"2565-89" - читать интересную книгу автора (Warlady 1 - 2565 Ad Book 2)2565 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Book Two Chapter Forty Six "You keep a diary in a ship's log?" Darlanis asked with a smile, seeing me writing down my latest adventures. Ever since the first day that Sharon and I entered this era I have kept a record of my adventures here, perhaps more for myself than for "posterity" or anything like that. It is from the pages of this diary that I have written these books. That is perhaps why they are written the way that they are. That is why in the first book you see a somewhat different "viewpoint" on things than you do in this one. I feel that it is more "fair" to the reader to do it this way than the more usual way where I look back over what has happened to me over the period of time covered in these pages. They are after all my own books. The story of the Queen of Tre- landar. The story of a woman who flew through time to this era. "It was what was available when I started," I answered, glad that I wrote in French as she peered over my shoulder, trying to read what I have written. Her puzzlement making me smile a bit! "I have seen books in Dularn written in that language," she said to me, her azure eyes glowing into mine. I supposed that if necessary it would be possible to find someone who could read it. French is still spoken I believe in certain parts of what once was Canada. I understand that some of the people living there can read it. Yvette speaks it, of course, but she is illiterate. "It does allow me to write my feelings without the worry that someone might read this and not understand," I answered her. "Like my own feelings for you," Darlanis answered in reply, her eyes glowing down into mine as she stood there at my side. "You are the best friend I've ever had, but yet at times it pains me to say that I have hated you almost as much as I would have someone like Sanda," Darlanis admitted, much to my shocked gaze! "Because I let Sanda make me into the Queen of Trelandar?" I asked, wondering. Yet knowing that there had been times that I had felt the "same" towards Darlanis. Suspected that she perhaps had paid the crossbowman to kill me. I had not suspected Tara. "`That' and the fact that everyone I've talked to has said that I made a bad decision with the pirates doing as I did," she answered, looking down into my eyes. I recalled what had been written about that in the newspapers here in Sarn. That I would have done it differently. That even Sharon was a more "compe- tent" military commander than Darlanis! That I thought had been "cruel" towards Darlanis. She had done the best she could under the circumstances. I would have doubtlessly dragged things out a bit more, but the final outcome would have probably been the same. I have no doubts of that. Darlanis did well, I feel here. "I've always admired your courage and bravery," I said, placing my hand over hers where it rested on my shoulder. Those lovely azure eyes glowed down into mine. She is a very beautiful woman. One I do admire very much for the sort of person she is. "The fact that you risked your life for a slave girl's speaks much of the sort of person you truly are," I added, remembering. That was something the newspapers should have written about her. "`SHE-RA'?" Darlanis smiled. Sharon still called her that. "We need a `SHE-RA' to inspire us," I smiled back. She is. "But she was just a children's cartoon character," Darlanis answered with a smile. It had of course been necessary to tell Darlanis exactly "who" "She-Ra" was. That she was but a fantasy. "Children do need a good moral education," I smiled back. That was part of the political speeches that I gave urging par- ents to let their children go to the Priestesses of Lys for their education. It was one thing that I was very proud of having done here in this era! Universal literacy was part of our "New Order". A portion of what I hoped to accomplish here in the 26th Century! Whatever happened to me, that would still remain "mine". A "mark" if you will upon history itself. A "step back" towards what once was. What might someday exist again as before. "I am not `She-Ra'," Darlanis replied. "I am but an overly ambitious monarch who has cost thousands of people their lives." "None of us can change the past, but we can change the fu- ture," I answered, looking up at her standing there beside me. I thought her the "Janet Rogers" of this era. Mankind's only hope. SHE had given us Darlanis to oppose The Evil One's own champion. I believed in such things. Darlanis considered them "nonsense". "I used to read about your era," Darlanis smiled. "I often thought of what it would have been like to have lived then." I wondered what she would have been like back in the 20th Century. No doubt she would have ended up a well-known movie actress or perhaps even the President of the United States. She was "smart" in her way, quick-witted. An "idealist" much like Janet Rogers. I have no doubt she would have