Chapter 4
Shaki, Azerbaijan
The next morning, the three of them woke up at about 3 am. Dorumon wanted to be out of town before the sun got up so that if they had to fight the king, he would have some room to fight before they got to Armadillomon. After Gomamon got dressed, she went to wake up the rest of the bodyguards while Dorumon went to get the cavalry ready to go. Biyomon went and made sure that the other commanders were up so that they could race out of Armadillomon at a moment's notice. Within an hour, the welcoming party was ready to go and the rest of the army was stirring. Biyomon's party rode out on the road that they knew Gaomon was on and just as the sun was lighting up the sky, they found him. His army was getting ready to march when Biyomon's party came into sight. Dorumon ordered the squadron to hold their position, stay out of sight, and not attack unless Gaomon attacked first. Next, he had a flagbearer come with him and Biyomon to meet the king. The eleven of them galloped up to the king's army. Once at the guards Biyomon told them;
"I am Biyomon of Armadillomon here to see the king."
The guards were not sure of what to do with her for they were not use to women being in the field and half of Biyomon's party were women. Luckily, before one of them could make a wisecrack about that, an officer came up. He had served in one of the armies that Dorumon had crushed a couple of months before so he knew who Dorumon was and he had heard tales of Biyomon. Seeing her in the flesh, he could see that the tales were true. He sent a messenger to the king and invited Biyomon's party to dismount. They politely refused and the officer didn't blame them. After all, if he had been in their position, he wouldn't have dismounted either.
The king came up and Biyomon's party then dismounted, even Dorumon. He saw no benefit in insulting the king at this time, after all he would be dead in a couple of weeks. Biyomon kneeled before the king and Dorumon was glad that he wasn't the ruler of the area because he definitely wouldn't kneel before anyone but God. When the rest of the party kneeled however, he had a problem but Dorumon being Dorumon remained standing. Fortunately, Biyomon was prepared for this:
"I would like to apologize for my general not kneeling your majesty" she said without even looking at Dorumon "but the only person he will kneel before is God, although he has kneeled before me before I suspect that was mostly for show."
"You never looked back, how did you know that he refuses to kneel before the rightful king of these lands?" asked the king.
"Your majesty. That man is not only my army's commanding general, but he is also my husband and has saved my life a number of times over the last year and a half."
"Ah" The king then moved around to stand directly before Dorumon and actually felt more than a little uneasy for; he had never met a man that was so large.
"You do know that it is a crime not to kneel before the god chosen ruler of these lands?"
Biyomon held her eyes shut and cringed for she knew what was coming and she wasn't disappointed.
"God chosen, seriously?" sorted Dorumon "No king or queen is chosen by God; they are chosen by men who are too lazy or ignorant to rule themselves. Do you actually think that God really cares what happens down here on Earth; after all he is eternal and we are mortal?"
As Biyomon had feared the king had set off Dorumon's temper and there was no going back now.
"Do you not believe in God?" asked an increasingly angry king.
"Fuck no. I have seen more death and destruction caused by people in the name of their god then I care to remember. As far as I am concerned, I have the right to my beliefs as well as EVERYONE else and as long as those beliefs are practiced peacefully then I have no problems with them. That is one reason why I encouraged my wife to protect any Jews and ALL other religious groups in the area."
Biyomon now knew that she would have to act fast before the king and Dorumon came to blows.
"Excuse me your majesty" she said as she wormed her way in-between Dorumon and the king "what my blunt husband is trying to say is that as complex as God's word is, it helps to have as many viewpoints as possible to try to further our understanding of it. Plus, we are all God's children so why should the Jews or any other group not be protected as well. And while on the Jewish question, was Jesus not Jewish himself after all and did he not die so that all of our sins be forgiven?" She then turned to Dorumon and shifted to modern English "Before you make an even bigger ass of yourself, why don't you go do something useful, honey"
At first Dorumon was pissed and then he smiled:
"Admit it, you just like watching my ass as I walk away!"
Every one of the guards had to stifle a laugh and Biyomon had to bite her tongue.
"Dorumon, go so you don't get us into deeper trouble. Please?"
