...Carriage of King Astraka...
King Astraka was not given to being easily surprised. He counted himself practically unflappable even when he was angry, which is why it perturbed him to see Dominic so lose his temper, fits of temper made for bad decisions. Right now he was wondering if his own impulsive act to simply kidnap the girl as a source of intelligence on the Sorcerer King...was a worse decision than that of his ally in the Slane Theocracy.
He wiped his mouth, and then took out a cloth from his picket and wiped the wine off of the giggling blonde peasant, taking care to pat down the wine from her hair as well. Her giggling tapered off, but she didn't flinch like before, probably because the cloth was between his skin and hers.
"The...bed of the Sorcerer King?" He looked at her dubiously.
She grinned back in silent response. "You're joking." He said.
She shook her head. "Back to silence are we?"
She nodded with a smirk.
"Can you prove this?" He asked.
She grinned and nodded.
"How?" He asked in surprise.
She looked somewhat frustrated.
"You want to tell me, but you don't want to talk to me until I've held up my end of the bargain?" He asked.
She nodded vigorously.
"You enjoy this don't you?" He asked with annoyance.
She nodded vigorously.
He sighed with exasperation. "You know...most kings would have asked you 'hard' by now."
She looked at him with an expression of confusion.
"I mean hurt you, tortured you, frankly you should be grateful I haven't decided to make you talk." King Astraka said in a perterbed tone of voice.
She shrugged and looked at him like he was an idiot for saying that.
They rode in silence for awhile, and eventually came to a town, when he realized they had reached some semblance of civilization, King Astraka ordered the carriage to stop. Realizing where they were, she took a deep breath to let out a blood curdling scream, but quick as a snake strike King Astraka covered her mouth, her eyes went wide with terror at his touch.
"MMMWAHHAHWMAH!" She managed to muffle, and thrashed under him, trying desperately to wiggle away. He took up a cloth, and forced it through a gap in his fingers and then down into her mouth, as he did so, the bright candy like eyes dulled and she looked about to weep. His conscience gnawed at him, but he moved back to his seat.
He opened the slat behind his seat that let him speak to the driver and said, "Coachman, resume the ride, take us just outside of town, and then go back and retrieve the following items." He quickly scribbled out her list, and slipped it through next to the coachman's feet.
"As you say sire." The man said, and the clip clop sound of horses resumed, carrying them beyond human ears within a fifteen minute span.
She looked at him with eyes that had dulled considerably, and he could hear choked sobs coming from her and she rocked back and forth, profoundly upset.
When they were outside of town and the coachman unhooked a horse and trotted it back and they were again isolated and alone, King Astraka said, "I'm going to take out your gag, but no screaming. There is no point to it anyway, we're alone till the coachman comes back." He said, waving one finger at the helpless Vanysa.
He reached over and snatched it out of her mouth, and she gasped and began to cough.
"The things you asked for are coming, is that good enough?" He asked.
She stared daggers at him.
"No eh?" He said.
"How about something in good faith?" He asked.
She looked at him, skepticism and uncertainty written all over her face.
"Can you explain at least, why you react the way you do?" He asked her.
She seemed to consider what he'd asked, but he wasn't sure at first whether or not she was considering how to answer him, or whether to answer him at all or just stay silent.
After a little bit, she swung her legs over the edge of the seat and began to wiggle herself to sit up. King Astraka, seeing her intent and thinking it a chance to win some favor with her as he sought answers, leaned over to help her sit up, and she uttered her first word in awhile. "No!" She said, and he sat back down very slowly.
Eventually she managed to get herself up to a seated position and looked at him.
"So...you're going to answer then?" He asked.
She paused for a moment, and nodded.
"Cause its mah body, ain't nobody gets ta touch it thout my sayin its OK." Her voice had a note of finality to it.
"Ah don't want nobody puttin hands all ovah me, nobles'r alays like that, thinkin cause I'm pretty an'a peasant, that ahm just a bouncy lil toy theh can play with'n thow away. Know how many nobles...know how mana soldiers...tha come up an think cause they big n' strong or rich n' noble, just come up and..." She looked away, "Ah KNOW what ah look like, think ah don't see yer eyes on mah chest, think ah don't see when yer eyes look at me, think ah don't see whatcha think when yah hands come ovah? Do yah think ah don't hear when folk like you call me over, like yer callin a dog that can do tricks fer yah? Ah can hear whatcha want in whatcha say!" She snapped. "Ah can see yah armed and yah threats'r alays there!" Her eyes watered.
