Chapter 2
Imprisoned
When Victoria De La Vega awoke on her 16th birthday, she thought it was going to be a normal day. Well, normal for her. Upon waking and bathing, she donned a blue and white Spanish-Victorian dress with gold hemming, white stockings on her legs and black shoes on her feet. She brushed her thick brown hair into a braid that draped down her left shoulder. Around her neck was the phoenix locket she had in her possession since she could remember. A trinket she refused to be parted with.
The day started out with what was normally done on her birthday. She would be greeted happily by the hacienda's servants, some of them giving her gifts, before retreating to the dining hall for her favorite breakfast: Toast with blueberry jam, torrija, magdalenas, Pan con Tomate, and Café con Leche. As usual, her father was up early and had already eaten before he began his business day. So Victoria was unable to see him during breakfast. No surprise there.
After breakfast, one of the servants approached her.
"Senorita De La Vega?"
Victoria looked up from her seat at the chicken servant.
"Si, Paco?"
"Your father left a present for you in the parlor before he left today. He wanted me to inform you once you had breakfast."
This made Victoria very curious. Standing up from her chair, she thanked Paco and left for the parlor.
Once in the elegant red, gold, and black room, Victoria's eyes caught sight of a cup-hilt rapier. The hilt was a golden color adored with jewels. From the look of the blade, it wasn't just for decoration.
After finding a note next to the rapier, Victoria took the card and read its contents.
"Feliz Cumpleaños, my dearest Victoria. Today, you are dieciséis, an age where you are to become a young woman in society. Normally, one would throw a debutante ball to show that you are eligible for marriage. But our family is different. Instead, I give you something that suits you. This rapier.
"After dinner, I shall reveal the greatest secret of our family. It involves the legendary hero, El Toro. But I shall not reveal more until tonight.
I love you, my little one"
The card didn't say any more, but it was enough to make Victoria curious. What exactly did her father want to talk to her about? And exactly how was it connected to El Toro? So many questions.
"At least Papa will be home tonight. I can't remember the last time he came home before dinner."
Setting the card down, Victoria turned her attention to her rapier. Picking it up in her hands, she examined it. It was light and durable, but from the look of it the steel was stronger than it let on. This was a combat-efficient sword, not just a decorative one. But why would she be given such a weapon?
Whatever the reason, she was given the chance to test it once she heard screams outside.
Stepping outside the hacienda, Victoria narrowed her eyes as she recognized the cause of the ruckus. "Banditoads." The bandits were wreaking havoc on Santo Pollo once again, guns a blazing, ransacking the town, and the frogeralĕs were once again doing nothing. Victoria frowned angrily at the situation at hand. This sort of thing happened practically every day. The town would get ransacked and by the end of the month, they wouldn't be able to pay their wretched presidentĕ, which would lead to more trouble.
Time and time again, the de la Vega family would pay for the town. Most of the time, though, it was El Toro who would save the day. Unfortunately, Victoria's anger at both the frogeralĕs and the banditoads grew more and more by the day. She wanted nothing more than to take care of both the banditoads and Santa Rana and save the people of Santa Pollo once and for all.
Eyeing the rapier in her hand, Victoria's mind was made up.
A triad of banditoads circled the shop owner and his wife, their guns at the ready.
"Now, give us all the money."
The shop owner struggled to defend what was his. And failing miserably.
"We-we don't have any money! You took it all yesterday."
The banditoads gave each other sickening grins as the cocked their pistols. Suddenly, their guns were knocked aside by something swift. Angrily, they turned to the source.
"Who dares to be a hero?!"
"I dare," Victoria replied as she held the rapier at them.
They snarled upon seeing her. It was the leader of the triad of outlaws that recognized her. As he did, he grinned evilly.
"Why, it is the lovely Donna Victoria de la Vega. Certainly, such a young noble senorita like yourself shouldn't be out here. Why don't we 'escort you' back to your place?"
Victoria held her rapier, her anger rising.
"I can handle myself just fine. Now, I want you and your pendejos out of this city and never to return."
The triad pulled out their daggers as they glared at the teenager.
"You are going to regret that, De la Vega. Perhaps your father can repay us for your insults."
