to die with a sword in her hand," I pointed out as we walked up to the entrance then. This part of Trella, which is a beautiful city, not one where any women of our social class usually ventured without armed escort. The more "desirable" sections being further in towards the east. The city being built so that the dockside area is the lowest part of it, with the better sections higher up with the palace beyond. "I think sometimes you are more the `Warrioress' than I am," Lana retorted in a soft low voice as we came now to the entrance. It being my intention to speak to Lara "privately", explain a few things to her in terms that I suspected a woman like her would be quite capable of understanding... Especially when "delivered" by someone with the "reputation" that I'd earned back in 2550 here.* * It was commonly believed then that I was a "terrorist". (Sanda) "A man could die happy here," Carl grinned at me as we went inside, the place being "filled" with women of Lara's Prostitute Guild, all in their distinctive and provocatively brief attire... Those who Lara admitted into her organization being of a slightly "better" class than the common street walkers that one once saw. The Guild having done much to raise the quality of "services"... "It's `all' any of them ever think about..." Lana whispered, her eyes meeting mine through our veils as we stood together, the thought behind her words making me "giggle" a bit to myself here. Lana might have been a true "Lady", but she could tell them too! "What is it that you `wish', ladies?" a woman asked, walking up to us, her appearance, attire leaving no doubts that she was in charge of things here. I knew that one could hire such women. Such sometimes being done by men in need of an attractive female. "Is Lara here?" I asked, speaking from behind my mesh veil. "And `who' wishes to see her?" the woman retorted quickly. "I am a Lady of Trelandar," I spoke, seeing the woman nod. "I seldom receive so `august' a visitor," Lara smiled as she closed the door behind me, the head of the Prostitute Guild tak- ing my hand in hers. Many of my class would not have cared to have touched flesh with a woman like her, but I didn't "object". The short red leather skirt and green silken half blouse leaving few doubts that this was a woman well aware of being fully female in a way that few are. She was armed, sword and dagger, and had a reputation of being quite competent with such arms, I knew too. Her reddish brown hair and gray blue eyes, sensual mouth leaving no doubts that this was a woman that any red blooded man might so desire. Whether she was as "capable" as her reputation "implied" was something that I supposed added much to the legend of "Lara"! She could read and write too, I noted, looking about her office. I suspected that a lot of people had underestimated this woman... "We met once before," I spoke, raising my veil, wondering if she would recognize me with my hair bleached blonde as it so was. "It was when you were with Darlanis and I paid a visit as Warlady of Trelandar," I added, seeing Lara's eyes go "wide" at the news! "You're Lady Sanda, Paula's sister!" Lara breathed, bowing a bit, obviously well "impressed" here by my own true identity now. I could tell that she had little if any understanding of the uses of perfume, as she smelled like a lilac brush does in the spring! "I thought it was time that we met," I smiled back at Lara. "I know what you must think of me," Lara spoke softly back, perhaps more intelligent than I'd given her credit for here now.. "Darlanis didn't exactly give you a `choice', did she?" I smiled back at her, well aware from my own sources of information here now how things had been. Whether or not Darlanis had played Lara for a "patsy" I didn't know, but it was obvious that things had "worked" in such a way that Lara owed everything to Darlanis. In any case Lara's organization was a useful "tool" to Darlanis, one that I felt might also be used against Darlanis if I was able to "convince" the lovely Miss Warsan here that serving me was not only the wisest choice, but the only "choice" that she had here!! "I would have ended up a slave girl but for her," Lara said, now guiding me to a chair and then taking one for herself here. I was well aware of what the charges had been, and considered it in the realm of possibility that it had all been a plot by Darla- nis to get Lara to throw her support behind the Empire... One of my sister's "failings" having been that she saw the common people of Trelandar in terms all too "common" among the old aristocracy. And to her a woman like Lara would have been beneath any notice.