"You all think yah so smart, an strong, and powerful, an yah thin that means yah can do anythin to lil bouncy me cause I'm a peasant an a girl an ah ain't got no say, or even thin I wantcha! That just cause you got so much an I got so little that yah can just walk up and grab me an mah legs'll fall open for yah! That's all I am to yah! S'why yah thought to hit me! I ain't done nothin to yah! I don't even know yah! But'cha snuck up behind me, yah hit me, yah hurt me, yah took mah money, cut up mah clothes, an dragged me into yah carriage an did ah don't know what while I was sleepin gainst my will! An yah think ah should be happy! Grateful!" The welling in her eyes didn't fade, it started to overflow as frustration and anger came out in her voice.
"Why? Cause ahm poor? Cause ahm a peasant? Cause ahm a girl! Yah can do anythin, and can't nobody do nothin bout it, yah think ahm just dumb an should giggle an bounce on yah when yah want an when yah say? Or yah think just cause ahm all them things, that ah want to do stuff wit ya! I see yah weapon there..." She said looking below his waist.
"Weapon?" He blustered as she realized what she referred to.
"Whatcha think ah should call it, yera noble, yah use that tah hurt people like me an think we should be glad of it, yah nothing but a bunch a good dressed bandits." She snapped. "Ah know whatcher gonna do with me, an even if yah don't, one'a yer men will cause ahm a prisoner, or just cause he bored an I'm there. Its whatch ya all with power, do to us w'thout!" She snapped. "Course I hate yah, course I don't trust yah! Course I flinch an scream an try an get away!" Her anger peaked in her voice, and King Astraka could scarcely believe a peasant would speak to him this way...but he for now at least...needed her cooperation.
"Well if it means anything...I didn't touch you in any way I didn't have to in order to bind you." She looked at him doubtfully.
"I have no reason to lie," he said and poured himself some wine, "Who would you complain to, I am a King, and its as you say, I can do what I want, so...why lie?" He asked.
She thought about it, "Ah guess that makes sense."
"And here is your money." He said and opened a drawer holding her pouch, "When I get what I want, I'll give it back to you and let you go." He added.
She frowned with uncertainty.
"Listen," He said, "I won't deny you're beautiful, I can't not notice that, but I swear I am not going to violate you that way."
"Y'know how many like you have tried tah just grab me?" She asked him with narrowed eyes. "Soldiers with their swords, merchants with money, nobles with power, they think cause ah what I am, ah can just be...wha'ever they wan me to be. Ah don't trustya."
He paused. "Can I give you my word on my name?" He asked.
"Nah," she replied, "Yah already kidnapped me, kinda not worth much tah me."
"My word as a noble?" He asked.
"Ah been to close to to many that ah had to run away from." She replied.
He paused and thought about it for a moment and leaned forward and said with great solemnity..."I swear on the Sorcerer King's vengeance that I will never force myself on you, or permit those under me to do the same."
The light came back into her eyes. "He might kill yah anyway fer what yah done tah me...but if'n yah keep that promise, ah'll tell 'im yah kept yer were when it was given in his name, do nae know what that'll be worth to yah, but...ah can tell im. assumen yah don't kill me n'stead."
He drank from his cup and said, "The Sorcerer King is no different than most other nobles. After all he used you for his bed when he wanted to, didn't he?"
She shook her head vigorously.
"So you made that part up? You did say you could prove it?" He said.
He saw her struggle to bring her bound wrists under her feet.
"You need your hands?" He asked.
"Ah do." She answered.
"Swear in the name of god that you will neither fight, nor flee, nor resist being re-secured afterwards, and I will free your wrists for now." He replied.
She looked at him, square in the eyes, the bounce was gone, as was the gray, these were not the candy eyes of the bouncy girl he'd first seen, these were clear and intelligent. "I swear in the name of Ainz Ooal Gown, the one true god of this world, that I will not try to escape, resist, or fight...for the next three hours."
