Chapter 9: Dawn of a New Era
Excerpt from "A History of Toulouse"
2 ½ years after the fall of the Organization, Major General "Phantom" Miria led the Army of Rabona to an astounding victory against the forces of the warlord King Charles. His son Philippe led those soldiers that hadn't deserted, been captured or killed north-west to the port city of Gonal. Some 3000 men had been captured, another 1000 of the army killed in the field. Rabona's army in contrast had lost 914 men killed or wounded, and a mere three hybrid warriors. Their names were...
The first thing the young woman felt as she awakened was a dull pain throughout her body, her memory foggy and head disoriented. She breathed in deep as her eyes opened to see a brick ceiling, though it took awhile for her vision to come into focus. She glanced down to find the curves of her breasts pressed firm against a tight white dress. The young woman glanced around to find a glass of what looked like beer next to her. She drank it quickly, even though it was warmer than she liked.
Looking around, she noticed the room featured a single arched window, through which warm sunlight filtered in, along with the songs of birds. She stood up and walked around to the window and opened it. She knew immediately she was in Rabona's old great tower, and judging by the windows below, on the fifth floor. Just below was the gentle flow of water through Rabona's central canal.
All throughout the city was the bustle of people going about their daily lives. Further out, just visible, were the city's walls, but these were swarmed with construction cranes and workmen. It looked like they were adding towers on top of the walls and other various things. It was hard to tell from the distance, but sounds of workmen behind her hammering away drew her attention. Not finding the source of the noise in sight, she turned around. The young woman's progress was immediately halted by a body, and suddenly she was knocked painfully upon her butt, as was the other person.
"Ow Renée ," Natalie whimpered in complaint at the contact with her, "Why did you turn around so suddenly?"
She grabbed the leather outfit-clad Natalie with an unspeakable joy even as her body was screaming for a respite.
"How are you still alive?"
"Calm dowwwwnnn Ree...neee," Natalie breathed out, her long wavy blond hair whiplashing back in forth with the shaking.
Renée stopped shaking Natalie and instead hugged her hard.
"Owww, Renée !"
A deeper female voice interjected, "Renée , why don't you take it easy on my daughter?"
Renée turned to find a woman standing nearby with blue and silver eyes, brown-blond hair cascading off her head in two spiky bangs, and a spiky ponytail in back, arms folded. The woman's face was attractive, with a tall forehead and pointed nose, and a modest if sculpted chin. The warrior's looks weren't quite familiar, but the yoki was very familiar.
"Miria?"
"Well at least your head's still working Renée ," Miria sighed while faintly smiling, "You had us all very worried after we found you unconscious on the battlefield. Yuma said you broke 125 bones, and the comrades of those pikemen you landed upon speared you to make matters worse. Luckily for you, your armor stopped a pike from piercing your heart. Sister Galatea, Commander Yuma and some others managed to use Yoki synchronization to save you, since we found you unconscious and thus couldn't use your own to heal," Miria explained.
Miria was wearing a black dress that bared her shoulders for the world's inspection. It was trimmed in white, with numerous decorative lines down the dress' arms.
"What happened to you general?"
"I nearly awakened, and the side effects of reverting back are what you are seeing. Don't worry about it, I'll be fine," Miria reassured, "Renée , I want to apologize for what happened. I should've cared more than to let you drop from my arms. I was just so distraught over Natalie-"
"It's alright Miria," Renée said, sympathetic, "I understand why you-"
Renée was interrupted when the cot in the dark corner of the room overturned to everyone's surprise.
Helen got up, ruffled hair and all, looking very indignant to ask, "Why the hell didn't anyone tell me little sis was up?"
"Helen, how in the world are you still alive?"
"Oh that, um, well, Renée , the thing is I remembered to extend all four of my limbs enough to slow down my descent. I ended up breaking every bone in my arms and legs, but I was in a lot better shape than you were. You nearly died on Yuma; if it weren't for Claire and Raki's help," Helen trailed off, a great deal of guilt in Helen's expression.
"They're back?"
"Yep, both of 'em, and guess what! Since you were out, Claire and Raki arrived in town...with their twins!"
"I want to see them," Renée declared to the general alarm of Helen, Miria and Natalie.
"Some other time," Helen demurred, "right now I'm just glad you're better," Helen sniffed, hugging Renée far too hard.
The pain surged up Renée 's back, "Owww, oww, Helen, stop, stop it now," a command at which point Helen belatedly stop the hugging. "I think you broke something in my back!"
"Okay Helen," Miria cautioned, "I think that's enough visiting Renée for a little while. We only just finished setting all of Renée 's bones yesterday, and it took five days since finding Renée to set all of them. If you don't want Yuma upset, then you'll wait a few hours for Renée to heal."
"Oh alright," Helen grudgingly agreed, then in a spurt of affection, turned to kiss Renée on both cheeks while Miria and Natalie laughed, and then even after she resisted, Helen kept going by kissing her on the lips once.
"Knock it off! This had better not be a regular occurrence, you know I'm not the over-affectionate type," she huffed at Helen, who merely smiled while leaving the room.
"Here," Miria said, who was helping to bring Renée back to the bed, "Natalie, give me that pillow, we'll have you put your back against it sitting up in bed Renée ."
With the arrangements finished, Renée found sitting back in the bed was a relatively pain-free experience.
"Better?" Miria asked.
"Yes," Renée sighed, enjoying the soft comfort of the bed.
Renée noticed on Miria's left hand was a golden ring with a large red sapphire atop it.
"Wait, why are you wearing a ring Miria?"
Miria smiled, "Cid and I are going to get married in six months. Speaking of the wedding, would you like to be one of my bridesmaids?"
"What...I mean I'd love to be. But I don't have anything I could wear in a wedding," Renée admitted to Miria, who smiled, looking radiant in the sunlight coming from the window.
"I'll see to it that I find you something then," Miria agreed.
Renée queried, "I take it we won the battle?"
"Completely, but we lost Katrin, Marie, and Sabine during it, Alessandra and Ursula in the night raids, Josephine before it, and just under a thousand men. King Charles is dead thanks to Natalie, his son has fled back to Lautrec, and Natalie is grounded for a year for disobeying me and following Rubel's advice," Miria stated, her disapproval quite evident.