They then charged at her, which Victoria parried. She grabbed the first banditoads and tossed him into a manure pile. The second, she kicked into a barrel of rainwater. The third she humiliated by cutting his belt, allowing his trousers to fall.
The rest of the gang soon turned their attention of the young aristocrat as the townsfolk watched in awe. Banditoads charged left and right, each one falling at Victoria's feet. Unbeknownst to the townsfolk and Victoria, the frogeralĕs became nervous as they watched her fight. If the Donna defeated the banditoads and if she got together with El Toro, they could wind up with a revolution on their hands. And Santa Rana would not be happy.
"Contact the presidentĕ. Tell him what's going on." One frogeralĕ spoke.
They waited for word as Victoria finished off the last banditoads and the band fled into the canyons beyond the city. The townsfolk cheered as Victoria glared at the direction the banditoads went.
"They'll be back." She muttered.
Despite her uncertainty, the people gathered around the young de la Vega and began to thank her. However, thanks were cut short when the frogeralĕs approached her, their guns aimed at Victoria.
"Donna Victoria de la Vega! You are under arrest for suspicions of treason against our presidentĕ, Santa Rana."
The townspeople gasped while Victoria was shocked.
"Treason!? What exactly did I do to earn such a ridiculous accusation?!"
One frogeralĕ read from a piece of parchment.
"Vigilante actions where the law is required to handle the situation. And for calling the presidentĕ ridiculous."
Victoria was furious. This injustice was enough that she could no longer hold her temper. She glared at the Frogeralēs as she berated them.
"This is an outrage! Defending the people counts as a crime of treason?! And what law? I have seen you frogeralĕs do nothing but sit around and bully the people for their money. You are no law! Just a gang of thugs. And Santa Rana is not fit to be our presidentĕ. The banditoads are better than him!"
The frogeralĕ with the parchment was writing down more as the remainder went to arrest Victoria, the townspeople watching helplessly.
"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used in a court of law against you."
Victoria struggled fiercely.
"And what right do you have to say such things, you hipócritas!"
The townspeople wept as Victoria was taken away. She was at the docks before she turned to see her home one last time before she was knocked out with the butt of a frogeralĕ's gun.
Sometime later…
When Victoria finally woke, she found herself in a metallic cell clearly not of Cool Ranch origin. Looking towards the bars of her cell she saw men marching past, the sound of gears emitting from them. And for some strange reason, she found them familiar and not because she knew exactly what the men were.
They were some of the mechanical soldiers of the Armada.
Victoria stood up and sat down on the bed in her cell quietly as she went over what had happened. By taking a stand to defend the people of Santo Pollo, she was accused of treason against Santa Rana and his frogeralĕs. Victoria shamefully admitted while she fought for her freedom, she hadn't fought as hard as she should.
Truth be told, she was making the scene so no one would know that she would have taken the situation to her advantage: to overthrow Santa Rana and free Santo Pollo. Now she was being taken by these mechanical men for trial. That was…if she would ever get one.
Her thoughts were interrupted as footsteps made their way down. She then heard her captor speak.
"Lock them up with the traitor from Cool Ranch."
"Yes, sir!" responded another set of voices.
Victoria held her breath as the soldiers came down with the new prisoners, a couple of them she could hear struggling.
"This is an outrage! I demand that you release me at once!" a Marleybone-ian voice screeched.
This was followed by a gruff voice shouting louder than the other.
"I SWEAR! ONCE I'M OUT, YOU'LL REGRET TAKING ME PRISONER!"
Victoria didn't have long before the new prisoners were thrown into her cell. From what she was able to see, they were for women like her. She leaned back as two of them charged at the door, most likely to escape, but were halted by the door. With the two preoccupied, Victoria stood up and went to help the other two on the floor.
"Here. Let me help you."
"Thanks." The woman in a silk dress spoke as she grasped Victoria's hand.
But Victoria's friendly smile faltered as she saw the woman's face. Or rather…her face. She looked at the other three and was surprised. All four of them had her face, same brown hair, and the same green eyes. The differences being their clothing and their hairstyles.
The woman that had her hand was dressed in a violet and black silk kimono and her hair was tied in a bun with black chopsticks. Victoria figured that this girl came from the mystical land of MooShu.