been a better President than Rea- gan was. That old "over the hill" movie actor best left retired! "You're better off here," I assured her. I thought it true. "Where I can be `She-Ra' to Sharon?" Darlanis smiled back. "And to others," I answered, looking up into her eyes. I have shared much with Darlanis. I have no better friend. We are both perhaps in our own ways women who "see" what others "don't". "I am still the Queen who ordered innocent women and chil- dren killed there in Talos. That same Queen who sat on her uni- corn and watched the smoke rise above the trees," she answered. "And I had a man tortured nearly to death and then had him killed when we were done with him," I answered back in reply, re- membering the crossbowman. What Lady Tirana had "done" to him. "I allowed Princess Tara to torture dozens right here in the palace dungeons and never even lifted a finger to stop what I knew was going on right there beneath my feet," Darlanis answered back. "I fear what the judgment of Lys will be when I stand be- fore Her and have to answer for what I've done with my own life." "You didn't sit there and watch it done, I did," I answered. "And what you saw sickened you, didn't it," she smiled back. "It's not something I could ever bring myself to do again." I answered. Darlanis looked down into my eyes. She "understood" as perhaps no one else could. She too lived with her own "sin". "Do you consider me `competent'?" Darlanis suddenly asked. "You seem to do pretty good as the Empress of California," I answered. I suspected, however, that Darlanis was not referring to that. But to something else. The ramming of Sarnian Lady by the Janis there in the fog. Her reckless voyage on the Ronda that had resulted in her capture and near death at the hands of the pirates serving Princess Tara. What had been written about her in the newspapers here in Sarn. Even there in Trella too. I recalled the comment that even Sharon was more "competent" than her. That perhaps Sharon should be the Empress of California in place of Darlanis. We have "freedom of the press" under the "New Order". I suppose such "freedom" is often abused, but there is nothing that can be done about it without restoring censorship and the political oppression that goes hand in hand with such. "I want your honest assessment of my actions when the pi- rates attacked the Ronda," Darlanis said to me, pulling up a chair, seating herself beside me. The glittering gold of her costume making her seem "exotic", "different". Her azure eyes burned into my own as she waited for my answer. I thought of what I could say. I didn't want to hurt her, although I did con- sider the newspapers right. Darlanis was not much of a military commander. She was brave, incredibly so, but even Sharon was a better tactician. We all have our "flaws". Darlanis had hers. "I think you wanted to remembered for your bravery, for your courage," I answered. I could see her in my mind's eye standing there on the forecastle of the Ronda, her bow there in her hands. She was, I thought to myself, truly courageous, truly brave. She had set an example for centuries to come of courage and bravery. I told her such things. That I, for one, was very proud of her! "You are a very dear close friend, Lorraine," she smiled. I thought we were as close as two women can be without becoming too close. I had once experienced that with Lana. It would have been "easy" to have allowed our relationship to become "that". I think only my knowledge of what Janis would think had stopped me. "Yet at times I have hated you, and wondered why I still re- spected you as I did after everything," I answered, meeting her gaze directly on as she sat there. I recalled what I had said to her there on Sarnian Lady after we had taken Squala. Quoting that tale from the Bible to her about "Uriah the Hittite" who had been put in the "forefront of battle" to get rid of him so that the King might marry his widow. I had then thought much the same of her. That she wanted me dead so that Sharon might be "hers". "And what horrifies me is that I think it was true, too," Darlanis admitted. "I `wanted' Sharon too much for my own good." I knew that Darlanis doted on Sharon, and did "spoil" her a lot. On the other hand Sharon loved Darlanis like she had never loved me. Sharon had always "admired" me, but Darlanis she "loved". I suppose the difference is due to our own personalities, our own ways of seeing things. Darlanis is a more "loving" woman than I am, I might mention here. Perhaps more "affectionate" with a child. I do not have the "maternal instincts" that Darlanis has. "And I sometimes think that Sanda thought at one time that she could perhaps arrange a `duel' between us and avenge her sis- ter's death by having me kill you," I said. Sanda had been ex- tremely interested in my skill with a blade. Awestruck was per- haps a better term I think recalling what her reactions had been. "Although I think she was disappointed when she found out how I felt about you." I wondered