Natalie hardly said anything, but instead awkwardly squirmed and bit her lip.
"Although," Miria relented, "I'm impressed you trained her well enough to take out a king. In the meantime, Virginia, you can come in now and get Renée measured!"
White-haired Virginia entered wearing the usual warrior's leather outfit while holding a tape measure.
Renée objected, "I've already got this dress, we don't need to actually to spend all my money on another, do we?"
Renée had asked Virginia while looking down at the tight-fitting white dress, which was far from ordinary.
Virginia sternly responded, "First off, it's so tight your nipples are showing through Renée , and secondly I am making your dress, so you're not wearing that borrowed dress, got that?"
Renée looked down again at her chest and reddened upon realizing the truth of Virginia's words.
"I hadn't noticed that," she admitted to Virginia, wretchedly embarrassed.
"Top off if you please," Virginia instructed with a business-like air.
She followed Virginia's instructions as Miria closed the window. While Virginia began stretching out the measuring tape and Miria watched, Virginia pressed a cold finger to her chest, and then wrapped the cool tape measure around her body as gently as possible. Miria sat coolly observing until the door opened and in walked Cid and Galk.
"General we've been...," Galk trailed off, gaping, as did Cid, both noticing her topless state.
Miria wheeled on the two of them with a vengeance, "Out you imbeciles!"
"Well they are pretty adorable," Cid admitted, looking at twin silver-eyed toddlers nestled in the arms of a white dress-wearing Claire, whose eyes were speckled green and silver.
Claire agreed fervently, although with few words, "They are cute, aren't they Cid?"
They were on the fifth floor of Rabona's old keep, where it had been renovated with a stone balcony. Below them was the parade ground square beneath the tower. Beyond that was the budding skyline of Rabona, where hundreds of workmen could be seen erecting new church spires, large block homes, stores, palatial manors, and even working on the cobblestone streets. Far in the distance to the south was the 15-story, triple-towered Teresian Cathedral and the single tower of the ten story tall Lord Mayor's Residence across the square from it.
Galk nudged him in the side, "What Cid meant to say is that they reminded him of how much he's looking forward to officially being Natalie's father."
"I never would..."
Cid trailed off as Miria walked up wearing her finest armor, helmet held to one side. The five of them turned to Miria, including the two curious toddlers.
"I hope you're properly ashamed of yourself dear, and the same goes for you Galk," Miria remarked, crossing her arms as she stood like a stern statue before the balcony's large wooden door.
"Look, I'm sorry honey," Cid apologized, stretching out his arms while Galk remained silent; "I hadn't expected Renée to be partially undressed when we found you."
"Hey now," a masculine voice interrupted.
Raki entered the balcony wearing a simple gray tunic just behind Miria, slapping Miria good-naturedly on the gold-gilded shoulder plates, which drew an annoyed stare from Miria.
"Let's not get all wound up over a tempest in a teapot," Raki advised, "We've just won a huge victory. Shouldn't we all be a little more forgiving?"
"Alright, but you had better keep your eyes on me next time dear," Miria lectured Cid, pointing to her chest, then turned to Claire, "so Claire, who are your two bundles of joy?"
Claire gave a faint smile as she handed Miria a toddler dressed in a simple red dress with wispy blond hair and a small nose, "That's Teresa," Claire said as Miria held the quiet, curious girl, "and this is Victor," Claire said of the black dress-wearing boy.
"She looks just like her mother," Miria complimented, letting Teresa clutch an index finger with her tiny hands.
Claire asked, "Cid, would you like to hold Victor?"
"Oh sure," he answered as Claire handed the toddler over.
Victor though began crying almost immediately upon leaving his mother's arms, so he handed Victor back, which immediately calmed the crying.
"I'm sorry Cid, Victor's a tad touchy, just like his father," Claire added with a grin, cradling Victor with care.
"Hey," Raki butted back, "I was not that bad when you met me."
Claire let his retort pass just as a whole crowd of a dozen claymores, including pigtailed Alexandra, white-haired Virginia, Helen, Tabitha and coiffed-hair Camilla, walked up wearing large smiles and plenty of their battle armor.
"Ah my goodness," Alexandra gushed in her almost girlish voice, "Look at those irresistibly adorable claymore babies!"
Alexandra and Camilla rushed over to Miria to see little Teresa, who was looking downright bewildered by the sudden attention upon her in Miria's arms. The dozen claymores walked into the enclosed balcony, crowding around both Claire and Miria and cooing over the silver-eyed toddlers.
"Alright, alright," Claire shouted as the attention overwhelmed Victor and he began crying again, "you'll get to see them both inside."
Claire grabbed Teresa from Miria and led the crowd of adoring claymores inside as Raki chuckled, watching them go, and then finally the enclosed balcony's door closed with a soft thud.
"Miria and I," Cid started, drawing an inquisitive look from Miria, "since we're getting married, we got a new place. We bought the entire Ile de poires yesterday; it's that gorgeous river island downstream; cost a fortune, but if you want, we'll see if we can build some lodging for you, Claire and the kids. What do you say?"
Claire spoke up from inside, "I'm not-"
"Of course, we'd love to live near you guys," Raki accepted, drawing a stern look from his overridden wife just inside the doorway. She left a moment later, so Cid pressed on.
By the way, just where in the world did Claire and you stay these past few years?"
"Oh, about that," Raki sighed, scratching the back of his head, "Claire didn't want me around the other female claymores," Raki admitted. "She was worried about the other claymores being interested, so when she was a month pregnant we moved out to a hidden valley in south-eastern Lautrec. We were living there until a few weeks before this battle, when a bunch of soldiers set up shop nearby. I got worried about the kids, so we started walking towards Rabona."
"Well, good thing," Galk commented while Miria frowned at the moment Raki had mentioned Claire being worried about female claymores' interest in him, "Your timing was impeccable."
A messenger dressed in an ornate red tunic galloped through the fortified gates below, having been motioned through by a quartet of armored guards.
Miria glanced down, setting both of her hands down atop the stone railing, and then commented, "We'll have to leave shortly."
Galk asked while looking below, "Why is that general?"
"That messenger is here from the Council of Lords, which means we've got a meeting," Miria remarked, sounding sure while leaning over to look below the stone balcony.
