The Bulgar wars.

The Angry Mermaid 42

Or
Y Morforwyn Dicllon.

Mabina. The youngest daughter and Twin to
Drustan Her twin brother.
Grandpa Erin the twins grandfather.
Giana The twins grandmother
Caderyn The twins father.
Herenoie The twins wise and beautiful mother.
Morgaran The Twins oldest brother.
Aiofe The twins oldest sister. Famous for her beauty.
Tara The twins second oldest sister. Famous for her grace.
Feidlim Twins aunt (Caderyns’ beautiful sister.)
Mogantu Twins uncle (Married to Feidlim.) Chief of the Gangani tribe.
Brun. Twins 2nd cousin and the Acaman clans’ blacksmith.
Feorin. Twins second brother. Also training to be a blacksmith.
Rhun Feidlims’ son and Feorins’ favourite 1st Cousin. (Both red-heads.)
Arina Child of a Demetae fisherman, (rescued by Aiofe, Drustan and Mabina.)
Penderol Dumnonii Minor chief.
Udris Young Dumnonii warrior.
Dryslwyn High chief of the whole Celtic nation. Dwells in Brithony.
Bronlwyn Dryslwyn’s wife (and queen.)
Magab The moor who taught numbers.
Eric Saxon galley slave rescued from Corsair pirates.
Carl Another Saxon galley slave rescued by Drustan.
Torvel Celtic galley slave rescued from the same captured corsair ship
Arton. Turdetani Chieftain Holder of Gibral Rock.
Carinia Arton’s wife.
Isobel. Arton’s adopted daughter.
Appotel King of the Turdetani Tribe. (Southern Iberia.)
Bramana Queen. (Wife of Appotel)
Pilus King of the Capetani.
Shaleen Pilus’s queen and sister to Bramana.
Pedoro Lord Marshal of the Southern border region.
Lady Shulaar Lord Pedoro’s wife.
Taan. The scullery maid.
Isaar. Pedoro’s oldest son.
Ferdie Pedoro’s 2nd son
Sular Pedoro’s 3rd son
Gontala Pedoro’s youngest son.
Shenoa Pedoro’s only daughter.
Portega. Tyrant King to the west.
Portua. Portega’s grandson.
Jubail. Old Fisherman.
Mutas Magab’s younger brother and usurper.
Walezia King of Malta.
Alviar Megalomaniacal bishop of Carthage. (Hates Drustina.)
Ethelia Female healer who treats Drustina during her pregnancy.
Seripatese Drustina’s faithful horse.
Astos & Amitor Minor royalty who govern Alexandria. King and Twin Queen.
Meronee Nubian Queen of Nobatia The northern Kingdom of the Nubians.
Horam The Egyptian master Boat builder.
Muraa King Astos’s male partner.
Tuk Makurian general.
Fantu. Makurian Captain.
Irene Emperor Leon’s only child.
Leon Byzantine Emperor.
Zano Byzantine general who defeats the Bulgars with Drustina’s help.
Oraxyis Supreme Commander of the Bulgar forces.

The Dona Delta.

Irene refused to go back to her Imperial bed-chamber; instead she pulled rank and slid into Drustina’s bed. Drustina resigned herself to Irene’s self indulgence but once again made sure there were no misunderstandings. Despite the severe temptations, (For Irene was an attractive maid,) Drustina was determined not to let sex or emotions complicate their friendship. The last thing Drustina needed was for emotions to impede her determination to return home and destroy the Norsemen who held the remains of her little Gangani Tribe in virtual bondage.

For the next month, Drustina threw herself into shipbuilding to distract her from any temptations that Irene’s affections may have put in her path. She slaved away feverishly supervising the construction of the additions to the Byzantine navy whilst frequently dropping by on general Zano as he simultaneously worked to create a plausible force of fast moving cavalry and an infantry force that could move quickly amongst the mountains.

Every day general Zano accepted more and more troops as they arrived after marching all the way from the mountainous eastern provinces. Then, each day, he drilled and trained them to work to a common command structure and system of simple, easily understood orders. Drustina also made herself known to them and made it abundantly clear to all the troops but particularly the smaller force that she would be leading on the granary burning forays, that she was a formidable commander in her own right. Additionally she was mildly surprised and secretly pleased that her reputation as ‘The Lioness of Carthage’ had preceded her. She also resumed her sword training and returned to daily combat exercises with the middle ranking and junior officers just to let them see that the title was well earned and much to be respected.