"Fine" Dorumon then grabbed hold of Biyomon's ass and picked her up so they could share a kiss and of course she instinctually her wrapped her legs around Dorumon. Before he put her down, they starred into each other's eyes for a moment, just to tell each other that everything was good and that they loved each other. Dorumon gently put her down and remounted his horse. He raced back to the top of the hill that was hiding the rest of the troops and he turned to watch over Biyomon's group.
When Biyomon turned back to the king, she could see that he was still mulling over what she had asked him, so she waited for him to finish. Finally, he appeared to finish.
"Well, that is a matter for another time. I need to get going so that I may be able to beat back those damn Vikings and my treacherous brother."
"Actually, your majesty, that is why we came here this morning."
Biyomon turned and gave the signal. A small band of horses came over the top of the hill, escorting a liter. When they got to the king; Biyomon asked the king to come with her as she went over to the liter and pulled back the sheet revealing the king's dead brother. She just hoped that he didn't ask too many questions about the type of wound that he had received for when Gomamon shot him; the bullet had blown off the entire of the back of his head. The king looked sad for a moment before he shook himself back to the present.
"As you can see your majesty, we have already defeated your brother and his Viking allies. In fact, King Hardrada is as this moment recovering from a leg wound back in Armadillomon and before you ask, none of the Viking army escaped."
"I must go see Hardrada for myself you understand. I feel that I cannot simply take your word for it."
"Of course, your majesty. Your army is welcome to come into Armadillomon as well, as long as they behave themselves and leave their arms back in their camp."
"My army will travel where ever they choose and they will not disarm!"
At this Biyomon's guards instantly became more visibly alert.
"I am sorry your majesty, but your army will not be permitted to bring their weapons into Armadillomon"
At this the King drew his sword. Within a blink of an eye all of Biyomon's guards had their weapons out and Gomamon moved to where she was between the King and Biyomon. In the distance, Biyomon could hear the sounds of her cavalry escort moving and within moments, they became visible over the top of the hill with Dorumon right out in front.
"As you can see your majesty, I have an army at my back as well and they are ready, unlike yours. Plus, if you really insist on trying to fight me, you WILL be the first one killed for the young woman in front of you will kill anyone who threatens me."
Biyomon was doing her level best to stay calm and she hoped that the king would see reason. Gomamon at least hadn't drawn her weapons yet but it was clear from her posture that she could within a fraction of a second. The king then did something stupid as he tried to move Gomamon to the side. she flipped him over her body and onto the ground. As she was flipping him, she managed to get his sword away from him. She then held it to his throat and demanded that he back down and apologize to her mistress, Biyomon. Biyomon then gently moved Gomamon out of the way as she offered her hand to help the king get back up which he took. When he was back on his feet, Gomamon returned his sword to him.
"As you can see your majesty, I was not joking and unless you want that army behind me to attack then I strongly suggest that we come to terms. You can come into Armadillomon to see Hardrada for yourself, you can retain your arms, and bring alone one armed guard. Your army can come into Armadillomon as well as long as they behave themselves and they leave their arms back in their camp. If they misbehave then they will be subject to the laws of the people of Armadillomon. Also, while Hardrada is in my care, he will not be harmed for he is currently under a doctor's care and her word is law in the hospital."
"Her word?"
"Yes, your majesty. We believe in equal rights for both men and woman. That is one reason why a good size part of my army is made up of women. The head doctor is a woman, one of my best engineers is a woman, and of course my head guard is a woman."
The king took a deep breath. Biyomon had him over a barrel and they both knew it. If he wanted to confirm that Hardrada's army had indeed been crushed then he would have to accept Biyomon's terms for her army was ready to charge while his was mostly getting ready to march and it would take them some time to get into proper formation.
"Very well, I accept your terms."
"Good! How soon will you be ready to go?"
"Not long."
"My troops will escort you to Armadillomon then. Just make sure that your men understand that they are to be on their best behavior while in MY lands. As long as they behave then nobody will have any problems."