Miria whistled loudly, and a soldier in armor quickly walked through the open door and saluted.
Miria turned to the soldier, "Lieutenant, have the carriage readied for departure. We'll be heading to the Lord Mayor's Residence."
Galk and Raki walked out, Galk giving Cid a nod as he did so. After a quick embrace they followed, arriving downstairs to find a beautiful wooden carriage pulled by four white horses. Miria was about to enter the carriage when a small girl rushed up past the guards and grabbed Miria's leg. Miria smiled as the girl's mother came up frantically behind, held back by the guards.
The little girl squealed in glee, "Look mommy, I found the angel!"
Cid took a moment to overcome some shock and stammered, "Wait, what?"
"I'm sorry," the brown-haired mother apologized, picking up the girl a moment later, "her delusional father is under some impression that you grew wings during the recent battle."
"But mommy," the little girl complained, "daddy says he-"
"Hush," the mother commanded, then carried the silenced but wistful-looking child away, who stared at Miria as if she were divine.
"What was-"
"It was just the daughter of a deluded man Cid," Miria said, looking annoyed, "nothing more."
"If you say so dear," Cid sighed.
The carriage ride began moments later with a light jolt, and Cid found the ride was not particularly smooth, but it progressed quickly as they rushed out the gates and onto the narrow cobblestone streets. All along the way there were hundreds of soldiers in full armor standing at attention, some having to keep children from running alongside the carriage. Some adults were smiling, waving or throwing flowers at the carriage as it passed, while a few men and women showed their opinion of the anti-church coup by giving them the finger.
At long last, having gotten past the winding streets, they reached Orthodox Boulevard and sped up. Within a minute the carriage was pulled into Rabona's main square, with the triple-towered Teresian Cathedral to the left guarded by hundreds of swordsmen. To the carriage's right side was an honor guard of pikemen stood at attention in two opposing rows along a red carpet leading up to the Lord Mayor's Residence. They got out together, walking towards the Lord Mayor's Residence at a leisurely pace, with Miria leading the way followed by Raki, Galk, and Cid.
The building's grand, arched, gilded bronze front doors were opened, and they were led by a mute male servant up several sets of marble stairs until they reached the top floor. The building was crammed with chandeliers, portraits, plush red carpeting, and finely finished maple walls. In the center of the top floor's hallway was an immense arched doorway with a bronze sign overhead marked "Conseil des Lords". A pair of guards saluted as they passed by underneath, and then they found themselves in a large room, lit by candles on three immense silver chandeliers. The room's far wall was rimmed with arched windows looking out on the cathedral and the town square.
Directly before them, seated behind an immense, ornate hardwood table were ten men, all of them wearing black robes embroidered in white and looking unusually happy for middle-aged and elderly patrician statesmen. Cid noticed two men in the middle, one the hawk-beaked Ruud van Willems, the other man the older, gray-bearded Lord Mayor Zaehringen.
"Lord Mayor Zaehringen," Miria began, "it's a pleasure to see you now under better circumstances."
Zaehringen smiled, "Naturally. I wanted to keep this brief and business-like general. We'd like to reward some of your officers for their sterling service to Rabona. We offer Monsieurs Raki Lautrec, Cid Malaga, and Francois Galacon membership in the Council of Lords. For Monsieurs Lautrec and Galacon, we would like to offer the lowest noble rank of Baron. For Monsieur Malaga, the Council of Lords would like to offer you the rank a higher noble rank of Count."
Raki stepped forward shaking his head, "I'm sorry, but I cannot accept."
Zaehringen bristled, "Why not?"
"My wife is dead-set against the idea of hereditary aristocracy," Raki explained, which caused some guffawing and offense along the table.
"We're not asking your wife," Zaehringen informed Raki shortly, "we're asking you. It'd be a full-time position of great influence you could pass along to your heirs and comes with a large salary. It's not a thing for a mentally inferior female to decide for you-"
"That is far enough," Miria shouted, sounding very angry. "Perhaps you have forgotten, Lord Mayor Zaehringen, who saved this city from attack."
"I do not dispute that female claymores are gifted at warfare, general, or that they have helped save Rabona in the past," Zaehringen rebutted, "but as for any sort of civilian rule, female claymores are just as incapable as women."
Zaehringen pressed on despite Miria becoming more and more aggravated, and most worryingly of all, it was hard for Cid not to notice his future wife was still wearing her sword, "We'd be the laughingstock of the city if we were to offer females membership on this council and-"
"I have four commanders, Renée , Helen, Nadia and Yuma, who deserve the rank of Baron much more than my husband, even if he's very courageous. I'm even more surprised to find you did not think I merited such an honor given your standards."
There was a dangerous edge in Miria's voice Cid had not heard before.
Ruud van Willems intervened, drawing Zaehringen's disapproving stare.
"I'm sorry general, but allow me to explain. In order to serve on the Council of Lords, you cannot also be a member of the military. Should these three gentlemen accept our offer, they would have to give up their ranks. While I understand Lord Mayor Zaehringen's issues with female claymores in the Council of Lords, I'm sure we can come to a compromise," Ruud said in a calming voice.
Miria asked in a skeptical tone, "Oh, and what would that be?"
He was looking out the arched windows of Gonal's interim royal palace at the smooth sea when black-haired Violetta strolled in. She was wearing an extravagantly flashy black and gold-embroidered dress with a low-cut top that revealed her ample cleavage, with a pair of pearl earrings and her hair gussied up in an ornate braid. Unlike her flirtatious apparel, Violetta's face was deadly serious.
"King Philippe," Violetta called out as a dozen guards walked in escorting a middle-aged woman and a small boy no older than five into the room.
He got up, dressed in his regal best, with a large red cloak and robes, along with a simple golden crown atop his head. He straightened out to his full height and faced them as calmly as possible.
"Your Majesty," one of the guards addressed him, "Princess Violetta has discovered this woman was attempting to supplant you with an impostor son of Your Majesty."
The woman, who although middle-aged still showed some of her favorable youth and wore her rich brown hair waist-long, attempted to speak in her defense.
"Your Majesty, you must understand, you have to spare the boy-"
"Out of the question," Violetta cut the woman off, "take them away and have them punished."