Empress Irene followed her friend’s progress and was also pleased to learn that the troops were beginning to accept the idea of having a female commander to lead them on forays deep into the Dona basin.

Eventually the new ships were completed to Drustina’s designs and the last weeks were spent familiarising the whole invasion force with shore landings and rapid forays into the hinterlands. It was in that last few weeks that Drustina finally won over the respect and affection of the ‘Marines’ who would form her guerrilla forces.

Then, one afternoon as she was testing out some new ideas and sweating away amongst the men and officers of a newly formed ‘Engineer brigade’, she was shocked and delighted to hear a familiar pair of voices. She looked up from the muddy pit where she was grovelling knee deep in the mud with some junior officers to gaze upon two beloved companions of old, Eric and Carl the Saxons.

Eric looked down and grinned.

“Well sister, you haven’t changed! Still deep in the thick of it.”

Drustina let out a feminine shriek of joy and scrambled through the mud up the bank of the pit and flung herself into Eric’s arms.
Eric grimaced as his smart outfit was suddenly smeared with stinking mud.

“My God girl, you’re filthy, what the hell are you doing?” Carl chuckled.

Drustina released Eric and then embraced Carl with equal affection as she explained they were testing out some bridge foundations that could be easily hewn and assembled from the plentiful forests in the Dona basin to provide efficient crossings of streams for rapid attack and withdrawal.

Drustina explained quickly then demanded to know why they were here.

“Why good god girl! Didn’t you know? We’re here with your sister Aiofe and your children by Torvel. They’re toddling now.

Aiofe has come to resume proper diplomatic relations between Carthage and the Byzantine court. Her majesty Queen Aiofe was shocked to learn you were still here. She thought you were long gone and heading north for Saxony and Britannia.”

“Oh, I’ve become embroiled in this Bulgar business and the Empress Irene needs help. Come let us repair immediately to the palace... my sister and children you say! Well my God! Who’d have thought? You know Arina is here don’t you; she’s out with her Nubian husband Fantu at present, reconnoitring the Kirki hills and the Istranca Mountains to formulate a strategy.”

Carl and Eric smiled as they wiped the filthy mud of their tunics. Drustina apologised then plunged into a pool to rinse off the stinking mud.

The junior Byzantine officers were somewhat shocked to see the casual way Drustina stripped to her skin in front of Eric and Carl as well as the whole troop of engineers then washed herself off without regard to her nudity before just as casually collecting a dry pair of britches and a cotton chemise. Finally, without any regard for her own semi nudity and bizarre duality, she leapt onto her dutiful horse Seripatese and bade her senior Engineer commander to accompany her and the Saxons back to the palace immediately.

Initially Drustina chatted animatedly with Eric and Carl as they caught up on all the news then Drustina went forward to talk to one of the accompanying cavalry officers.

Eric and Carl remained behind in the little column and chatted with the construction troop’s commander. They sensed the shock inherent in the Byzantine Engineer’s face as he gazed somewhat disapprovingly on Drustina’s skimpy attire. He turned to the Saxons and spoke in Latin.

“Is she always this bold about her nudity? Does she not fear unwanted attentions?”

Eric let out a dismissive guffaw as Carl explained.

“Have you seen her sword play Captain?”

“Uuhhm, no. I’m a construction engineer and I’ve only worked with her trying out these prefabricated timber bridges. I’ve heard that she works out every evening with some of the combat officers.”

“Then you’ve heard correctly Captain. Did you see that huge scar on her delicious arse?”

The captain crimsoned up for to admit having seen it would confirm he had been ‘looking’. He had to ‘confess’ that he had and Eric and Carl let out loud laughs that brought Drustina back from the two cavalry officers up front where she had been briefly discussing a defence strategy to protect a bridge if need be.

“What’s all the merriment?” She asked innocently.

“The captain here was admiring your scarred arse Dru?”

Drustina sniffed and peeled down the waistband of her skimpy cotton leggings. Then she stood in the saddle and exposed the angry scar completely as she turned to the Captain and grinned provocatively.

