"FREE-49" - читать интересную книгу автора (Jerome Bigge - Warlady 9 - The Freedom Fighters Of Trelandar)} PLX800 R } 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 Nine "Good," I said, looking at the Dularnian sea captain as I regarded the weapons that had been unloaded now from his raider. For the last five years the Empire of California and Dularn had been at war, in a war that seemed to go on year after year to the growing weariness of the people of both Dularn and California. I now took but a minor role in things, the Free Trelandar Movement seeming to have a life of its own, one aided and abetted both by Dularn and to a lesser extent by Talon. The night lit only by a few stars shining down, and by the shaded lamps we'd brought now. The towering trees surrounding us like monsters lurking about us. This area of Trelandar being believed by many to be "haunted"... There having been claims of seeing "glows" in the woods and such. "I hope you can put these to good use," he smiled back then. The new Dularnian crossbow, now in general use, was the finest of weapons, capable in good hands of killing men at a hundred yards. His name was Miles, and he was considered one of Dularn's "best". "Darlanis is our common enemy," Carl smiled from beside me. "Let us pray that Lys is with us," Miles smiled back then. "`Gott Mit Uns'," I smiled in turn, seeing his puzzlement. "Everything `go well'?" Lady Lana asked, waiting up for us. Jerry sitting there by himself, which surprised me considerably the time of night that it was, my fifteen year old son looking up at me in a way that left no doubt in my mind of a guilt here now! I was tired, exhausted from being up all night, it being dawn in another hour, and from the nervous strain that I was under here. The knowledge that Darlanis was doing everything she could to put a halt to my activities, to finding out "who" I was and kill me!! Only the "protection" that Lady Lana gave me allowed me to do all I was doing, and I had no doubts from what Lana had told me that Darlanis was now suspicious that I was indeed the one she sought! "There were no `problems'," I said, my voice level, Lana now nodding, well aware of things. Of the risks we all were taking. Even disguised as I'd been, veiled, wearing a dark wig, it was a certainty that sooner or later I'd be identified or that there'd be a "trap" set for me by Darlanis' forces. Another risk was the fact that we were using the Daris estate for a base of operations and if Miles or one of the other Dularnian sea captains was ever captured, the fat would really be in the fire for all of us then! "We'll `talk' when you get up," Lana smiled, then taking her leave of us. I had to admire her courage, the fact that she was willing to risk her life for a cause that would gain her little. Although the war had finally forced Darlanis to withdraw her own п 7 Џ3 Љ occupation troops from Trelandar, we were no better off than be- fore here with their "replacements" drawn from among the people, many of who were of a sort little better than those of Darlanis. And the Lords and Ladies of Trelandar were just a "big" a problem for my Free Trelandar Movement as had been the Imperial troopers. The country itself starting to "revert" back to what it had been before the time of Queen Amethysta, when it had been "broken up" into little "states" each ruled over by some brutal "warlord"...* * This lack of "unity" was a problem even when Darlanis first in- vaded us, and may explain why we couldn't fight here effectively. It wasn't until Darlanis landed forces elsewhere that the nobles of Trelandar woke up to the fact that they too were now "threat- ened" by Darlanis, not just King John and my sister, the Queen... Darlanis of course favored a "disunited" Trelandar, and did her best to see that the country was broken up into more easy to con- trol "estates", each almost like a little country itself. (Sanda) "Time for a few hours sleep," Carl said, yawning, Jerry get- ting up, approaching me as I stood there at the door after Lana had exited. His eyes holding mine as I now nodded to Carl here. "I'll check on Sarah before I turn in," he added as I now nodded, aware that this was a time I wished to be "alone" with Jerry... "Do `something' you shouldn't have?" I smiled back at Jerry, fearing what the answer might be knowing his "relationship" with Phara Holt which neither Carl or I had been ever able to "break". My son having a hang dog look about himself that left no doubts. "Phara and I `did it'," Jerry whispered, blushing a bit now. "She's only thirteen!" I breathed, knowing that while Phara might be thirteen, she had more a "figure" than most sixteen did! And she was a girl who knew that she was female too. Certainly a girl who was very much aware of the "looks" she received from men here on the estate. She was a short skirted delight, dark haired and dark eyed, a wench who any