The woman cast a sad glance at him before taking the black-haired boy with her, prodded along and out of the chamber by the guards.
Violetta instead turned to him and scolded, "A few weeks after nearly losing your life, and you're doing nothing but mope around? Do you even realize that that woman was planning to have you killed by her royal guard husband, or that you fathered her boy when she was an Orthodox nun?"
He asked, "I did what?"
"That woman was a thirty-five year old nun six years ago when she met a young, dashing teenage boy who'd made a pilgrimage to her church. She forced herself upon him, and nine months later, having been ejected from the church, she gave birth to that boy you just saw," Violetta said nonchalantly, smiling manically.
"What did you tell the guards to do?"
"I sent your bastard son and his mother to be hung, effective immediately," Violetta smiled.
"You evil bitch," he screamed, and ran towards the door, which was closed and locked. He ran around the room, trying every door, only to find them all locked.
"I thought you might try to save the boy," Violetta laughed, "so I ordered the guards to secure the doors against all possible attacks and lock us in."
"I'm going to kill you for this-"
Violetta cut him off by drawing out a knife from her cleavage, "You can't. Quite frankly, I don't think you're suited to be a king, at least not yet. While you were moping around the last three weeks after losing to Phantom Miria, I was taking charge of this kingdom's spies and armed forces. No fewer than thirty-one women so far have been found claiming that you've fathered their children, and of those my spies think two dozen are highly probable."
"What did you do?"
He sat down in a large, black-leather upholstered armchair as Violetta kept the wickedly sharp knife in one hand.
"I had them all killed naturally," Violetta laughed, "The very idea that I'd allow someone else to replace my child on the throne is so contemptible as to be ridiculous."
"Your child?"
Violetta continued her sinister smile, "The doctor pronounced me pregnant this morning, as he did Princesses Adelita, Eugenia, Patrizia, and Tatiana, which means you're an incredibly virile man. Of course, having that many heirs to the throne is dangerous to the succession, so I took precautions."
"You had them killed, didn't you?" He asked rhetorically, his eyes moistening. "You are a goddamn monster!"
"Nonsense," Violetta sniffed, grinning. "You said it best when you described me as the type of mother you needed to have a great heir. Your young reign has survived no fewer than fourteen troop mutinies so far thanks to my actions while you were moping around. You might be a great man in bed Your Majesty," Violetta smiled, her words dripping with judgmental fervor, "but you'll never be a great ruler without me."
"I'm sure I can try," King Philippe countered, "I'm still a man and you're still a woman.
"I may have the frail body of a woman," Violetta answered, sure of voice, "but I have the heart of a king. If you want to live on as king and not be deposed in the next six months, you still have a very good chance of ruling this island."
"Of all the things you think about after killing all those innocent people," he mouthed.
"I don't need to hear such things from a man who killed a girl just for being defiant," Violetta tartly countered, "I won't deal with you if you want to keep up your hypocrisy; heaven knows I could find more able men. What I'm offering you is the choice of living with me or dying a horrible death without my aid. Which do you prefer?"
He hid his head beneath his hands before answering, "Do you plan on killing all my mistresses over the years as well?"
"Oh, of course not, just any children of theirs you've fathered," Violetta cheerfully explained, a sadistic smile upon her face. "Although I might spare their lives if they were under my care as queen."
"If I make you queen, the only thing I ask is how do you plan to make me king of this island? How is it you plan on overcoming that monster Phantom Miria?"
Violetta pointed to a nearby stack of papers on a large table, "By using her for our purposes rather than pointlessly opposing her. I have my plan here; shall we begin with the first step?"
Excerpt from "A History of Toulouse"
With "King Charles' War" brought to an abrupt end and King Philippe of Lautrec posing no threat, the Rabonese city-state expanded. The Council of Lords ordered the expanding army to secure the plains and foothills surrounding the city. King Charles' army's work on fortifying 8 hills around Rabona actually wound up helping the military establish forts of its own there and control the central plains of Toulouse. Within weeks a thousand of the war prisoners were set to work building castles and barracks. Six months into their efforts, the troops had secured Rabona a ten-mile radius of well-defended and governed territory.
The city of Rabona itself was undergoing numerous changes, with older, winding alleyways and numerous street blocks razed to make way for the advent of city planning. Streets were widened, the city grid made logical and straightforward, and all roads were helpfully given street signs. The city's walls were massively improved with six story guard towers added every tenth of a mile. Commerce flourished as the Council of Lords lifted restrictions imposed by the prior oppressive church rules, although some abuses began occurring. The city, facing a massive influx of population threatening to push population past its old record peak of around 200,000, turned to military and civil expansion.
Rabona, already 3 miles east to west, and four miles north to south, saw a massive if controversial city expansion plan started under the head of state, Lord Mayor Zaehringen. The Council of Lords, stretching their finances, managed to even afford to add a one square mile fortified citadel to the plans. However, given the scope of the project and other projects going on concurrently, progress six months after victory had been slow. The Army of Rabona in that time however had achieved a sterling reputation, its troops bringing law and order to the banks of the Toulouse River by protecting commerce with a number of strategic riverside castles.
The population boom caused by the influx of other islanders escaping the lawless anarchy of the countryside did cause some problems for Rabona's leaders. Faced with the prospect of many recent arrivals being without work, the Council of Lords decided to absorb them through expanding the military and massive public works projects. Rabona's commanding officer, the recently promoted Lieutenant General Miria bought a river isle in the meantime, the "Ile de poires", or Isle of Pears, from where she commanded the ever-growing military. The Ile de poires was a river isle less than one square mile in area, located just a mile south of Rabona's stone walls.
Rimmed on all sides by the Toulouse River, it was accessible only by boat. Phantom Miria, rapidly acquiring a fortune only surpassed by Rabona's merchant tycoons and lords, purchased the isle with help from her husband. It was known for its beautiful orchards and soon as a summer home for Rabona's claymores. Miria even hired many formerly destitute girls and women to work on the isle as the personal servants of an increasingly rich group of claymores. It was here, on the Ile de poires, where Rabona's "wedding of the century" between its top general and the dashing Count Cid Malaga was about to take place...
6 months later...