“You mean that Captain?”

The captain swallowed and made to apologise but Drustina dismissed it.

“Fear not Captain. When on Campaign I am as liberal with my privacy as any soldier but god help the man who mistakes that for an unwarranted invitation to abuse my body.”

To emphasise the reality of her threat, she whipped her dagger from the sheath on Seripatese’s saddle and flung it unerringly at a mileage marker post they happened to be passing. The blade struck exactly between the one and the zero and the knife thrummed with the force of its own impact. The captain got the message as he went to recover the knife and had to tug hard to extricate it from the post. He stared at Drustina thoughtfully as he handed back the deadly blade.

“Truly maid. You would make a deadly foe. Are you proficient in all martial skills?”

Carl answered for her as Drustina replaced her dagger.

“She is Captain and if you think that was good, wait until you see her with a bow.”

The captain grinned.

“I’ll remember to warn my lieutenants then. I heard several of them discussing her attractiveness and any potential for indulging their pleasures.”

Eric smiled but the warning he repeated carried a steely message.

“Oh yes Captain. You’d best warn them, for their own safety, you’d better warn them.”

The captain just caught Drustina’s sideways smile but he realised it carried no threat, just an amused condescension without any sign of fear. That told him more than any angry female outburst of offence might have conveyed.

‘The lady was not for tampering with! She could be dangerous; no. She was dangerous!’

The light-hearted mood quickly returned to the troop and they chatted at length while returning at an easy trot for the last ten miles.

At the palace Queen Aiofe spotted them from the walls where she was talking with Empress Irene and she let out a shriek of joy. Without even excusing herself from the empress’s company she flew down the ramparts, flung herself on the nearest available mount and galloped out to meet her beloved brother/sister. Nobody amongst the returning troop had seen a more affectionate or emotional re-union. Both Aiofe and Drustina gave vent to their emotions and tears flowed profusely. The captain looked askance at Carl and Eric as he noticed his own lieutenants shaking their heads uncomprehendingly, for during the experiments with the bridge foundations, Drustina had been ‘all man’ and as willing as any trooper to get stuck in and labour through the filthy mud to resolve any construction problems. Now, suddenly, she was all tearful maid and feminine emotions. Eric explained as best he could for even he could not fathom the whole depth of Drustina’s duality.

“She’s a man when she’s about her military work Captain, but she’s a woman when it comes to her emotions. Heed these words well Captain, and teach your lieutenants not to cross the dividing line.”

The whole troop, men and officers fell silent and stared, fascinated as the leader they had come to respect as a bold and fearless warrior, suddenly ‘descended’ into maidenly tears. Then they listened with shock as Drustina’s first question brought the full portent of her sexual duality to the fore.

“Where are my twins dear sister; where are the fruits of my womb?”

“They're in the palace sister, playing with their younger cousin, my son.”

Drustina let out a squeal of joy before commenting on Aiofe’s success at motherhood.

“Yes, I heard you had become a mother, Queen Meronee gave me your letters.”

“Oh good, then you’ll know that all is well now in our kingdom; peace and prosperity have returned at last.”

“With you and Magab at the helm, I never doubted it would. Come, let’s make haste, I will see my babies. ”

She turned to the bemused captain and gave him a friendly peck on the cheek before excusing herself from the column. Then she and Aiofe galloped together ahead of the troop and soon arrived at the palace. Once again, Drustina wept with motherly pride and delight when her eyes fell upon her twins. To her chagrin, the twins made for Aiofe as a natural consequence of their up-bringing but by the evening, Drustina was beginning to make some headway towards gaining the twins acceptance and confidence. In the nursery she indulged herself at length, playing with her toddler twins and savouring the pleasure of getting them to address her as ‘mummy’. To the twins, ‘mummy’ was almost a new word for her Sister Aiofe had been scrupulously correct and fair by always having the twins address her as ‘aunty’! The twins had never heard the word ‘mummy’ until Drustina now appeared in the nursery. Drustina was indebted to her sister’s thoughtfulness and kindness.