mother might fear, I should add... "She was a virgin," he said, not meeting my eyes just then. "And she wanted me to be the `one'," he added, leaving no doubts. I'd even tried "using" the slave girls on the estate to break up this relationship, but nothing I did seemed to help matters here! For a horrid few seconds I even considered the thought of selling the girl to some slaver, of kidnaping her, giving her to a sea- captain like Miles to be sold in Dularn! Just to get rid of her! "I want you to think of what it would be like to be married to a woman like her, to come home every day to a wife like her," I said, "Having children by her, knowing that she was low caste," I continued on here, aware that I could never "win" this either. "What she `is' as a person is a lot more important than the fact she's a blacksmith's daughter," Jerry answered me squarely. "Carl wants you to become a Warrior," I said to him then. "Phara's not stupid, she knows a lot," Jerry retorted now. "I just want to warn you what this could lead to," I spoke. "You don't really `believe' in what you say, do you?" Jerry said to me then. "This talk about `democracy', about all people being `equal' is just all `talk', isn't it?" he said to me then. He knew of my "activities", of the ideals for which I stood for. My hopes for a free Trelandar, modelled upon Dularn's democracy. "I just don't want you making a `mistake' you'll regret," I said, aware that Phara Holt was not the sort of a girl that I now wanted to see as my daughter in law. Not that I didn't like Miss Holt in a way, but she was not a suitable wife for my Jerry here! "Trouble?" Carl asked as I climbed into bed beside him, a "hint" of the dawn to come just visible now through the curtains. His face a pale shadow with two darker pits where his eyes were. "Phara seduced him," I said, that being my opinion of it... "Maybe we should go have a talk with her parents," he said. "Just make more `trouble' if we did," I answered, knowing it would. Phara was really a "nice" girl, but she was just not the sort of a woman that I wanted to have for a daughter in law here. "Mrs. Talen?" Phara Holt spoke, stepping in front of me as I came from speaking to Lana about what had occurred the last night with captain Miles and his cargo sent to me by Queen Tulis here. The sun hot on my shoulders as I stood there facing the teenager. "Yes?", I answered, thinking of what Lana and I had said. I didn't much "envy" Lady Lana, especially not with a baby still at her breast, something that might well "color" Lana's thoughts too as she considered what would happen to her if Darlanis found out. Carl was with Lana a lot, which was to be expected as he was the head of her men at arms, the force that "protected" our estate, a force now scattered so that all portions might be "protected", it being believed that "terrorists" from the Free Trelandar Movement might strike at any time, or such had been reported to Lana now. He'd also gone with her the times that she went to impersonate me to better throw Darlanis' agents off our trail. It being our own belief that the Empress was becoming aware of this deception now. "We need to `talk'," Phara begged, breaking into my train of thought here about what could happen if Darlanis got wise to us. "I know what you think of me, but I do love your son," she said, the thought going through my mind that she "reminded" me in a way of Lara Warsan. And no doubt she possessed the same "talents"... "What is `done' is `done'," I answered, standing before her, the tone of my voice leaving few doubts as to my feelings here. "You are `both' still yet children," I continued on, holding her eyes with my own as she nodded. She was a pretty girl, with the promise of a "ripeness" to herself that any woman might now envy. She was wearing a summery costume of a half blouse and skirt, the skirt "short" in the current style for girls in their teens here. I would have appraised her at about thirty crowns on the "block". "I have not told my parents," Phara said in a pleading tone. "Jerry and you do not share caste," I said to her in reply. "He has spoken much to me of what you believe," she spoke, a cold chill going through me as I realized how much she might know now. Apparently Jerry had shared everything with his beloved... "And although I'm too young to fight, I hope to see the day that the people of Trelandar elect you Queen, Lady Sanda," she smiled. Her dark eyes looking into mine as I nodded, suddenly "cold" with the thought that the girl could betray me, all of us to Darlanis! "I believe you are intelligent beyond your years," I spoke. "You will be a good and wise Queen," Phara Holt said to me. "When the time comes, be a good wife to my son," I replied. "I will be," Phara promised, adding, "You can `trust me'..." Running off then, as provocative as any slave girl on the estate. Her words seeming to "echo" in my mind