Renée was watching the Toulouse River flow idly around the fat oval of the Ile de poires from a small hillock. It was situated above the isle's trees, which were flowering in a beautiful array of pink, yellow and white. Abruptly Renée heard a shout from someone nearby.
"Yes?"Renée had shouted back down into a grove of pink-flowered pear trees just down the hillside.
A claymore wearing a light blue dress with a white belt, with short blond hair and a pair of rosebuds tucked behind her ears waved, "Hey Renée ," what are you doing? The wedding's going to start within the hour!"
"I was just admiring the view Helen," Renée shouted back.
Helen walked up gingerly over the grass, nearly falling over several times while tripping on the hem of the dress. Helen eventually made it and sat down beside her, Helen's wooden shoes plopping off to reveal white silk stockings.
"Man, this is a pain," Helen sighed, "why can't we just wear one-layer leather like normal?"
"You know Miria would go ballistic if we showed up to her wedding in plain old leather, Helen," Renée countered, "besides, I rather like dressing up once in a while."
"Hey," a third, slightly girly voice called out from behind them.
Renée turned along with Helen to find Natalie awkwardly walking up the hill in a snug blue cotton dress. Natalie's dress, like hers and Helen's, was tight, with a lot of bared flesh above the bosom, but with no exposed cleavage. The shoulders were covered, but it cut off below the armpits, showing plenty of skin.
Natalie's arms were wrapped around a large, furry cat which was a mix of beautiful orange and white, with black stripes across its back, down both sides, and across its kitten-like face.
Renée asked, "What is that cat?"
"Renée , this is Dabi," Natalie cooed, "Nadia gave him to me as a sort of pre-wedding gift for the family. Nadia says he's a Northern Tiger."
Helen laughed, "Aren't you worried he'll be too big to handle?"
"Nooo," Natalie stammered, "Nadia said he'll grow to the size of a bobcat. Besides, since the battle, mom's taken all of my fifteen cats, one dog, three birds and four lizards away, so I can only care for Dabi now."
Helen was laughing so hard she was crying, "Oh my god, you...haha...ha...ha-ha...had four...ha-ha...lizards!"
Natalie's annoyed expression soured an otherwise cute face as Helen pounded the grass with a hand, crying tears of laughter.
"Come on Natalie," Renée said, grabbing Natalie while Helen was still attempting to stifle her laughter, "let's go back to the church."
They walked back together after Helen ran awkwardly to catch up, then half-apologized. Upon reaching the hillock's bottom they were surrounded by an immensely old line of pear trees, which were being pruned by some female field hands.
It took another few minutes to reach the northern end of the island, where they walked into a clearing filled with tables topped by bouquets of every conceivable flower. A hundred women in brilliant green dresses hurried around setting the tables with silverware, plates, cups and napkins. The ten tables were nearly as long as Rabona's immense Teresian Cathedral and crowded the clearing. The clearing was bordered on the far end by a single-towered, five-story church.
The church was painted white, with a black tiled roof, a large open belfry and bell within it, and had an arched open entryway beneath the bell tower. A squad of ten soldiers decked out in full armor and white flowers upon their helms stood near the door. Next to the soldiers was a group of individuals formed up into two lines. Claire and Tabitha were on one side, while Raki, Galk, Captain Lannes, Captain Soult and others were on the other side. Renée grabbed Natalie and Helen by the hands and dragged them forward to the ladies' line, with Claire raising an eyebrow.
Tabitha exploded, "What the hell were you three doing?"
"God Tabitha," Helen bit back, "don't get your panties in a twist, we're back and the wedding is about to start on time, so quit your whining."
"You certainly had us worried," Galk commented as Tabitha silently scowled.
Galk was wearing a fine white leather tunic with breeches and long brown leather boots, as were all the other men of honor.
It was possible, as Renée looked inside the church, to notice it was lit by candles and the midday sun, and was completed filled with rows of claymores, soldiers, their wives and families, many of whom were looking back in curiosity.
"Well sorry," Helen began, "but Renée was playing miss contemplative here," Helen pointed at her. "Now that all the bridesmaids are here, shouldn't we begin?"
"We're about to now," Cid's voice interjected. Everyone turned to find Cid behind them in much the same outfit as Galk, except with the addition of a fine white cape.
Organ music started playing in the church, and Claire began walking forward along with Raki. The bridesmaids and men of honor paired up and filed past the crowds of onlookers to either side of the church's golden, winged altar. Despite the church's religious setting, there wasn't a priest in sight. They split off, the bridesmaids to the right, the men of honor to the left. Galk was closest to the altar, and Renée guessed he was probably the best man Cid had selected six months ago.
At the front of the church's rows of wooden benches were the other female claymores, all dressed in a radiant variety of dresses, some of which were revealing scandalously large amounts of cleavage at a wedding. Cid took his place to the right of the altar as Lord Mayor Zaehringen came forward in his finest clothes, with fine black trousers, a blue and gold-trimmed cloak, and a small brown book. Zaehringen looked good with his graying beard finely trimmed and his head capped with a fine three cornered, white-plumed hat.
"Alright Cid, just remember," Zaehringen said while Renée looked on in curiosity with Helen, Tabitha, Claire and Natalie, "do everything like in rehearsal."
Cid smiled nervously, and then another pounding chord from the church's organ began the next part of the wedding. Claire's twins, Victor and Teresa, dressed up in a miniature form of bride and groom, came forward, with Victor carrying the black satin pillow that held the simple gold wedding rings. Behind them was pigtailed witch Alexandra, ushering them down the aisle every time they faltered, mostly because they had over five hundred pairs of eyes upon them.
Zaehringen took the rings from the pillow, while little Victor, barely taller than Zaehringen's knee, walked over to his father Raki. Teresa however wasn't being so cooperative and followed her brother instead of heading towards Claire like she was supposed to.
Alexandra, who was dressed in a dark green gown, coaxed Teresa to her mother's side while there was some good-natured chuckling and laughter. Alexandra quickly took a seat next to Camilla, who was smiling as they awaited Miria's entrance. Camilla began to talk a lot to her seat-mates in excited but inaudible tones while preening her coiffed hair.
Helen whispered, "Renée , why's Camilla talking to Alexandra and her cousin Virginia?"