For a whole week Drustina removed herself from preparations for the forthcoming war as she slowly won back her twin’s love and affections. It was a heavenly interlude and brought Drustina much peace as she indulged her belated motherhood while Aiofe helped to ‘fine-tune’ the military strategy. Several times Irene and her admirals and generals had cause to be grateful for Aiofe’s shrewd wisdom.

Each night Irene took delight in visiting Drustina in the nursery where the warrior queen learned of motherly ways and motherly love. Irene’s eyes shone mistily as tears of joy glistened whenever she saw that Drustina had found some new trick or delight that brought gurgles of delight from her babies.

“You’ll make an excellent mother Dru. Even in this short time, they’ve grown to love you and smile at the sound of your voice already. I feel you will be taking them with you when you return to Leen.”

“It’s an option my lady, but I will not see them endangered. They must remain here until this Bulgarian war is over and peace at least brought to the Carpathian Mountains and the River Dona.”

“That tells me then that you’ll be returning here to collect them if we have our victory.”

“If it pleases your majesty, would you be so kind as to care for them?”

“Of course they may stay here. They are delightful children.”

The relief showed in Drustina’s eyes as she considered the next question.

“Will my sister be staying here to advise you of strategy while our guerrilla tactics are implemented?”

“She’s offered her services until the war is over and won. Besides, she can indulge herself with all the children.”

Drustina smiled with relief. With a brain like Aiofe’s behind the campaign, the prognosis was excellent. Additionally, a trustworthy sister would be there to care for the babies. Drustina could now resume preparing the army and navy without distractions.

It took a month to complete preparations and then Drustina had to wait while the Christian Byzantines celebrated the birth of their prophet. She was nominally a Christian but it was really a blind to hide her real beliefs. Drustina’s experiences with the Christian bishops had instilled in her a hatred of a belief that belittled women and declared everybody to be ‘born in original sin’ and thus deemed to be sinners before they even got the chance to be or do anything. The whole concept was to her, illogical, cruel and inoperable.

She did however indulge in the festivities for it would be her last chance to indulge before setting off on her guerrilla campaign. Besides it was a chance to give her twins presents and that seemed to her to be the main part of the celebrations. With midwinter now behind them, Drustina knew the time had finally come to start their campaign. The holding exercise in the Istranca Mountains was slowly upped into a series of minor battles designed to entice the Bulgars out of their winter strongholds and slowly draw them south and east towards Constantinople. At the same time Drustina struck hard at the coastal towns of Tsarevo, Burgas, Nesubur and Varna as they hammered the undefended townships from the sea. Within weeks, just as the Bulgar main force was preparing to cross the River Derest, the Bulgar generals received word of the sea-born attacks that were causing mayhem to the grain stores so vital to both the civilian population and to the primitive supply chain that was already being stretched to breaking point just to supply their army.

A hastily convened council of war concluded reluctantly that several divisions would have to be released from the main battle zone to march hastily north and reinforce the coastal garrisons. The division of their forces crippled the Bulgars’ campaign. Exactly as Drustina had predicted, General Zano found his Byzantine army facing a much depleted foe. That was the time to throw all the reserve Byzantine forces into the battle and finish the job once and for all. It worked and the Bulgars were finally trapped in a river valley with no escape. General Zano took the surrender and savoured the supreme pleasure of reporting the news to the Empress Irene in Person. Aiofe and most of the Byzantine court were present when the thick-set apish General Zano proudly presented the instrument of the Bulgar surrender. The Empress Irene thanked him profusely and showered the man with honours and estates to express the empire’s thanks.

It was Aiofe herself who later found the general sitting quietly by himself and out of sight from everybody as he secretly cried at his good fortune. The Queen of Carthage crept silently upon the man and laid a hand gently on his shoulder.

“Pisht thee brave soldier, why d’you cry?” She whispered.

General Zano span round about to curse the invader of his privacy when he recognised Aiofe. The curse died a sudden death in his throat as he crimsoned with embarrassed shame.

“My lady! Don’t creep about so. You shocked me!”

“So why d’you cry? You should be celebrating.”

“You wouldn’t understand my lady.”

“Try me. I was naught but a shipwright’s daughter before Drustina made her mark.”

“Were you!!?” He gasped. “What! Just a carpenter’s girl?”

“Nothing more. Short of being a beggar or a criminal you couldn’t hail from much more humble stock than mine.”