Biyomon turned away with her guards, remounted, and rode back to her army. The king meanwhile was a bit dumbfounded. How the hell did things come to this; him being beaten by two different women. Flustered he turned to give the orders to his army. After he was done, he quietly observed Biyomon's army. Even at this distance, it was obvious that her army was a professional one and the king couldn't help but to get a little bit jealous for most of his was levy spearmen. Finally, his army began to march and as promised, Biyomon's army escorted them to Armadillomon. As they got closer, everyone in the King's army was deeply impressed with just how advanced everything was. The roads were better than anything they had ever seen before and the farmers working the fields were doing so much faster than any of the king's men had ever seen. People barely stopped what they were doing to watch their king's army and truth be told, the king found that more than a bit disturbing. It was clear to him that their loyalty was with Biyomon, not him. What he found even more disturbing was just how professional Biyomon's army was. They were all uniformed identically and they followed orders without question. They weapons were very strange and the king became to suspect that the reports that he had been getting of their devilish weapons were not some fairly tale, but the truth. He was even more confused when he seen his first train. Biyomon had stopped the army at a crossing so that the train could go through. Then turning to the king, Biyomon explained
"Trains, your majesty, always have the right of way for they cannot stop quickly."
This train was loaded with military equipment headed for her lands in the land district. It was one of her artillery units that was getting a head start being that the train was going that way anyway. After the train passed, they continued on their way. Biyomon led them to a large field, just outside of Armadillomon. It was the same field that the peasants had kept their livestock in during the Sheffield invasion.
"Your men can set up their camp here your majesty. Just make sure to remind them NO WEAPONS ON THEM WHILE IN THE CITY OF ARMADILLOMON!"
With this, Biyomon's army disengaged and returned to their barracks while Dorumon came up beside her. The two of them watched as the king's army began to set up camp. After the king had seen to the important things, he and his guard rode up to Biyomon.
"I wish to meet with Hardrada now."
"Yes, your majesty. This way if you please."
With that Biyomon and Dorumon turned their horses to head into Armadillomon. Going into Armadillomon, the king felt like he was a child going into the big city for the first time. It had changed so much since he had been here in February. The city was now clean, the people were healthy, and they were everywhere. Even though it was September, the king could smell no sewage at all. The roads were no longer dirt but were made out of some kind of very strange stone. There were trees and shrubs planted along the sides of the road. People seemed like they were in a constant hurry, but they all waved to Biyomon and Dorumon. The king then noticed that the old houses were being slowly replaced with new ones that were made of brick and stone. New construction was happening everywhere it seemed. Along the street, he noticed oddly shaped metal objects that were painted bright red. Finally, he had to ask his host about all these things.
"What are all these things that I am seeing?"
"Not to worry, but we will answer at least most of your questions after you meet with Hardrada and we eat some lunch" responded Dorumon.
They rode on until they came up to a large brick building with many windows in it. Once there, Biyomon led the way to a stable around back where their horses could be taken care of. They were quickly let past the guards on the entrance to the hospital. Zoe had insisted on having guards that were paid by the hospital; one to take care of some of the more combative patients, two to deal with people that might try to steal medical supplies, and three to keep people who might wish to do her patients harm out. Once inside both Dorumon and Biyomon removed their helmets and kept them in the crook of their left arm.
As the four of them were going into the ward were Hardrada was, they came across Zoe.
"Hey doc" chirped Dorumon"How's our Norwegian guest doing?"
"Not bad considering one of my nurses gave him a black eye."
"He made a move on her?"
"Yep, but I think he learned his lesson. The worst thing hurt is his pride but that's his problem not mine." Dorumon smiled at this as they entered.
Once again, the king was amazed. This hospital was clean and bright. Wounded or sick men and women were in beds on either side of the aisle they were walking down. By now he was starting to forget all the questions that he wanted to ask Biyomon for he had so many. Finally, they stopped in front of a large man with a black eye.
"Your majesty, may I have the pleasure to introduce to you King Hardrada of Norway. Dorumon and I will leave you three alone for some time. Just remember that he is under my protection and if you hurt him then you will have to deal with Zoe and she is far worse to deal with then I am and I have castrated men who crossed me before."
Biyomon and Dorumon stepped away so that the two kings could talk in private. Watching, Dorumon whispered to Biyomon.
"I'm going to go and get the first brigade and elements of the fourth ready to go fight those damn Patamon."
She nodded and Dorumon turned to leave.
"Oh, before I forget, what would you like for lunch, sweetheart?"