"Camilla got to do Miria's hair, and Virginia designed and made the wedding dress, so I guess Camilla's bragging about her results," Renée answered.
The results of Camilla's work came into view as the organist and a young boys' choir joined in on a full crescendo into the melody of "Here comes the bride". Renée gasped, admiring Miria's sleeker and less pointy hair, her beautifully veiled face, and her leaf-patterned, white silk lace dress. Miria's dress trailed behind her a good twenty yards as she slowly walked up the aisle.
Natalie in the meantime had started crying, "Mom just looks so beautiful..."
Miria climbed up the steps as half the claymores in the audience started quietly sobbing, as did many of the women, and more surprisingly, a few of the men.
Zaehringen began the ceremony with a sure voice, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here to join together this Man and this Woman in Matrimony; an honorable estate, and into which these two persons present come now to be joined."
Natalie finally stopped crying as Miria looked over warningly at her adoptive daughter.
Zaehringen then continued, "Therefore if anyone can shew any just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace."
It was at this moment, as Zaehringen continued, that Renée noticed a middle-aged woman with lovely, glossy and bushy brown hair staring intently from the second row next to the hawk-nosed, handsome Lord Ruud van Willems. The woman's eyes didn't stare into Renée 's eyes with hate, but rather just to the left, where she noticed Helen innocently staring into the ceiling.
Zaehringen was continuing, addressing Cid now as Renée noticed Miria's dress was half the church's length, "Wilt thee have this Woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together after in the estate of Matrimony? Wilt thee love her, comfort her, honour, and keep her, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?"
Cid answered surely as a large number of women began tearing up in the audience, "I will."
Miria answered "I will" to a similar line from Zaehringen, and the ceremony proceeded on as Renée 's mind wandered. Renée began imagining herself in Miria's place as the ceremony continued.
Zaehringen was hitting full stride now, "Miria dear, repeat after me: "I, repeat your name, take thee Count Cid Malaga, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to be bonny and buxom at bed and at board, to love and to cherish, till death us depart; and thereunto I plight thee my troth."
Miria repeated this, loudly vowing, "I, Miria Victoire de Beauharnais..."
At this moment Helen's face began contorting in surprise, to which Miria smiled in amusement. Zaehringen gave Cid a golden ring after Miria completed her vows, which he put on Miria's thumb as the church turned silent, "With this Ring I thee wed." Cid followed up by taking it off and putting it on her index finger, "and with my body I thee honor," and again Cid moved the ring over a finger on Miria's bare left hand, " and with all my worldly goods I thee endow." After this Cid put it on Miria's ring finger, a hush falling upon the room as Miria repeated Cid's oath of marriage, placing a ring upon Cid's hand.
Zaehringen closed his book, looked at both bride and then groom, "You may kiss the bride."
Cid did not so much flip over Miria's veil as lunge to take it off, and a moment later the two had a long, passionate kiss, at which point Tabitha started looking away. A cheer built in the crowd as Miria surprised Cid by picking him up and rushing down the aisle with a huge smile on her face.
Cid's ponytail dangled as he objected, "Miria, it's the man who's supposed to do that!"
"You forget I'm a claymore," Miria laughed, which jovially shocked everyone present.
Helen grabbed Renée 's shoulder as Miria walked down the aisle with the still-objecting Cid, "Renée , come on, let's go follow Miria out to the carriage!"
They followed as quickly as they could to the large covered carriage, which Cid clambered into with Miria, waving at the crowd of well-wishers. Miria took a bouquet of flowers and threw it over her head. It arced gracefully over many grasping female hands to arrive straight into the arms of Helen.
"There's no way that's happening," Claire remarked to Helen as Miria and Cid's carriage left and everyone shouted or whistled their approval.
"Gee, thanks," Helen sarcastically bit back at Claire.
"Ah come on you two, let's not squabble," Natalie interjected, "look, here comes the food!"
Several hundred women in dark green dresses brought forward steaming platters of food. They had come from nearby wooden buildings just barely visible beyond flowering pear trees to the north. Some brought platters of fish, from rainbow trout to perch, carp, tuna, and catfish; others brought salads filled with tomatoes and peppers. The servers lined up the food, which kept coming in new varieties, along two sets of tables, and people soon began gathering plates to take back to eat at the long tables clustered to either side in the clearing.
It took Renée hearing the pangs of an empty stomach to find Alexandra next to Helen, Claire, Natalie and herself.
"Oh man," the pig-tailed Alexandra exclaimed after her stomach audibly churned, "I starved myself of everything but water for two weeks just so I would eat as much as a human. Umm, Natalie," the pigtailed Alexandra pointed, "what's your tiger doing?"
Dabi, the Northern Tiger cub Natalie had only just gotten from Nadia, had clumsily clambered up onto one of the tables and started gorging down what looked like half a platter of trout.
Natalie frantically ran over to recover the tiger before the aggravated servers knocked the cat senseless with metal pans.
Natalie shouted, "Dabi, you stupid cat, get off the table!"
Helen wisecracked, "You see, it's just like Miria says, she leaves for her honeymoon, and then everything goes to straight to hell!"
The wedding party's contingent of claymores began crying from laughter as Natalie picked up the tiger cub amidst both laughter and party-goer aggravation. Dabi however was having none of it, and clamped his small jaws shut around the edge of the silver platter holding the cooked trout. The scene climaxed when Natalie finally tugged the squealing, obstinate tiger cub off the table, spilling a dozen pounds of unspoiled fish all over the grass. Helen, who'd gotten a drink to quench her thirst, spit her drink out in laughter, straight onto an irate Claire.
"Oh shit," Helen muttered.
"If you don't want a title or a command Claire, then what do you want?"
Renée was asking her, pacing alongside as they walked through Rabona's cobblestone streets. Renée was wearing her usual uniform, her navy blue leather complemented with gold-gilded shoulder plates, gauntlets, and a short white cape.
"I want to look after Victor and Teresa, and those two need Raki and me to both be around to take care of them," she told Renée , who frowned.
"I'm sure Tabitha would not mind giving up command of the Elite Guard if you wanted it-"
"No Renée ," Claire cut Renée off, "I'm not going to take that from Tabitha. Raki and I will remain here in Rabona as protectors of the city."