if Sanda had once nursed such hopes? "Queen Paula was a brave, proud woman. A Warrioress," Dar- lanis answered, remembering. "But she was no match for me." I remembered what Sanda had told me. Paula had stood less of a chance against Darlanis than Darlanis would have had against me! "You were losing that war, weren't you?" I said, remembering what I had been told. Trelandar had come close to licking its invader. Forcing Darlanis and her Legions back across the border that separated their countries. It had been then that Darlanis had issued the challenge that she had. Paula had accepted it. I suspected that she had been a proud, brave Queen. A Warrioress. "Yes, thanks to Princess Tara turning the people against us," Darlanis answered, remembering, her eyes seeing scenes now fifteen years in the past. Tara's horrible criminal tactics had cost her much. Unified the people of Trelandar as nothing else could have done. Much like the Nazis had done in World War Two. I remembered my mother the Countess Duclare telling me of those times. She had been a member of the "Resistance" in that War. I recalled her comment one day about the French "gun laws". That a government that can't "trust" its people with firearms is a gov- ernment that the people shouldn't "trust" in return. I think it is "true". I wish Janet Rogers hadn't made that same "mistake". "Why did you ever hang on to Tara?" I asked. That was a question I had been meaning to ask now for months. I knew that Darlanis knew what Tara was like. Why had she "clung" to Tara? "Tara had `friends' in `high places' and she `won' battles," Darlanis answered. I suspected that Tara had threatened Darlanis at one time, and that Darlanis had lived in actual fear of Tara! "She could have cost you your throne, your life," I pointed out. "Sometimes a Queen must be careful who her `friends' are." "And Sanda could cost you yours if she carries her `Revolu- tion' too far," Darlanis warned me back in return with a smile. I knew what she thought about my Prime Minister the Lady Sanda. I might note here however that I trust Sanda completely and feel that Darlanis, despite everything, is still a person who was at that time perhaps guilty of excessive "ambition". I too could be guilty of the same "crime" should I attempt to carry out those ideals of mine that I once held so dear. True, another carried out my "ideals", but yet in a way I am responsible for Janet Rog- ers, both for the good she did, and for the evil things she also did. There is sometimes nothing "worse" than a "TRUE BELIEVER"!! "What Sanda really needs is a man to spank her curvy behind from time to time and keep her happy and content," I smiled back. She reminded me a lot of Carol Simmons in certain way, and Carol had been the type who "needed" a husband like a drunk the bottle. "Something to keep her out of politics," Darlanis agreed. I had to smile at that, as I rather doubted that it would do any good. Sanda enjoyed being the Prime Minister of Trelandar. Mak- ing decisions, having a "role" in things. She was, as Jon had observed, a "capable, competent woman." Darlanis needed someone like her, although Sharon was already showing somewhat similar capabilities, much to my own surprise. Sharon had "matured" much with Darlanis, perhaps because she could relate to Darlanis in a way she could never do so with me. She was mentally superior to Darlanis, and probably even had a dozen IQ points on her beloved "She-Ra" if not more. I suspected Sarn would be well governed. Darlanis would provide "experience", and Sharon "intelligence". I had no doubt that Sharon would do well for herself in this era. She was a capable, competent girl. Beautiful, almost another "Darlanis" in a way although she would not have the height or the magnificent muscular figure of the awesome Empress of California. "You have Sharon," I pointed out. Darlanis smiled, nodded. "The best thing that ever happened to me," Darlanis smiled, getting up as there was a knock at the door. The warrioress on duty now letting in Sharon, coppery skinned Ta-she-ra, little Mara, and two others that made us both start with surprise! "I felt it best to do it this way," Prince Jers Bisan said with a smile, tossing back the hood that had covered his fea- tures. The woman beside him short skirted, briefly attired be- neath her concealing cloak, his lovely and provocatively sensual wife, Lara. Sharon's "Daisy Duke", Lara being a near dead ringer for Catherine Bach, a Twentieth Century television actress. No doubt it had been a wise decision as if Lara ever fell into the cruel hands of Tara her death would be neither swift or pleasant! "The Seahawk?" Darlanis ventured. I could understand Jers' reluctance to bring the ship into port. Sarn was still in the middle of a Revolution. Princess Tara was still somewhere about. We had already learned that the evil Princess was trying organize a counter-revolution against us. She had the "support" of many. "Awaits my signal," he smiled back, his arm around Lara. 2565 A.D.! A