He looked at her in shock, her crude peasant speech was gone, and she twisted herself to expose her back where her wrists were bound. "Release me." She said authoritatively. He reached out and undid the knot, to surprised to even consider reprimanding her for not using the courtesy of his title.
She then reached to the front of her shirt, and pulled something out, and held it out where he could see it, but did not let go.
"What is this...?" He asked.
"Itsa picture, what the S'cerer King called a 'photograph' he gots these magic thins, they make perfect pictures in tha moment." She said, and her peasant speech slowly returned.
He looked at it, it was a picture of Vanysa, hugging the Sorcerer King's arm, sitting up in what had to be the most expensive and luxurious bed in the known world.
"So...he did use you, you just enjoyed it." He said, quietly filing way the knowledge of that fantastical device.
She shook her head vigorously. "Nah, see, he's diffent."
She started to laugh, "Ah teased him, lots, ah let meself ave some fun with'im, ah even pretended ta be asleep once, an ah undressed close to im...but he didna ever touch me, 'cept when he was bein nice ta me, when ah was sad 'r lonely cause mah friends all got eaten or ran an lef me...or turn on me cause I gots pretty an they thought..." She looked away again, and then continued, "but he didn't."
Her voice firmed up, "He coulda, he done saved me, fed me, even started ta teach me, ah can read now!" She beamed with pride. "Ah can write, an he even gave me letters, an he let me visit'im...ell...if'n he'da tole me to do it, I'da said hell yes! But see he ain't like that, he don't like that t'all, cause he don't want what don't want back" She looked indignant at the apparent assault on the Sorcerer King's character.
She giggled, "Ah teased im lots, ah admit that, an ah know he liked it, but ah wasna in'is bed cause he was'a playin with me, ah was in'is bed cause ah got real sick, so ah wrote 'im goodbye, cause...losin someone...it hurts right bad, an ah didn't wanna hurt im by goin an dyin without sayin bye or nothin, few days later after ah sent the message, ah woke up in'is bed an he was standin next ta me." She said wistfully.
Her eyes became clear and intelligent again, "I thought I was in heaven, that my god was really welcoming me in to paradise, because I was in his home, and it was truly a paradise like no other, he laughed when I asked if that was where I was, and said no, I was in his home, I asked him what the difference was, and I guess there wasn't one because he only laughed at me again. I got to spend several days there, and then he sent me home when I was well, with a few books to read that he let me take from the Library he has, telling me to let him know when I'm done with the books and then I can come back and borrow more."
Her eyes began to change again, they regained the sparkly 'bounce' to them, they seemed to dance before his eyes, "D'jyou e'va do that? Ah bet if'n yah had a peasant girl in yer bed, it'd be just fer you an then yah'd have the sheets wash cause a peasant'd touched em! He's a right proper king, all a'yah, yah don't care, we just things! Just THINGS!" She said, her emotions clearly beginning to rise again, and as the dancing in her eyes faded, the piercing intelligence returned.
"I was out with him once, walking through the streets of E-Rantel, he saw a boy talking to a girl, he was...well maybe not sweet on her, but he wanted her, he reached out to touch her, she pushed his arm away and said no, not mean, but she didn't want him to do that, the boy, he said to her, "oh come on, let's just..." I don't know what he was about to say to her after that, because a moment later he found himself staring up at the Sorcerer King. I will never forget what he said. "She told you no, lad. Do you want your wishes ignored when you express them?"
The boy, he said, "Well...no sire."
And then he said, "Then do not ignore hers. If you like her, listen to her, if she says no, assume she means it, do not treat her wishes about her flesh as if they were optional for you. They are not. She belongs to herself, you have no right to use one more finger on her than she permits, am I understood?"
Vanysa laughed, "The boy practically wet himself, but when the Sorcerer King said to apologize, I could see he felt a little ashamed of himself at least, and he did it. You think that kind of king, that kind of noble, is the sort that would just use me just because I can't stop him if he wanted to do so?" She shook her head. "No, he's not, and that's why he's better than all of you."
She crossed her arms stubbornly, and King Astraka slowly took in everything he was told, silence ruled for several minutes then a knock broke the reverie.
"Enter." The King said, and the door opened and the coachman offered out the requested items.