as I stood there stunned. } PLX800 R } 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 Nine "Good," I said, looking at the Dularnian sea captain as I regarded the weapons that had been unloaded now from his raider. For the last five years the Empire of California and Dularn had been at war, in a war that seemed to go on year after year to the growing weariness of the people of both Dularn and California. I now took but a minor role in things, the Free Trelandar Movement seeming to have a life of its own, one aided and abetted both by Dularn and to a lesser extent by Talon. The night lit only by a few stars shining down, and by the shaded lamps we'd brought now. The towering trees surrounding us like monsters lurking about us. This area of Trelandar being believed by many to be "haunted"... There having been claims of seeing "glows" in the woods and such. "I hope you can put these to good use," he smiled back then. The new Dularnian crossbow, now in general use, was the finest of weapons, capable in good hands of killing men at a hundred yards. His name was Miles, and he was considered one of Dularn's "best". "Darlanis is our common enemy," Carl smiled from beside me. "Let us pray that Lys is with us," Miles smiled back then. "`Gott Mit Uns'," I smiled in turn, seeing his puzzlement. "Everything `go well'?" Lady Lana asked, waiting up for us. Jerry sitting there by himself, which surprised me considerably the time of night that it was, my fifteen year old son looking up at me in a way that left no doubt in my mind of a guilt here now! I was tired, exhausted from being up all night, it being dawn in another hour, and from the nervous strain that I was under here. The knowledge that Darlanis was doing everything she could to put a halt to my activities, to finding out "who" I was and kill me!! Only the "protection" that Lady Lana gave me allowed me to do all I was doing, and I had no doubts from what Lana had told me that Darlanis was now suspicious that I was indeed the one she sought! "There were no `problems'," I said, my voice level, Lana now nodding, well aware of things. Of the risks we all were taking. Even disguised as I'd been, veiled, wearing a dark wig, it was a certainty that sooner or later I'd be identified or that there'd be a "trap" set for me by Darlanis' forces. Another risk was the fact that we were using the Daris estate for a base of operations and if Miles or one of the other Dularnian sea captains was ever captured, the fat would really be in the fire for all of us then! "We'll `talk' when you get up," Lana smiled, then taking her leave of us. I had to admire her courage, the fact that she was willing to risk her life for a cause that would gain her little. Although the war had finally forced Darlanis to withdraw her own п 7 Џ3 Љ occupation troops from Trelandar, we were no better off than be- fore here with their "replacements" drawn from among the people, many of who were of a sort little better than those of Darlanis. And the Lords and Ladies of Trelandar were just a "big" a problem for my Free Trelandar Movement as had been the Imperial troopers. The country itself starting to "revert" back to what it had been before the time of Queen Amethysta, when it had been "broken up" into little "states" each ruled over by some brutal "warlord"...* * This lack of "unity" was a problem even when Darlanis first in- vaded us, and may explain why we couldn't fight here effectively. It wasn't until Darlanis landed forces elsewhere that the nobles of Trelandar woke up to the fact that they too were now "threat- ened" by Darlanis, not just King John and my sister, the Queen... Darlanis of course favored a "disunited" Trelandar, and did her best to see that the country was broken up into more easy to con- trol "estates", each almost like a little country itself. (Sanda) "Time for a few hours sleep," Carl said, yawning, Jerry get- ting up, approaching me as I stood there at the door after Lana had exited. His eyes holding mine as I now nodded to Carl here. "I'll check on Sarah before I turn in," he added as I now nodded, aware that this was a time I wished to be "alone" with Jerry... "Do `something' you shouldn't have?" I smiled back at Jerry, fearing what the answer might be knowing his "relationship" with Phara Holt which neither Carl or I had been ever able to "break". My son having a hang dog look about himself that left no doubts. "Phara and I `did it'," Jerry whispered, blushing a bit now. "She's only thirteen!" I breathed, knowing that while Phara might be thirteen, she had more a "figure" than most sixteen did! And she was a girl who knew that she was female too. Certainly a girl who was very much aware of the "looks" she received from men here on the estate. She was a short skirted delight, dark haired and dark eyed, a wench who any mother might fear, I should add... "She was a virgin," he said, not meeting my