“My God! Then you’ll understand better than most. I was born from humble origins. I was born to a slave in the Hellespont and joined the army as little more than a drummer boy. I am just so overwhelmed with my good fortune and all because of a strange duelled being who even now should be here celebrating our success.”

“When she hears the news, she’ll be back, never fear. Once she is relieved of her obligations to Irene she will be striking north to reach our beloved homeland. She’s obsessed with defeating the Norsemen who stole our lands.”

As General Zano dried his joyful tears they chatted at length privately for it was the first time Aiofe had been able to sit in quiet privacy and sum up the victorious general. She liked what she found under the simian mantle that belied the sharp intellect within. Later she discussed the general with Irene.

“He’s not stupid Irene; don’t let that gorilla appearance deceive you.”

“I realise that Aiofe. His campaign in the Istranca hills was superb. All the older, noble generals are still talking about it.”

“It was my sister’s strategy though.”

“Yes, of course it was;” Irene agreed, “but no plan survives first contact and he must have been thinking on his feet all the time. The battle moved quickly as he measured out the supposed retreat towards Constantinople. Some of the surviving Bulgar generals, the nobles that is, have given grudging praise to the man despite his lowly birth. It only remains for that sister of yours to return.”

“Drustina will be here when she deems it safe and proper to do so.”

“So what of the Bulgars? We must have thousands of prisoners.” Irene asked hopefully. “There will be hundreds of new slaves.”

Aiofe’s jaw sagged. Before Drustina’s departure one of the last things she and her sister/brother had discussed was the issue of prisoners. Both sisters had agreed that any Bulgars taken prisoner were not to be taken into slavery unless they had proven to be particularly cruel in their own treatment of prisoners. The loss of their middle sister Tara and possibly all their brothers to the cruel Norsemen’s slaving trade had left a deep mark on both sisters. There was also Eric and Carl’s stories that had left their marks on the two sisters. Before the campaign had started, both Drustina and Aiofe had sounded out General Zano’s feelings. As the child of a slave who had himself struggled to escape those bonds, Zano also supported the Celtic sisters in their view that prisoners should return home provided they were deemed no threat. After the war, few prisoners had been taken into permanent captivity for most of the Bulgarian soldiers had been disarmed and left free to make their way home. Only a few, high-ranking commanders had been detained to agree terms and establish a lasting peace. One of them was Oraxyis the supreme Bulgarian commander.

Aiofe had already identified the man as a cruel, greedy thug who even in defeat, tried to dominate his fellow commanders. The more intelligent of the Bulgar generals realised that Empress Irene was offering generous terms but Oraxyis refused to countenance the offer on the table. The new border that Irene’s cartographers had offered to agree to was a reasonable line that was readily identifiable along rivers and watersheds. The boundary was also readily defensible and it left the Bulgars with generous fertile areas including the whole of the lower Dona basin. There was more than enough land to support their people.
The other commanders were content that Empress Irene and her primary advisors Queen Aiofe and General Zano had offered such generous terms and the general consensus was to agree.

Sadly, the overbearing Oraxyis was not content and the other commanders knew that if they returned home with him still at their head, despite it being a defeated army, he would take his revenge on them piecemeal. His was by far the largest tribe and it was the most powerful force amongst the Bulgars.

It was Queen Aiofe who sensed the root cause of the impasse and she discreetly mentioned it to General Zano after the first round of exhaustive negotiations. He agreed.

“I know my lady, and the Empress Irene is becoming impatient with him.”

Aiofe thought and then wondered aloud.

“Aren’t there any crimes we can pin against him; legitimately I hasten to add, so we can somehow send him into slavery or something? With him out of the way, the negotiations would be over in a day and everybody can go home.”

“I’ve already considered that,” Zano replied. “I’ve even put out feelers amongst the other commanders. If he was responsible
for any of the massacres we know of, he’s been very clever at keeping his hands clean. He’s a very slippery customer.”

“Yes. Shit rolls downhill, we’ll have to interrogate those other criminals more intensely. Maybe one of them will admit to having received orders from on high.”

“We’ll need to see written proof of that mi-lady.” Zano sighed. “If there’s one thing I learned from your younger sister, it’s that you must be scrupulously fair even when dealing with total monsters.”