TALE OF ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN By Jerome B. Bigge Book Two Chapter Forty Six "You keep a diary in a ship's log?" Darlanis asked with a smile, seeing me writing down my latest adventures. Ever since the first day that Sharon and I entered this era I have kept a record of my adventures here, perhaps more for myself than for "posterity" or anything like that. It is from the pages of this diary that I have written these books. That is perhaps why they are written the way that they are. That is why in the first book you see a somewhat different "viewpoint" on things than you do in this one. I feel that it is more "fair" to the reader to do it this way than the more usual way where I look back over what has happened to me over the period of time covered in these pages. They are after all my own books. The story of the Queen of Tre- landar. The story of a woman who flew through time to this era. "It was what was available when I started," I answered, glad that I wrote in French as she peered over my shoulder, trying to read what I have written. Her puzzlement making me smile a bit! "I have seen books in Dularn written in that language," she said to me, her azure eyes glowing into mine. I supposed that if necessary it would be possible to find someone who could read it. French is still spoken I believe in certain parts of what once was Canada. I understand that some of the people living there can read it. Yvette speaks it, of course, but she is illiterate. "It does allow me to write my feelings without the worry that someone might read this and not understand," I answered her. "Like my own feelings for you," Darlanis answered in reply, her eyes glowing down into mine as she stood there at my side. "You are the best friend I've ever had, but yet at times it pains me to say that I have hated you almost as much as I would have someone like Sanda," Darlanis admitted, much to my shocked gaze! "Because I let Sanda make me into the Queen of Trelandar?" I asked, wondering. Yet knowing that there had been times that I had felt the "same" towards Darlanis. Suspected that she perhaps had paid the crossbowman to kill me. I had not suspected Tara. "`That' and the fact that everyone I've talked to has said that I made a bad decision with the pirates doing as I did," she answered, looking down into my eyes. I recalled what had been written about that in the newspapers here in Sarn. That I would have done it differently. That even Sharon was a more "compe- tent" military commander than Darlanis! That I thought had been "cruel" towards Darlanis. She had done the best she could under the circumstances. I would have doubtlessly dragged things out a bit more, but the final outcome would have probably been the same. I have no doubts of that. Darlanis did well, I feel here. "I've always admired your courage and bravery," I said, placing my hand over hers where it rested on my shoulder. Those lovely azure eyes glowed down into mine. She is a very beautiful woman. One I do admire very much for the sort of person she is. "The fact that you risked your life for a slave girl's speaks much of the sort of person you truly are," I added, remembering. That was something the newspapers should have written about her. "`SHE-RA'?" Darlanis smiled. Sharon still called her that. "We need a `SHE-RA' to inspire us," I smiled back. She is. "But she was just a children's cartoon character," Darlanis answered with a smile. It had of course been necessary to tell Darlanis exactly "who" "She-Ra" was. That she was but a fantasy. "Children do need a good moral education," I smiled back. That was part of the political speeches that I gave urging par- ents to let their children go to the Priestesses of Lys for their education. It was one thing that I was very proud of having done here in this era! Universal literacy was part of our "New Order". A portion of what I hoped to accomplish here in the 26th Century! Whatever happened to me, that would still remain "mine". A "mark" if you will upon history itself. A "step back" towards what once was. What might someday exist again as before. "I am not `She-Ra'," Darlanis replied. "I am but an overly ambitious monarch who has cost thousands of people their lives." "None of us can change the past, but we can change the fu- ture," I answered, looking up at her standing there beside me. I thought her the "Janet Rogers" of this era. Mankind's only hope. SHE had given us Darlanis to oppose The Evil One's own champion. I believed in such things. Darlanis considered them "nonsense". "I used to read about your era," Darlanis smiled. "I often thought of what it would have been like to have lived then." I wondered what she would have been like back in the 20th Century. No doubt she would have ended up a well-known movie actress or perhaps even the President of the United States. She was "smart" in her way, quick-witted. An "idealist" much like Janet Rogers. I have no doubt she would have been a better President than Rea- gan was. That