eyes just then. "And she wanted me to be the `one'," he added, leaving no doubts. I'd even tried "using" the slave girls on the estate to break up this relationship, but nothing I did seemed to help matters here! For a horrid few seconds I even considered the thought of selling the girl to some slaver, of kidnaping her, giving her to a sea- captain like Miles to be sold in Dularn! Just to get rid of her! "I want you to think of what it would be like to be married to a woman like her, to come home every day to a wife like her," I said, "Having children by her, knowing that she was low caste," I continued on here, aware that I could never "win" this either. "What she `is' as a person is a lot more important than the fact she's a blacksmith's daughter," Jerry answered me squarely. "Carl wants you to become a Warrior," I said to him then. "Phara's not stupid, she knows a lot," Jerry retorted now. "I just want to warn you what this could lead to," I spoke. "You don't really `believe' in what you say, do you?" Jerry said to me then. "This talk about `democracy', about all people being `equal' is just all `talk', isn't it?" he said to me then. He knew of my "activities", of the ideals for which I stood for. My hopes for a free Trelandar, modelled upon Dularn's democracy. "I just don't want you making a `mistake' you'll regret," I said, aware that Phara Holt was not the sort of a girl that I now wanted to see as my daughter in law. Not that I didn't like Miss Holt in a way, but she was not a suitable wife for my Jerry here! "Trouble?" Carl asked as I climbed into bed beside him, a "hint" of the dawn to come just visible now through the curtains. His face a pale shadow with two darker pits where his eyes were. "Phara seduced him," I said, that being my opinion of it... "Maybe we should go have a talk with her parents," he said. "Just make more `trouble' if we did," I answered, knowing it would. Phara was really a "nice" girl, but she was just not the sort of a woman that I wanted to have for a daughter in law here. "Mrs. Talen?" Phara Holt spoke, stepping in front of me as I came from speaking to Lana about what had occurred the last night with captain Miles and his cargo sent to me by Queen Tulis here. The sun hot on my shoulders as I stood there facing the teenager. "Yes?", I answered, thinking of what Lana and I had said. I didn't much "envy" Lady Lana, especially not with a baby still at her breast, something that might well "color" Lana's thoughts too as she considered what would happen to her if Darlanis found out. Carl was with Lana a lot, which was to be expected as he was the head of her men at arms, the force that "protected" our estate, a force now scattered so that all portions might be "protected", it being believed that "terrorists" from the Free Trelandar Movement might strike at any time, or such had been reported to Lana now. He'd also gone with her the times that she went to impersonate me to better throw Darlanis' agents off our trail. It being our own belief that the Empress was becoming aware of this deception now. "We need to `talk'," Phara begged, breaking into my train of thought here about what could happen if Darlanis got wise to us. "I know what you think of me, but I do love your son," she said, the thought going through my mind that she "reminded" me in a way of Lara Warsan. And no doubt she possessed the same "talents"... "What is `done' is `done'," I answered, standing before her, the tone of my voice leaving few doubts as to my feelings here. "You are `both' still yet children," I continued on, holding her eyes with my own as she nodded. She was a pretty girl, with the promise of a "ripeness" to herself that any woman might now envy. She was wearing a summery costume of a half blouse and skirt, the skirt "short" in the current style for girls in their teens here. I would have appraised her at about thirty crowns on the "block". "I have not told my parents," Phara said in a pleading tone. "Jerry and you do not share caste," I said to her in reply. "He has spoken much to me of what you believe," she spoke, a cold chill going through me as I realized how much she might know now. Apparently Jerry had shared everything with his beloved... "And although I'm too young to fight, I hope to see the day that the people of Trelandar elect you Queen, Lady Sanda," she smiled. Her dark eyes looking into mine as I nodded, suddenly "cold" with the thought that the girl could betray me, all of us to Darlanis! "I believe you are intelligent beyond your years," I spoke. "You will be a good and wise Queen," Phara Holt said to me. "When the time comes, be a good wife to my son," I replied. "I will be," Phara promised, adding, "You can `trust me'..." Running off then, as provocative as any slave girl on the estate. Her words seeming to "echo" in my mind as I stood there stunned. |
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