“Yes. She learned those lessons from Queen Meronee. That Nubian is a good ruler.”

“I sometimes wish Drustina was here now,” The General sighed. “This brute Oraxyis thinks that the empress is a soft touch because she is a woman.”

Aiofe nodded thoughtfully then smiled.

“He has to negotiate with me and thee as well as the empress. You Zano are more than warrior enough to convince him he has a formidable foe; for God’s sake Zano, you’ve just smashed his armies in battle. He must respect you!”

“Yes, but your sister Drustina has got something else. I’ve watched her; yes the men will follow me and fight with me, they respect my generalship but Drustina, well, you know it; she’s got something else, something special. She’s a natural born leader, a natural born fighting queen. All the men worship her. If she was sat at the negotiating table, Oraxyis’s tune would soon change.”

“Well she won’t be back for a while.” Aiofe added ruefully. “The last report Irene had been that she was sorting out some minor teritorial dispute with some of the Russ tribes on the Bulgarian’s northern border. Apparently, according to the Bulgar commanders, while the Bulgars were fighting us, the Russ decided it would be a good time to try a little land-grabbing of their own. They’ve always coveted the Moldove’s lands but this present problem is complicated. I dunno’ that sister of mine gets herself into some strange situations.”

“Well, I’m sure she’ll bring wisdom and fairness to bear. She’s the only authority around in the Dona basin at present and she’s got no personal axes to grind. The Russ, The Moldoves and the Bulgars will have to accept her impartial judgements, at least until they can sort out their own affairs. Apparently, this war and her harvest campaigns have left the Bulgars in total disarray. Has she asked for more troops to help maintain order until the Bulgars are settled/”

“Oh come now Zano; you know my little sister is wiser than that. She’s not asked for troops ... she’s asked for grain to feed the civilian populations.”

Zano smiled and wagged his head.

“Clever girl. She will make a great queen one day if she ever recovers that land called Leen.”

Aiofe was about to correct the general’s pronunciation of her homeland Lleyn in Cymru but they were interrupted by Irene. The both turned and bowed their heads even though, as a queen in her own right, Aiofe was not required to.

“Your majesty,” they offered in unison.

Irene waved her hand to curtail formalities.

“That blasted man!”

“Who, Oraxyis?” The pair chorused.

“Who else?” Irene snapped. “He’s just so intransigent. These negotiations will go on forever.”

“So we sit around the table tomorrow again.” General Zano sighed for he had been anticipating a hunting trip.

“I’m afraid so. I don’t trust the man. I can sense the fear amongst his own commanders from the other Bulgar tribes.”

“Dammit!” Zano cursed while Aiofe added her own discontented reply.

“We’ll be here till the next bloody summer at this rate.”

“Well tomorrow, it ends. If the man cannot agree to anything, I will force him to agree. The terms are generous enough. We cannot let this cancer continue to drain our resources.”

“I agree my lady but I see no secure, long-term solution until the beast is tamed. Whilst he is shackled here at this negotiating table we have him under control. He is nothing less than a rampaging beast amongst his own tribes. His is by far the biggest tribe.”

“Well that’s for the Bulgars to sort. The borders will be as we have offered and there’ll be no more time wasted on negotiations.”
With this decision finally concluded between the three, they retired to take dinner and then play with the children before taking to their beds. Irene felt herself tearing up as she watched Aiofe and Zano enjoying themselves as they indulged the children and Zano played ‘horsey’ with Drustina’s toddling daughter and son.

The next morning, the talks started badly and degenerated into little more than a shouting match between Oraxyis and general Zano who refused to see his empress shouted at or bullied. In the end, Oraxyis declared that he would not honour the agreement and at some later date there would be wars again for he claimed to be an honourable man and was not prepared to see land stolen.
He was shouting loudly about honour and theft when the door to the negotiating chamber opened so softly that nobody noticed at first. All eyes were fastened on Oraxyis who was bellowing his objections like a bull and loudly protesting his honour while standing to show off his massive bulk and thumping the table to demonstrate his strength.

“I will not see theft! The land is ours! Nobody has a right to steal another’s lands! I will not see another’s land stolen. Varna, and for that matter Burgas are Bulgar cities! Who would steal such land is a thief and a butcher for blood will always be spilt.”