The second girl she noticed was one of the two at the door. She was dressed in a red, white, and gold gown of Marleybone-ian origin. Her hair was cut short and was kept back by a diamond-studded headband. Clearly, this girl was of aristocratic origin like Victoria.
The third girl was clearly the strongest of the five prisoners. Beneath her long, green shirt were well-toned muscles that still maintained their feminine shape. Aside from the green shirt, she wore dark pants and fur-lined boots. A fur hat on her boyish-cut hair gave Victoria the impression that she was from a cold environment.
The last girl gave off a mysterious aura as she stood up. She was dressed in clothing that made Victoria uncomfortable. She was scantily clad in a single wrap around her chest, stomach exposed, and a skirt with a cloth wrapped around her waist and down the front. The colors of the clothing were white with black and with unusual markings on the black sash. Her brunette hair was tied in dreadlocks with colorful beads in each lock.
It wasn't long before she and the MooShu girl doppelgangers noticed Victoria and her resemblance to them.
"Why do you look like me?" The MooShu girl asked.
"I was just about to ask the same thing." Victoria replied as the other two turned their attention from the door and onto themselves and the rest.
The burly girl narrowed her eyes.
"What the Helheim is this?"
The Marleybone-ian girl held up a hand to her mouth as she let out a gasp.
"What in bloody blazes is going on?"
The scantily-clad girl, who was silent for a while noticed something on Victoria's person as well as the rest.
"Those lockets. They look like mine."
Victoria and the other women took notice in their lockets and each others. To their surprise, they were the same. The same silver, the same phoenix. Turning the locket, Victoria exposed her name and found the names of the others.
The MooShu girl then took a chance to speak.
"Perhaps we should introduce ourselves. It looks like we're not going anywhere for some time."
Victoria and the others looked at each other before consenting to the idea. The MooShu girl took a chance to speak.
"I shall start. My name is Mary Hamasaki. I am from MooShu. As for why am I arrested, I got into a duel with one of those clockwork menaces and lost when he brought a gun to a sword fight."
This caught the interest of the burly girl, who decided to take a shot at speaking.
"Looks like you and I were arrested for the same thing. I got into trouble when I got into a brawl involving those things. By the way, my name's Ursa Björnsdotter. I hail from Grizzlheim."
"That actually explains a few thing." The Marleybone-ian muttered before she spoke. "As for me, I am Lydia Spaniel. Daughter of Lord Reginald Spaniel of Marleybone."
Victoria spoke as her eyes widened.
"I figured you were of aristocratic descent. The question is why you are here."
Lydia took notice of Victoria's attire as she also recognized aristocracy in the girl.
"Well, since I am here, I might as well tell."
The women listened in as Lydia answered Victoria's inquiry.
"Truth be told, my father and I don't exactly see eye to eye with certain powers that shall remain nameless. So we have been supporting a group of people that seek to improve things for the people. I was caught trying to 'transport' some goods to these people and here I am. Although it is proving difficult to say otherwise with those louts."
They then looked to the fifth girl, who answered simply.
"I am Maya. I was raised in Krokotopia and I was arrested for practicing magic."
Lydia frowned.
"Another law Father and I found ridiculous."
Maya smiled faintly at Lydia's answer.
"I must agree with you, Lady Spaniel. Magic isn't something that should be contained or left alone. It should be allowed into our very lives as it should be."
Lydia and Mary nodded in agreement before they turned their gaze to Victoria.
"What of you, my lady?" Lydia asked.
Victoria leaned back as she answered her.
"My name is Victoria de la Vega. I am the daughter of Don Rodrigo de la Vega of Santo Pollo in Cool Ranch. As for my arrest, I am actually charged with suspicions of treason."
"And how did you get that?" Ursa asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
Victoria then proceeded to tell them about what had happened and how she was arrested. Upon hearing of Santo Pollo's plight, all of them women showed great anger at the tyrant and sympathizing with Victoria. When Victoria was finished, Lydia spoke.
"Well. Looks like I have found another cause to sponsor."
Ursa then placed a hand on Victoria's shoulder as she spoke.
"And consider me the first of your warriors. That is…if we get out of here."
Just then, the sound of cannon-fire began filling the air…