* * A month or so after Darlanis' invasion of Trelandar Lara was arrested in Trella for "conspiracy against the crown", and after an amount of "mistreatment" by Imperial troopers, was brought be- fore Darlanis nude and in heavy chains. Princess Tara urged that the Trelandarian be sentenced to beheading, but Darlanis refused, saying that the charges against Lara were "trumped up" by someone eager to get rid of the famous prostitute and her attempts to or- ganize the prostitutes of Trella into a guild for their own pro- tection from the various sorts of low lifes who preyed upon them. Speaking as an attorney at law I would say that there is consid- erable circumstantial evidence that it was all a plot by Darlanis to put Lara into a frame of mind where she would do anything that Darlanis wanted. Darlanis' own writings indicate otherwise, but I should note that in her youth Darlanis was not a woman who let anything ever stand in the way of her own ambitions... (Sanda) "People tend to `underestimate' her," I smiled back at Lara. Darlanis was so "jaw dropping beautiful" as I'd once heard some- one saying of her that it was all too easy to forget that she was also a highly intelligent woman, one with a true first rate mind! "I know what you must feel about her, but I believe that she is sincere when she says that she wants a better life for all..." Lara answered, it being obvious that to Lara Darlanis could do no wrong. Lara had been a simple Peasant girl who had run away from home as a teenage girl, and she'd come to Trella seeking a better life than what she might hope for as some common Peasant's wife. She'd been some rich man's "plaything" for a while before he grew tired of her, this being where Lara learned to read and write, I might note here. She'd then become a prostitute, and better edu- cated than most, saw too that life didn't have to be as it was... "Ever consider what would happen to you and your `Guild' if someday the people of Trelandar rise up and kick Darlanis `out'?" I asked, wishing to get to the "crux" of the matter with her now. "You probably could save yourself, but `those' who followed you?" It being common knowledge that the Guild existed only because of Darlanis' support of it, the power of her military to protect it. "It... It can't happen!" Lara "exclaimed", the very tone of her voice leaving no doubts that my question had struck pay dirt! Lara didn't know me personally, but what she did know was that I was considered by the Empire the most dangerous "terrorist" ever! And she was also well aware that Darlanis had failed with Talon. That the Empress was not as "invincible" as she'd claimed to be! "I `beat' Darlanis once, and I can do it again," I answered, my eyes holding hers. The "terror" showing now in their depths! "And when that `day' comes, the people of Trelandar are going to demand `justice'," I added... Seeing Lara nodding, no doubt well aware too of how such "justice" might be meted out to "traitors"! "For some more lucky than the others, the `collar', while others will kick out their lives at the end of a rope," I smiled to her. "A hanged woman `dirties' herself," I added, rubbing it in a bit. The horror showing in Lara's gray blue eyes leaving no doubts... "What do you want of me?" Lara asked, her voice a whisper! "Are you a Trelandarian or an Imperial?" I smiled in reply. "I can't go against Darlanis!" Lara pleaded, terrified here. "In this world some are `winners', and some are `losers'," I smiled back. "Those of us who are smart play our cards right..." Lara's obvious terror now making me smile to myself at the sight. "And don't think for a moment that Darlanis can save you from my organization," I "added", well aware that Lara might possibly go "running" to Darlanis like a little girl to her mommy after this. "And even if she can `protect' you, not even her Legions can ever protect your `sisters' in the `Guild' from my forces," I grinned. "I will `do' whatever you ask, Lady Sanda," Lara "breathed", leaving no doubts in my mind now that I'd "won" this "game" here. It had been all a "bluff" on my part, but Lara hadn't known that! "For a `Free Trelandar'," I spoke, standing, drawing my long slim sword, raising it. Lara doing the same with her own then.* * It may be noted that Lara "claimed" that she played no "role" in these matters until Lorraine arrived on the scene. The truth of course is quite different, but Lara admired Darlanis, and it's quite possible that she didn't want to lose her friendship here. I did terrify Lara, but her "loyalities" were towards Darlanis... Freedom Fighters of Trelandar A Tale of Adventure in the Second Dark Age Book Nine of the Warlady Series By Jerome B. Bigge Chapter Forty "I don't know..." Lana protested as we stood together at a "dockside" street corner in Trella. Our disguises such that none would have recognized us here. Lana did make a pretty good look- ing blonde, especially with her eyebrows "bleached" so that none might suspect her own true "color". Before us the headquarters of the Prostitute Guild for the Empire of California, run by Dar- lanis' own "favorite", Miss Lara Warsan, aka "The Queen of Sex". It was early spring, the year now 2553, time to "hatch" my plot. To put into action the ideas I'd developed here over the winter. "Lara's `Trelandarian', she's heard of me," I pointed out. "She's just a `pet' of Darlanis'!" Lady Lana Daris retorted. "Dogs `turn' on their masters," I smiled back at Lana. Carl smiling at a prostitute, who