"I'm thinking that I will have probably have a sandwich and a pint. Can you tell Gomamon to come and find me please for we need to discuss security while Gaomon's army is here?"
Dorumon pulled her in for a deep kiss before he left. After Dorumon left, Biyomon felt someone come up beside her and out of the corner of her eye, she could see bright red.
"Well doc, how soon can you release him?" Zoe smiled at this. She was finding that she loved to be called doc.
"Just a couple of days. There doesn't seem to be any infection and drainage is a minimum. Speaking of infections though; I need Dorumon to get me some kind of general antibiotic for we are losing too many to simple damn infections. From what I have been able to determine, most of those damn infections are staph so I have ordered all surfaces to be cleaned. Also, I'm going to need more surgical tools so that the doctors that I'm training can have enough tools. Good news though; Dorumon's suggestion about the smallpox vaccine appears to be working quite well and hopefully within a month or two, I will be ready to begin full scale vaccinations."
"Ok, I'll talk to Dorumon about your stuff and that's excellent news about the pox vaccine."
The ladies stood there for a couple of minutes while the kings finished talking. Gaomon then walked over to Biyomon.
"He is your problem milady. After all your forces captured him, so it would only seem fair that you should get his ransom."
"Thank you, your majesty. Now may I introduce to you Zoe. She is the one that runs the medical side of things here in Armadillomon."
"Your majesty, it is a pleasure to meet you." Zoe said
"A woman doctor? I thought Biyomon was joking!"
Zoe's face flushed with anger as she growled
"Now listen here you fucking idiot. So, what if I don't have a cock swinging between my legs. The advantage of that is that I don't have to think with my balls! But I tell you this; I am the best doctor in the world right now. If these FACTS anger you then that is your fucking problem and you can get the fuck out of MY hospital."
The king was taken back, after all nobody talked to the king in such a manor. He was surprised to see the same anger in Biyomon's face as well. It was clear to him that he had crossed some kind of line. What scared him though was what he saw behind Biyomon. Standing in the doorway was a very angry Gomamon and an even madder Dorumon. Dorumon walked over to a fireplace and picked up one of the tools, he made sure the king and his guard were watching as he proceeded to bend the formerly straight shaft into a series of small loops with his bare hands. The king's face turned ghostly white seeing this for he had never seen someone do that. When he turned to look at Hardrada; he was met with a smile and a shrug. After all, Hardrada had already learned the hard way that you do not insult the women here. The king then very wisely apologized to Zoe and to Biyomon. The four's tempers began to cool down after that and the king was glad to see Gomamon and Dorumon relax so Biyomon's next words surprised him.
"Would you like to have lunch with us and we could begin to answer some of your questions?"
"Yes, I would."
"Then come with me please." Biyomon said bye to Zoe who went back to her duties as Biyomon led the king, his guard, Gomamon, and Dorumon to the castle. Outside the king could see that his men were starting to come into Armadillomon and they were just as amazed as he still was.
It was a short ride to the castle which by this time was packed with offices for administration. Finally, they were able to get their food and sit down. They proceeded to answer many of the king's questions but when it came to where Dorumon was from, the king was met with silence and looks telling him that he definitely should not go a step further with those questions.
The king stayed with Biyomon and asked questions for the next couple of hours. He was deeply impressed that she, Dorumon, and Gomamon were such charming host as long as he was careful of what he said. Eventually though the elephant in the room had to be addressed. Why did Biyomon have such a large army in the first place?
"The answer to that your majesty is very simple" explained Gomamon "if Biyomon didn't have her army, then we would all be dead and a large number of the people of Armadillomon would also be dead at the hands of Cecilia. It was either fight or die; the people fought and won."
As soon as Gomamon finished, a messenger interrupted. After Biyomon heard the message, she invited the king to come with them. The five of them went to the train station where a part of Biyomon's army was getting ready to leave to fight the Patamon. The troops and their equipment caused wonder for the king and his guard. Uniforms everywhere, all the troops had the same kind of weapons, most of all was the large number of women that made up Biyomon's army. Biyomon though was watching Zoe and Gabumon for he was deploying with the army to the lake district. She thought it was a bit funny watching Zoe behave the same way that she did whenever Dorumon had to leave for combat missions.