The room went silent for a moment as all others sat stunned by the outburst. Drustina seized her opportunity and spoke softly.

“Oh; on that issue my dear Oraxyis I must heartily agree!”

“All heads, including Oraxyis’s, turned as one at the softly spoken words.”

“Who the hell are you woman!? God is the whole Byzantine Empire run by bloody women!?”
Drustina smiled but the steely glint in her eye betrayed her fortitude as she spoke levelly and without the slightest trace of fear or submission.

“At the moment dear Oraxyis you are almost right. Apart from General Zano, you are wholly right. By the way, for those who don’t know me, I am Drustina, Lioness of Carthage and Formerly queen of Egypt. I have other titles but Carthage will suffice for those of you who only seem to understand the sword.”

Irene and Aiofe were about to squeal with joy but Drustina put her mailed sword hand to her lips and motioned for silence.

“Pray silence sisters, let the man Oraxyis speak for he will answer my questions shortly.”

“What have I to answer to you for? I speak with queens and empresses here. By what rank do you have the right to question me.”

“My rank is not in question here butcher! I come as messenger, judge and if necessary, executioner.”

The towering bully sensed the threat and his hand slid menacingly to his sword. Empress Irene asked Drustina.

“What messages do you bring comrade?”

“They are not just messages my lady. They are witnesses. Witnesses to the most terrible massacres and thefts of lands to the north of the Bulgar tribes. Land grabs every bit as audacious and illegal as the attempted thefts to the south. This man Oraxyis is a thief and a bully and worst of all, a murderer! Thousands have died directly by his hand insofar as his thugs have murdered the citizens and stolen the lands.”

“Really,” Irene listened dutifully. “Please elaborate.”

“The beast attacked and occupied the Moldove tribe. They are sister Bulgars but a very small tribe. The man was really intent on expanding his fiefdom into the lands of the Russ. He murdered hundreds of Moldovan tribesmen then subjugated the remaining men and all the women into a brutal serfdom. Once he had totally subjugated that tribe, he turned his brutal attentions upon the Russ.”

“But the Russ are a powerful tribe in their own right,” General Zano observed, “they are well able to protect themselves.”

“Yes. If they have warning my comrade, but any tribe or nation can be caught with their trousers down if they have no anticipation of war or more importantly, if they have a treaty they were honouring, and the Russ had a fairly drawn treaty with the Moldovans. They were not expecting such a sudden and brutal attack. That was the cause of the troubles I discovered when I found myself the de-facto peace-keeper in the Bulgar lands and Dona basin after the defeat you wrought down here. This brute is a greedy, ruthless thug and there are many Moldovans and Russ who would see him executed for the most brutal crimes.”

She pointed directly at Oraxyis and the man became incensed with rage at her allegations. He was still standing but a couple of sword lengths away from the accusative woman and her charges caused him to lose all temper. With roar he screamed at the ‘bitch’ who had the temerity to accuse him and he kicked back his chair as he drew his sword. A sword that had been allowed to each Bulgar commander as nothing more than a courtesy by Empress Irene to let the defeated Bulgars have some semblance of dignity when they daily attended the negotiations.

Now even the courtesy of that favour had been abused and the majority of people seated at the table flung themselves for cover as the giant man flung himself at his accuser. Apart from Drustina, only Zano had the wit to lurch across his terrified Empress and put himself between her and the infuriated Oraxyis.

Drustina however, had already been forewarned of Oraxyis’ violent nature by the assorted Russ and Moldoven witnesses she had brought with her to Constantinople. Her sword flashed free even as Oraxyis’ chair crashed against the wall. By the time the giant was upon her, her sword was pointing directly into his throat and he pulled up short, frozen with fear. The beast had never seen a Toledo blade but more importantly, he had never seen one appear so quickly, seemingly from nowhere. Now he felt the razor sharp tip as it started to draw blood; his blood!

“Drop your sword, butcher!” Drustina spoke softly in a flat expressionless voice.