gave him a big warm grin right back. These were all "Guild" prostitutes, their distinctive neck bands leaving no doubt. Lara's women, Darlanis' "eyes and ears" here. They also all bore arms, the common short sword of Trelandarians, their loyalty to their mistress something that others had noted. "I feel as if we're walking into Hell to `confront' the Evil One," Lana answered, her hazel eyes meeting mine through the mesh of her veil. Her beautiful gold hair glistening in the sunlight. Like me she'd worn a broad brimmed hat to shade her from the sun, her black silk blouse and matching skirt leaving no doubts here. I wore quite similar attire, posing here now as an Imperial Lady. My milk heavy breasts held securely by a nursing halter so that they would retain their shape after little Sarah was weaned here. "It is the desire of any true Warrioress to die with a sword in her hand," I pointed out as we walked up to the entrance then. This part of Trella, which is a beautiful city, not one where any women of our social class usually ventured without armed escort. The more "desirable" sections being further in towards the east. The city being built so that the dockside area is the lowest part of it, with the better sections higher up with the palace beyond. "I think sometimes you are more the `Warrioress' than I am," Lana retorted in a soft low voice as we came now to the entrance. It being my intention to speak to Lara "privately", explain a few things to her in terms that I suspected a woman like her would be quite capable of understanding... Especially when "delivered" by someone with the "reputation" that I'd earned back in 2550 here.* * It was commonly believed then that I was a "terrorist". (Sanda) "A man could die happy here," Carl grinned at me as we went inside, the place being "filled" with women of Lara's Prostitute Guild, all in their distinctive and provocatively brief attire... Those who Lara admitted into her organization being of a slightly "better" class than the common street walkers that one once saw. The Guild having done much to raise the quality of "services"... "It's `all' any of them ever think about..." Lana whispered, her eyes meeting mine through our veils as we stood together, the thought behind her words making me "giggle" a bit to myself here. Lana might have been a true "Lady", but she could tell them too! "What is it that you `wish', ladies?" a woman asked, walking up to us, her appearance, attire leaving no doubts that she was in charge of things here. I knew that one could hire such women. Such sometimes being done by men in need of an attractive female. "Is Lara here?" I asked, speaking from behind my mesh veil. "And `who' wishes to see her?" the woman retorted quickly. "I am a Lady of Trelandar," I spoke, seeing the woman nod. "I seldom receive so `august' a visitor," Lara smiled as she closed the door behind me, the head of the Prostitute Guild tak- ing my hand in hers. Many of my class would not have cared to have touched flesh with a woman like her, but I didn't "object". The short red leather skirt and green silken half blouse leaving few doubts that this was a woman well aware of being fully female in a way that few are. She was armed, sword and dagger, and had a reputation of being quite competent with such arms, I knew too. Her reddish brown hair and gray blue eyes, sensual mouth leaving no doubts that this was a woman that any red blooded man might so desire. Whether she was as "capable" as her reputation "implied" was something that I supposed added much to the legend of "Lara"! She could read and write too, I noted, looking about her office. I suspected that a lot of people had underestimated this woman... "We met once before," I spoke, raising my veil, wondering if she would recognize me with my hair bleached blonde as it so was. "It was when you were with Darlanis and I paid a visit as Warlady of Trelandar," I added, seeing Lara's eyes go "wide" at the news! "You're Lady Sanda, Paula's sister!" Lara breathed, bowing a bit, obviously well "impressed" here by my own true identity now. I could tell that she had little if any understanding of the uses of perfume, as she smelled like a lilac brush does in the spring! "I thought it was time that we met," I smiled back at Lara. "I know what you must think of me," Lara spoke softly back, perhaps more intelligent than I'd given her credit for here now.. "Darlanis didn't exactly give you a `choice', did she?" I smiled back at her, well aware from my own sources of information here now how things had been. Whether or not Darlanis had played Lara for a "patsy" I didn't know, but it was obvious that things had "worked" in such a way that Lara owed everything to Darlanis. In any case Lara's organization was a useful "tool" to Darlanis, one that I felt might also be used against Darlanis if I was able to "convince" the lovely Miss Warsan here that serving me was not only the wisest choice, but the only "choice" that she had here!! "I would have ended up a slave girl but for her," Lara said, now guiding me to a chair and then taking one for herself here. I was well aware of what the charges had been, and considered it in the realm of possibility that it had all been a plot by Darla- nis to get Lara to throw her support behind the Empire... One of my sister's "failings" having been that she saw the common people of Trelandar in terms all too "common" among the old aristocracy. And to her a woman like Lara would have been beneath any notice.