"We'll pay you both a thousand Francs for your help," Renée promised earnestly.
"I'll take half that, and so will Raki," Claire answered.
"Why half?"
"I don't need the money that badly, and I'm not interested in having 300 servant girls and female field hands like Miria," Claire explained to Renée , who frowned.
They had stopped in the center of a narrow intersection, with night falling fast and only small fireflies and four torches lighting the sparsely populated cobblestone streets around them. Renée flashed an unhappy look at her.
"What? Look, it just seems totally banal to me," Claire pointed out, "Why does Miria need that many servant girls and field hands?"
"Claire," Renée said a little too curtly, "Miria is now an honorary Countess and making 10,000 Francs a year as Lieutenant General, while Cid makes 40,000 Francs a year as a Count. Rather than just let their wealth pile up, Miria and Cid arranged for me to hire the girls and improve their land. They're even building all claymores their own summer residences, including yours I might add. Some of those girls' prior work included being call girls and prostitutes; would you prefer they keeping doing that out of desperation like some of us had to?"
"No, of course not. It just seems absurd to have Miria called Countess Miria Victoire de Beauharnais-Malaga. She should just avoid human politics," Claire replied.
"We're involved in politics whether we want to be or not-"
"Yes, and not for the better," a stern female voice interjected.
They turned to find Galatea in her usual blue and white nun's outfit, long hair covered by a blue habit atop Galatea's head, her arms covered by long white gloves. The residents of the city kept a respectful distance as Renée eyed Galatea diffidently.
"Ah, so they released you at long last," Renée remarked.
"I have Miria to thank for that," Galatea responded with a sniff, "It's ironic, I cannot forgive Miria for overthrowing the church that protects the poor, and yet she can forgive me for attempting to kill her for that offense."
Renée asked, "Yeah, so you finally noticed your hypocrisy then?"
"Hypocrisy? I was merely enforcing the law! It was my duty to protect the rule of the church. Miria may have beaten Rabona's enemies and made Rabona more powerful, but the peace she has will not last," Galatea stated. "Those aristocratic allies of yours care nothing for the poor and the needy, so if Miria's as compassionate as you say, I doubt it'll last forever."
"What I find ironic is you find nothing disconcerting about killing a former comrade in the name of protecting a pacifist church," Claire countered before Renée could.
"I cannot be lectured on morality by the apostate mother of two illegitimate children," Galatea butted back.
"I got married," Claire objected, showing a ring.
"The church does not recognize the marriages of known heretics," Galatea countered, "so as far as we're concerned, you've condemned those poor children to being bastards."
Claire wasn't really aware of what her hands did in the moment that followed, but it ended with Galatea falling backwards onto the cobblestone street unconscious.
"Holy shit Claire," Renée cursed, rushing over Galatea's side and feeling Galatea's pulse with an exposed hand, "Oh thank goodness, she's still alive. What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I'm sick and tired of listening to Galatea attacking my morality," Claire explained.
Renée looked around in alarm, "You shouldn't have done that Claire."
The citizens of Rabona nearby looked outraged, with a number throwing small stones and sticks already. Seconds later a massive number of residents began surging forward, grabbing pitchforks, wheat reapers and anything else handy to vent their anger.
"Get the bitch that attacked that defenseless nun," one man shouted.
"Let's get the silver-eyed devils who overthrew our beloved church," a brown-haired woman shrilly shouted, brandishing a hammer, leading the mob forward, screaming.
They jumped out of the mob's reach onto nearby rooftops just in time as the angry crowd converged and then grabbed Galatea and took her into a nearby home.
"My, my, it seems it was wrong of me to say you calmed down all those years ago Claire," a male voice said behind them.
They both turned to look, right hands on their swords to be safe, and found Rubel dressed in black, complete with circular sunglasses, hat, and black uniform. Rubel was standing atop a six story block-house's chimney, smiling, nearly half a block away.
"Rubel you bastard, this time you're not getting away," Claire declared, charging forward.
Rubel remained remarkably still as she approached while jumping over gaps between block-houses and dodging between innumerable chimneys. Claire was just about to attack when Rubel suddenly moved, throwing something towards the ground. A bright white flash blinded her eyes for a moment. Renée ran up just as Claire's sight returned.
"You go look for Rubel, I'll get the military to stop that mob you enraged," Renée remarked, giving her a stern look.
The bells on numerous nearby church bell-towers were soon ringing as Claire raced over rooftops towards a pair of familiar yokis. Claire jumped off a house and onto the cobblestone street as close as possible to them, spreading her legs to cushion the landing. When she got up she found herself staring a large black-spotted cow in the eye.
"Agh," Claire yelped.
A familiar girl with ruddy cheeks, silver eyes, short, cropped blond hair, a mischievous smile and wearing navy-blue leather popped up.
Helen smiled, "Oh hi Claire, what's the matter?"
"Rubel," Claire answered, drawing a knowing look from Helen.
"You alerted the military, right?"
"Of course, but they're partially tied up in containing a mob right now, so I-"
"Ah, so you did thrash Galatea a few minutes ago," Helen remarked in an exasperated tone, "why do you always have to go around stirring up trouble Claire?"
Claire shot back, "You shouldn't lecture me on stirring up trouble, and second, we need to start searching for Rubel right now-"
"If he's still in the city, we'll find him Claire, if not," Helen shrugged her shoulders, "Miria will understand when she gets back."
"Why is it that you have a cow Helen?"
"Oh, that, well, take a look down below her," Helen gestured.
Below the cow was a familiar, smallish tiger cub, greedily suckling one of the nipples on the cow's udder. Next to the tiger, on the opposite side of the cow to Helen, was Natalie, lovingly stroking the baby tiger's fine orange, white and black-striped fur.
"Hi Claire," Natalie smiled, wearing a ponytail hairstyle very similar to her adoptive mother's.
"Natalie won a game, so she got a cow as a prize. Whatever you do though, don't let her convince you to enter a game of no-limit claymore poker," Helen warned in a low whisper, "it's like she can read your every hand."
A well-dressed woman approached wearing a black dress and a fine black hat. Her face seemed vaguely familiar to Claire as the woman approached, a crowd of male onlookers openly eying the beautiful lady.
The woman asked Helen, "Are you Commander Helen Habsburg?"