She made no further threat. That simple order had been enough for it was backed by the familiar, murderous, steely glint that should never have rested in a maiden’s eye. Despite his overbearing, bullying ways, Oraxyis was intelligent enough to realise he had met his match. The ‘Lioness of Carthage’ was obviously a title well earned. He dropped his sword and remained rigidly still as the Toledo point continued to pin him by his bleeding throat to his own cowardice. Drustina smiled evilly, it was as she had suspected. ‘The beast was at heart a coward and afraid to die’.

With Oraxyis thus disarmed, order was soon restored, for to have drawn a sword at a negotiating table and with unarmed women present had been the height of offence. Even his own generals fell upon him and secured him with chains that the guards had quickly delivered. In fact, the guards had been standing outside the door at Drustina’s instigation for she was pretty sure she knew what sort of monster Oraxyis was. She had seen the results of his handiwork in the occupied Moldovan homelands and the invaded Russ territories. It had sickened her. She also had a copy of the fair and proper treaty between the Russ and the Moldove’s that Oraxyis had treated with total contempt.

Once the beast was led away. Irene had a chance to question Drustina.

“My God lady. You pick a fine time to appear. So what of this business with the Moldoves and the Russ?”

Drustina smiled then sighed.

“I think it best if you speak to the injured parties themselves your Majesty. They will enlighten you much better than I.”

“Good God! Are they here?”

“Right next door milady. I invited them to accompany me, once I had restored some sort of order and fairness. Now if you’ll allow me to beg my most humblest of pardons your majesty, might I leave to see my children?”

“Empress Irene smiled then grinned.”

“Of course Drustina. You’ll always have that absolute right to take your leave of me without begging permission.”

This permission was a considerable honour and Drustina knew it. She bent forward, kissed Irene on the cheek and took her leave. It was only as Drustina laid her hands on Irene’s shoulders that the empress realised the warrior queen was still trembling. She stepped back to look at Drustina and realised the maid was a past master at hiding her fears. The assault by Oraxyis had been a fearsome thing to behold for the suddenness had almost paralyzed everybody in the room except for this strange, dual being Drustina and Irene’s own loyal general Zano.

“You’d best go now Dru,” Irene advised in a whisper that nobody else could hear.

Without further word, Drustina slipped away to the nursery as Irene turned to Zano.

“Thank you general. For one ghastly moment I thought his intention was to kill me. You behaved impeccably. I am impressed, for apart from that lioness, only you reacted with sufficient alacrity.”

“It was only my duty ma-am.” Zano shrugged. “I am sworn to protect you and serve you.”

Irene found herself studying the powerful figure of the general and realised she felt safe with him beside her. In her estimation he would have given as good as he got if the beast Oraxyis had meant to attack her. While general Zano was not a tall man he was an immensely powerful one. That the situation had worked out differently in no way detracted from his demonstration of loyalty and preparedness. She smiled and thanked him again.

“Nevertheless General I am indebted to you and I thank you for protecting me.”

He stood to attention and saluted her with his sword hand brought to his lips and the sword standing upright above his head before replacing it in his scabbard. Then he turned and nodded towards the door whence Drustina had departed before he addressed Aiofe and Irene.

“I believe we have some guests the other side of that door mi’ladies, did not Drustina talk of witnesses? They might be the evidence we have sought to bring this beast to account.”

And thus it proved to be. Both Moldoves and Russ had ample evidence of the atrocities committed by Oraxyis and his army and they were happy to bear witness. This, coupled with Drustina’s reports, was enough to have the beast Oraxyis castrated and forced into slavery. The byzantine justice system could be brutal and swift. The Empress Irene could look forward to a reign of peace but more importantly, she had in General Zano, a man who had no ambitions to usurp her throne and was yet ready to lay down his own life for her.

Irene realised that under that simian mantle, the man had a heart of gold and a keen sense of justice for the man had, after all, worked his own way up the ranks of the army from slave-born drummer boy to supreme commander. He was a man who had seen and suffered from the many injustices that the lowest ranks were burdened with and he carried long memories of abuses heaped upon him by aristocrats and holy men. Irene realised she was falling in love with general Zano despite his unbecoming countenance. Under that gorilla-like mantle, the man had a gentle and caring personality. Both Drustina and Aiofe’s keen feminine senses soon realised a romance was brewing and it woud take but the gentlest of feminine pushes to precipitate a wedding.