old "over the hill" movie actor best left retired! "You're better off here," I assured her. I thought it true. "Where I can be `She-Ra' to Sharon?" Darlanis smiled back. "And to others," I answered, looking up into her eyes. I have shared much with Darlanis. I have no better friend. We are both perhaps in our own ways women who "see" what others "don't". "I am still the Queen who ordered innocent women and chil- dren killed there in Talos. That same Queen who sat on her uni- corn and watched the smoke rise above the trees," she answered. "And I had a man tortured nearly to death and then had him killed when we were done with him," I answered back in reply, re- membering the crossbowman. What Lady Tirana had "done" to him. "I allowed Princess Tara to torture dozens right here in the palace dungeons and never even lifted a finger to stop what I knew was going on right there beneath my feet," Darlanis answered back. "I fear what the judgment of Lys will be when I stand be- fore Her and have to answer for what I've done with my own life." "You didn't sit there and watch it done, I did," I answered. "And what you saw sickened you, didn't it," she smiled back. "It's not something I could ever bring myself to do again." I answered. Darlanis looked down into my eyes. She "understood" as perhaps no one else could. She too lived with her own "sin". "Do you consider me `competent'?" Darlanis suddenly asked. "You seem to do pretty good as the Empress of California," I answered. I suspected, however, that Darlanis was not referring to that. But to something else. The ramming of Sarnian Lady by the Janis there in the fog. Her reckless voyage on the Ronda that had resulted in her capture and near death at the hands of the pirates serving Princess Tara. What had been written about her in the newspapers here in Sarn. Even there in Trella too. I recalled the comment that even Sharon was more "competent" than her. That perhaps Sharon should be the Empress of California in place of Darlanis. We have "freedom of the press" under the "New Order". I suppose such "freedom" is often abused, but there is nothing that can be done about it without restoring censorship and the political oppression that goes hand in hand with such. "I want your honest assessment of my actions when the pi- rates attacked the Ronda," Darlanis said to me, pulling up a chair, seating herself beside me. The glittering gold of her costume making her seem "exotic", "different". Her azure eyes burned into my own as she waited for my answer. I thought of what I could say. I didn't want to hurt her, although I did con- sider the newspapers right. Darlanis was not much of a military commander. She was brave, incredibly so, but even Sharon was a better tactician. We all have our "flaws". Darlanis had hers. "I think you wanted to remembered for your bravery, for your courage," I answered. I could see her in my mind's eye standing there on the forecastle of the Ronda, her bow there in her hands. She was, I thought to myself, truly courageous, truly brave. She had set an example for centuries to come of courage and bravery. I told her such things. That I, for one, was very proud of her! "You are a very dear close friend, Lorraine," she smiled. I thought we were as close as two women can be without becoming too close. I had once experienced that with Lana. It would have been "easy" to have allowed our relationship to become "that". I think only my knowledge of what Janis would think had stopped me. "Yet at times I have hated you, and wondered why I still re- spected you as I did after everything," I answered, meeting her gaze directly on as she sat there. I recalled what I had said to her there on Sarnian Lady after we had taken Squala. Quoting that tale from the Bible to her about "Uriah the Hittite" who had been put in the "forefront of battle" to get rid of him so that the King might marry his widow. I had then thought much the same of her. That she wanted me dead so that Sharon might be "hers". "And what horrifies me is that I think it was true, too," Darlanis admitted. "I `wanted' Sharon too much for my own good." I knew that Darlanis doted on Sharon, and did "spoil" her a lot. On the other hand Sharon loved Darlanis like she had never loved me. Sharon had always "admired" me, but Darlanis she "loved". I suppose the difference is due to our own personalities, our own ways of seeing things. Darlanis is a more "loving" woman than I am, I might mention here. Perhaps more "affectionate" with a child. I do not have the "maternal instincts" that Darlanis has. "And I sometimes think that Sanda thought at one time that she could perhaps arrange a `duel' between us and avenge her sis- ter's death by having me kill you," I said. Sanda had been ex- tremely interested in my skill with a blade. Awestruck was per- haps a better term I think recalling what her reactions had been. "Although I think she was disappointed when she found out how I felt about you." I wondered if Sanda had once nursed such hopes? "Queen