"Resume the journey." King Astraka said, somewhat sullenly as he offered out a covered platter to Vanysa.
The intelligence faded from her eyes and the dancing eyes and bouncy demeanor seemed to return, "Ahhh! Sanich time!" She said with a giggle. "Ahm not gonna tell you nothin that'd elp you against the S'cerer King, but ah can learn yah this!" She said, and she began to make a sandwich in front of him, drawing a curious look from him in return.
...Queen Draudillon's private office...
"Did you send the letter, your majesty?" Vermillion asked somewhat reproachfully, as if he expected her to put it off, which she had...for an hour, before the fear of the consequences of not telling him outweighed the fear of the consequences of telling him.
"I did." She said unhappily. "I've sent it over our fastest couriers to E-Rantel, with the courier's having enough money to buy fresh horses along the way so that they needn't stop for much of anything."
Vermillion nodded. "Good." His arms were folded behind his back and the silence stretched between them. She sat, half slumped over to one side in her chair, her head resting on her fist, drumming her fingers on the arm rest with her other hand.
He stood straight and stared at her.
"What?" She asked.
"Do we know anything...else yet?" He asked as if that should have been obvious.
"Not a damn thing other than that we're more fucked than we thought we were." She said flatly. "We've kept a guard at her home every hour of every day, and we've searched the place constantly for any clue, and do you know what we got for that trouble?" She asked him.
He shook his head.
"A panda skin coat...obviously made from a beastman...and worse...these!" She snapped and opened her desk drawer, she snatched out a sheef of papers and slapped them on the desk.
"Do you know what these are?!" She said harshly.
"I...don't." He asked.
"They're letters." She said.
He looked nonplussed, "We knew she could read already, unusual for a peasant but..."
"From the Sorcerer King." Queen Draudillon said in an icy voice, Vermillion's mouth snapped shut in mid sentence.
"You heard me right. A peasant...has been corresponding...with hand written letters...between herself...and the most powerful monarch in the known world. And not only does it turn out that one of our nobles imposed taxes on her with the explicit goal of destroying her business...effectively stealing money that an impossibly powerful king gave to her as a reward for good service...she's now gone entirely missing...while I was the last known person to be with her. And if you want to know how much worse it can get...don't even say it Vermillion, I know that face." She said and opened another drawer and took out a picture and put it gently on the desk, she slid it over, and rotated it so that her prime minister could see it.
His face went pale.
"Yes, its what you think it is, now I don't know how long they had to stand for the artist...or how the artist did this without producing any evidence of his hand, but that is a picture of our missing peasant, who spoke for him at our meeting, who personally vouched for his many deeds and his character...hugging that monarch...from what I can only assume is his personal bed. They found that hidden under her mattress, I can only assume she wanted it close, but not obvious to anyone else."
She reached for a bottle and poured two cups.
Normally Vermillion tried to keep her from drinking, at least to much, but on this occasion when she gestured for him to sit, he did, and when she offered him a cup, he took it.
"I wonder if there will be enough left of me to bury." She said, "Gods...what if he should think our kingdom is trying to curry favor with the Slane Theocracy...what if he thinks we did this to punish him for taking part of our kingdom...what if he decides this is a prelude to activities of our own?" She finished the cup and threw it away and slammed her elbows down on the desk and then slammed her head into her hands.
Vermillion had no words of encouragement to offer her at first, he only set the cup down after finishing it, poured another for himself without asking, then sat in thought.
"Not going to say anything?" She asked without looking up.
"Nope." He said abruptly.
"No words of encouragement, no criticism, no clever remarks?" She asked.
"Nope." He said with equal brevity.
"Well aren't you helpful?" She asked.
"Nope." He said.
She sighed as he finished another cup.
"Would it make you feel better if I offered to have myself put to death alongside you?" He asked.
She shook her head. "I'm the monarch of this kingdom, if it comes down to it...if he is prepared to upend my country to find him, I'll...surrender without a fight on the condition that he doesn't punish my people...other than that noble who used the system to rob Vanysa. Maybe that way I will be remembered for my sacrifice instead of my incompetence." She said with dispair.