* * A month or so after Darlanis' invasion of Trelandar Lara was arrested in Trella for "conspiracy against the crown", and after an amount of "mistreatment" by Imperial troopers, was brought be- fore Darlanis nude and in heavy chains. Princess Tara urged that the Trelandarian be sentenced to beheading, but Darlanis refused, saying that the charges against Lara were "trumped up" by someone eager to get rid of the famous prostitute and her attempts to or- ganize the prostitutes of Trella into a guild for their own pro- tection from the various sorts of low lifes who preyed upon them. Speaking as an attorney at law I would say that there is consid- erable circumstantial evidence that it was all a plot by Darlanis to put Lara into a frame of mind where she would do anything that Darlanis wanted. Darlanis' own writings indicate otherwise, but I should note that in her youth Darlanis was not a woman who let anything ever stand in the way of her own ambitions... (Sanda) "People tend to `underestimate' her," I smiled back at Lara. Darlanis was so "jaw dropping beautiful" as I'd once heard some- one saying of her that it was all too easy to forget that she was also a highly intelligent woman, one with a true first rate mind! "I know what you must feel about her, but I believe that she is sincere when she says that she wants a better life for all..." Lara answered, it being obvious that to Lara Darlanis could do no wrong. Lara had been a simple Peasant girl who had run away from home as a teenage girl, and she'd come to Trella seeking a better life than what she might hope for as some common Peasant's wife. She'd been some rich man's "plaything" for a while before he grew tired of her, this being where Lara learned to read and write, I might note here. She'd then become a prostitute, and better edu- cated than most, saw too that life didn't have to be as it was... "Ever consider what would happen to you and your `Guild' if someday the people of Trelandar rise up and kick Darlanis `out'?" I asked, wishing to get to the "crux" of the matter with her now. "You probably could save yourself, but `those' who followed you?" It being common knowledge that the Guild existed only because of Darlanis' support of it, the power of her military to protect it. "It... It can't happen!" Lara "exclaimed", the very tone of her voice leaving no doubts that my question had struck pay dirt! Lara didn't know me personally, but what she did know was that I was considered by the Empire the most dangerous "terrorist" ever! And she was also well aware that Darlanis had failed with Talon. That the Empress was not as "invincible" as she'd claimed to be! "I `beat' Darlanis once, and I can do it again," I answered, my eyes holding hers. The "terror" showing now in their depths! "And when that `day' comes, the people of Trelandar are going to demand `justice'," I added... Seeing Lara nodding, no doubt well aware too of how such "justice" might be meted out to "traitors"! "For some more lucky than the others, the `collar', while others will kick out their lives at the end of a rope," I smiled to her. "A hanged woman `dirties' herself," I added, rubbing it in a bit. The horror showing in Lara's gray blue eyes leaving no doubts... "What do you want of me?" Lara asked, her voice a whisper! "Are you a Trelandarian or an Imperial?" I smiled in reply. "I can't go against Darlanis!" Lara pleaded, terrified here. "In this world some are `winners', and some are `losers'," I smiled back. "Those of us who are smart play our cards right..." Lara's obvious terror now making me smile to myself at the sight. "And don't think for a moment that Darlanis can save you from my organization," I "added", well aware that Lara might possibly go "running" to Darlanis like a little girl to her mommy after this. "And even if she can `protect' you, not even her Legions can ever protect your `sisters' in the `Guild' from my forces," I grinned. "I will `do' whatever you ask, Lady Sanda," Lara "breathed", leaving no doubts in my mind now that I'd "won" this "game" here. It had been all a "bluff" on my part, but Lara hadn't known that! "For a `Free Trelandar'," I spoke, standing, drawing my long slim sword, raising it. Lara doing the same with her own then.* * It may be noted that Lara "claimed" that she played no "role" in these matters until Lorraine arrived on the scene. The truth of course is quite different, but Lara admired Darlanis, and it's quite possible that she didn't want to lose her friendship here. I did terrify Lara, but her "loyalities" were towards Darlanis... |
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