Paula was a brave, proud woman. A Warrioress," Dar- lanis answered, remembering. "But she was no match for me." I remembered what Sanda had told me. Paula had stood less of a chance against Darlanis than Darlanis would have had against me! "You were losing that war, weren't you?" I said, remembering what I had been told. Trelandar had come close to licking its invader. Forcing Darlanis and her Legions back across the border that separated their countries. It had been then that Darlanis had issued the challenge that she had. Paula had accepted it. I suspected that she had been a proud, brave Queen. A Warrioress. "Yes, thanks to Princess Tara turning the people against us," Darlanis answered, remembering, her eyes seeing scenes now fifteen years in the past. Tara's horrible criminal tactics had cost her much. Unified the people of Trelandar as nothing else could have done. Much like the Nazis had done in World War Two. I remembered my mother the Countess Duclare telling me of those times. She had been a member of the "Resistance" in that War. I recalled her comment one day about the French "gun laws". That a government that can't "trust" its people with firearms is a gov- ernment that the people shouldn't "trust" in return. I think it is "true". I wish Janet Rogers hadn't made that same "mistake". "Why did you ever hang on to Tara?" I asked. That was a question I had been meaning to ask now for months. I knew that Darlanis knew what Tara was like. Why had she "clung" to Tara? "Tara had `friends' in `high places' and she `won' battles," Darlanis answered. I suspected that Tara had threatened Darlanis at one time, and that Darlanis had lived in actual fear of Tara! "She could have cost you your throne, your life," I pointed out. "Sometimes a Queen must be careful who her `friends' are." "And Sanda could cost you yours if she carries her `Revolu- tion' too far," Darlanis warned me back in return with a smile. I knew what she thought about my Prime Minister the Lady Sanda. I might note here however that I trust Sanda completely and feel that Darlanis, despite everything, is still a person who was at that time perhaps guilty of excessive "ambition". I too could be guilty of the same "crime" should I attempt to carry out those ideals of mine that I once held so dear. True, another carried out my "ideals", but yet in a way I am responsible for Janet Rog- ers, both for the good she did, and for the evil things she also did. There is sometimes nothing "worse" than a "TRUE BELIEVER"!! "What Sanda really needs is a man to spank her curvy behind from time to time and keep her happy and content," I smiled back. She reminded me a lot of Carol Simmons in certain way, and Carol had been the type who "needed" a husband like a drunk the bottle. "Something to keep her out of politics," Darlanis agreed. I had to smile at that, as I rather doubted that it would do any good. Sanda enjoyed being the Prime Minister of Trelandar. Mak- ing decisions, having a "role" in things. She was, as Jon had observed, a "capable, competent woman." Darlanis needed someone like her, although Sharon was already showing somewhat similar capabilities, much to my own surprise. Sharon had "matured" much with Darlanis, perhaps because she could relate to Darlanis in a way she could never do so with me. She was mentally superior to Darlanis, and probably even had a dozen IQ points on her beloved "She-Ra" if not more. I suspected Sarn would be well governed. Darlanis would provide "experience", and Sharon "intelligence". I had no doubt that Sharon would do well for herself in this era. She was a capable, competent girl. Beautiful, almost another "Darlanis" in a way although she would not have the height or the magnificent muscular figure of the awesome Empress of California. "You have Sharon," I pointed out. Darlanis smiled, nodded. "The best thing that ever happened to me," Darlanis smiled, getting up as there was a knock at the door. The warrioress on duty now letting in Sharon, coppery skinned Ta-she-ra, little Mara, and two others that made us both start with surprise! "I felt it best to do it this way," Prince Jers Bisan said with a smile, tossing back the hood that had covered his fea- tures. The woman beside him short skirted, briefly attired be- neath her concealing cloak, his lovely and provocatively sensual wife, Lara. Sharon's "Daisy Duke", Lara being a near dead ringer for Catherine Bach, a Twentieth Century television actress. No doubt it had been a wise decision as if Lara ever fell into the cruel hands of Tara her death would be neither swift or pleasant! "The Seahawk?" Darlanis ventured. I could understand Jers' reluctance to bring the ship into port. Sarn was still in the middle of a Revolution. Princess Tara was still somewhere about. We had already learned that the evil Princess was trying organize a counter-revolution against us. She had the "support" of many. "Awaits my signal," he smiled back, his arm around Lara. |
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