"Well..." Vermillion began, "we may be misjudging this. Remember he is not like the average noble or the average monarch. I mean even the fact that she could be this close to him as a mere peasant...how many peasants do you even know by name?" He asked her pointedly.
She was about to speak when he interrupted, "Outside the ones who work here." He added.
Her mouth closed. "None." She said glumly.
"If any left your employ and went elsewhere, would you write to them?" He asked her.
"No." She said, looking down in thought, then looked up again, "This is also what makes this more dangerous, he builds connection to the commoners, maybe not all of them, it happens and he goes to great lengths over those it happens with. He turned a squire into one of the most powerful people in the Holy Kingdom, he upends reason, he upends method, he's flipped the game board and I do not know how he'll respond to this." She said with frustration.
"All true, but he may also be reasonable, and prefer to find her and find answers first, I don't think a being that clever would be so rash as to punish us first and find out the facts second." Vermillion added.
"Fair enough." Draudillon said, "But I still want another drink."
"I'll get you another cup, my Queen." He said.
"Do that, and two bottles, I think we'll go through more than one." She said with a sigh.
"Agreed." He added.
...Near Yanana...
Neia was relieved. After the successful extermination of the ambush party, she'd made great headway in the push back to the North, Remedios had...for some reason, at least temporarily broken off pursuit, and they were a few miles from Yanana, and the first sign of aid had come her way in the form of a company of Black Justice soldiers, Red Paladins, & Chained Priests. They were only three hundred strong, but that was a substantial increase, not least because of the intelligence they'd gathered.
"So you're saying that Black Justice units have been forming over most of the North?" She asked.
"Aye," the company commander said, "The capitol is much...smaller now. Word reached me a week ago that Gilcrest & Robel had been getting people 'sponsored' out into various towns and villages, mostly places with solid defenses, and that arms shipments from the Sorcerer King increased ten since you first went South, we have enough people for an army, and all we need to do is gather them."
"That is probably why they haven't come North." Skana reflected, "Remedios needs to reform her army from one of rapid pursuit to one of military conquest, and I'd wager she's gathering her allies there to march North, their population is much larger, and they still have a navy, we have to get North and get ready quickly, because I don't think they'll give us time for anything else."
"Agreed." Neia said. "CZ, about how long till we get to Prart?"
CZ thought for a moment, "Forced march...five days or less, fewer if the weaker are either left behind or put to cart to follow."
"OK. Then this is what we do, we use several scrolls and summon undead horses, we send messages throughout the Kingdom to all friendly centers, and order them to come to Prart, we must fight united, we will use that position as an anchor, and bottle Remedios up in the South for as long as we can, with our southern most position being in Kedyn, we can issue fiscal writs to people with undead labor asking for them to donate their skeleton and zombie labor to create an additional army for Remedios to face, we all know her, she won't be able to resist putting that down, and we only have to wait a short time, and then our allies will begin their own efforts at bringing down these fools." Neia's voice was confident and firm, there was a fire and zeal to her face that had been...lost at Wenmark, but was now refreshed and vigorous. While she participated in their planning on how to delay Southern advance...and how to counter any Northern official government intervention, in truth Skana was more focused on Neia, who seemed more herself now than she had in...perhaps months. It was a good feeling.
AN: Well here is Chapter 50, this one took a bit longer than usual, despite its relative brevity, trying to think like someone who is vulnerable is not easy for me. When I'm dressed up, I look like a mob boss, when I'm dressed down, I look like a death row inmate so...for most of my adult life, the idea of someone touching me against my will, threatening me, or doing anything to me that I didn't want...just wasn't something I ever had to worry about. But as my daughter has grown up, I've found myself paying more attention to just how many entitled pricks are out there...and with the growth of the internet and the emergence of the 'incel' community and other pricks who feel entitled to do what they want without consequence, empathy, or concern for others comfort...and perhaps most surprising, a recent incident at my base that...shall we say...kicked up some dust, I thought this would be a good theme to wind through this part of the story, between this chapter and the next, to highlight differences in character, concerns, thought processes, and how those impact behavior. I'm pretty confident that the overlord community is...adult enough, to accept themes like this, and actually think about what is said and done. I 'think' I captured the spirit of all this here, while still capturing who the characters are carrying them further through the plot.
If you think I did, or didn't, leave a review.