"I am-"
The woman cut Helen's answer off with a spectacular back-handed slap across Helen's face, leaving a perfect hand imprint upon the right side of Helen's face.
"You deserved that for what you've done with my husband," the woman scolded Helen.
"You should be slapping Ruud instead of-"
The woman slapped Helen again, this time on the left side of Helen's face, and then left Helen looking a little shocked.
"You got to admit, you deserved that," Natalie commented, "If I were Ruud van Willems' wife, and I knew you were his mistress, I'd do the same thing."
They dropped off the adorable, still-suckling tiger cub and fat cow inside the small, inner stone courtyard of Miria's old address, and hurried to enter the search. Natalie was moving around at great speed, outrunning both Claire and Helen. The soldiers in the streets below were maintaining order while hundreds of their comrades searched house-to-house for the black hat-wearing spy.
"I see him," Natalie squealed in excitement, tearing off across a whole block of rooftops. Rubel's shadow dropped down out of sight, evidently into the streets below, which were now almost entirely populated with soldiers, as night had fallen. Natalie cut sideways, tracking Rubel's run overhead while Claire tried to close the gap.
Claire turned left, attempting to cut off Rubel's escape point. Below, a black shadow passed in the flickering torchlight of the intersection, with a sudden, blinding white flash appearing as Natalie charged in close behind. Rubel was gone from sight for a moment as he disappeared into the left alleyway at the street's end. While Natalie chased Rubel, Claire in turn took advantage of the moment to cut across the roofs to where the alleyways narrowed. Helen, Alexandra, and Renée closed in from opposite sides as well, running across the Rabonese rooftops.
Claire found Rubel below in the alleyway, running quietly through the streets. She dropped down directly before his route, drawing her sword, and smiled at him. Rubel changed direction but was confronted by Renée and Natalie, running up and almost within sword range. Alexandra, her waist-long braided pigtails swaying, landed to the left while Helen landed to the right side of Rubel. His escape was cut off when Renée and Natalie closed in from behind.
"You're trapped Rubel," Claire said, feeling a tad triumphant. "Here I was thinking this would be a bad day, and you fall into our laps. It's like the perfect ending Rubel. We've beaten back all the villains and finally captured the mastermind. I've been looking forward to this day."
"I can imagine, but I'm afraid you have mistaken my purpose here Claire," Rubel answered, smiling despite having five hostile claymores with swords drawn around him.
"What, you mean to say you aren't trying to get us killed?"
"I'm here on behalf of the Grand Alliance," Rubel smirked.
Four blades simultaneously came to rest alongside Rubel's neck, who had the grace to look a little disconcerted. Natalie alone had stayed back, her arms folded.
Claire snarled, "Tell me Rubel, why we shouldn't just kill you?"
Rubel gave a faint smile, surprising given the fact that he had four different claymores' swords at his neck. "If you kill me Claire, Rabona will be at war with the world's greatest power."
Helen countered, "Nobody went to war because their spy got caught and executed."
"Ah, but you see," Rubel took out a sealed message capsule, "I'm a mere messenger right now."
"Sheath your swords," Claire reluctantly ordered Helen, Renée , and Alexandra.
"Alright messenger," Claire huffed, "why are you here then?"
"I'm here because Miria and the rest of you botched the Organization's overthrow," Rubel explained.
Renée questioned, "What do you mean?"
"When you overthrew the Organization, the war went from a near-victory for our side to a partial disaster when the secret of partial awakening left this island," Rubel continued. "You fools let a loyalist claymore travel to the mainland who had gained knowledge of partial awakening. Do you have any idea of the damage that has done?"
"I don't care," Helen remarked, "and I don't see how our small island is of any concern to your war anymore, Rubel."
"All of you have been blissfully unaware of what has happened these three past years. Our enemies were losing the war three years ago, and then you gave them a key to success," Rubel hissed. "We were on the cusp of victory when a partially-awakened claymore and her comrades turned the tide. Those Alliance of Nations fools were so desperate they rewarded anyone, even a claymore, if they succeeded in command. One of those claymores, a veteran warrior named Katarzyna Romanowa, turned out to be an amazing commander. Eventually she tired of her superiors and seized total control of their military. We are now facing a silver-eyed empress and military commander more brilliant than any seen in the last five centuries due to your flawed overthrow of the Organization!"
None of the claymores could quite believe what they were hearing.
Helen scoffed, "A silver-eyed empress? Oh come on, like that would ever happen!"
"I imagine you'd say the world is flat as well," Rubel shot back. "There is no Alliance of Nations anymore thanks to Empress Katarzyna. In its place is a new, much more deadly superpower on the rise, the Romanow Empire. The Grand Alliance is requesting that the Dominion of Toulouse join in our efforts to stop the empress from attaining world domination."
"We have no desire to be involved in the world war," Renée remarked caustically.
"Our offer," Rubel continued, "is for the Rabonese state to join the Grand Alliance in this struggle. If it refuses our offer or if no answer is given within three years we shall be forced to intervene."
"That 'offer' isn't an offer at all; it's an ultimatum to join the Grand Alliance against this empress within three years or face invasion," Claire objected.
"I didn't say it'd be easy to ignore our entreaties. Ah, looks like he's arrived here," Rubel sighed, and the five of them simultaneously turned to follow Rubel's line of sight.
Walking towards them were a half dozen strangely dressed men in colorful red and black robes, with Galk leading them forward.
One called out to Rubel in a strange, crude tongue, "Meine gute, sind Sie ok Herr Rubel?"
"Ich bin gut wie immer Herr Botschafter," Rubel answered in the same tongue.
Galk stepped forward of the well-dressed men accompanied by a ten-man squad of pikemen, "Ladies, can I ask you to release Herr Rubel?"
Rubel walked out of their circle a moment later, untouched as Natalie eyed him venomously.
"It's a real shame for you Claire," Rubel remarked over his right shoulder to her. "You'll never get another chance like that one."
Claire clenched her fist in frustration as Rubel walked right out of her grasp.
Galk pointed to a tall, well-dressed man with a goatee as Rubel walked to the man's side, "Ladies, this is the Lord Ambassador to Rabona of the Grand Alliance, Duke von Rundstedt."
The End