The doors to the far end of The Infirmary were thrust open, and two stretchers were brought into the room and gently placed onto beds at the opposite end to where Jena and Rusan were situated. Screens were quickly erected around both beds and quiet commands could be heard being given.

At the other end of the room Rusan was doing her best to calm an increasingly distraught Jena.

“It’s okay Jena, there’s nothing to be worried about. It seems a couple of folks have had an accident or other sort of mishap. You’ve nothing to worry about here, . . . come-on, . . . have some more of this rich broth, it’ll do you a power of good, and if you have some space after that, I’ll pop down to the kitchen and see if I can’t get you some nice cake or biscuits!”

“I’m sorry Rusan, . . . I . . . I don’t think I could drink any more of this broth, it is delicious!” Replied a weary Jena, “! don’t think I’ve ever had anything that has had such flavour, although, I have a vague memory of my Momma making something similar for my sister and me before she died!!”

Rusan stopped with the spoon mid-way between the dish and Jena.

“You have a sister Jena? I didn’t know that?”

Jena stopped moving or talking but held her hands to her mouth, a stunned expression etched on her face! Then with tears in her eyes she looked at Rusan.

“I . . I have a sister, . . . a younger sister! . . . Or . . . at least I did have a sister, . . . two or three years ago!” she whispered through her tears.

Rusan placed the broth bowl on the table over the bed, and, scooting her chair to be beside Jena put both arms around her shoulders.

“Okay Jena, that’s quite the revelation, . . do you want to tell me about her?”

Jena simply stared straight ahead, before slowly looking at Rusan, she nodded her head and was about to start telling her tale when the doors to the infirmary opened, and the Queen, her sister Pellinore and the Princesses Aryn, Caryn all entered and, after looking over the two new arrivals, they all walked down the ward towards Jena and Rusan. Rusan stood by the side of the bed, clad now in a nurses uniform, rather than the rough shepherdess garb she had been wearing.

Urna walked down the room and stepped forward checking over Jena quickly, before smiling down at her.

“I am so pleased “Nurse” Rusan is being able to persuade you at eat a little today, and I see you have been drinking a lot more too!” Urna said, obviously pleased with the slight upturn in her patient’s condition. “You have done well with the broth for lunch too!”

“She has done really well!” replied Rusan, “My other clothes were too worn, dirty and/or too warm for such surroundings, so I was kindly loaned this fine outfit! I was trying to talk Jena into having another couple of spoonful’s of the broth, when, your two new patients arrived, which threw us off our stroke a little, . Jena said she’d never had such tasty food since her mother had made her and her sister some, many years ago! I was just about to listen to her tale when you all arrived.”

“You have a sister?” asked the Queen.

“Yes, . . yes your Majesty, I have a younger sister, she must be eight or nine now I suppose, always assuming she is still alive!” As she said this Jena’s eyes slowly filled with tears which gently dripped down her cheeks.

“Oh Child, try not to worry so, if you tell us your story, we will see what we can do!” said Queen Adred as she sat at the other side to Rusan and took one of Jena’s hands in her own. The Princesses Aryn and Caryn sat on the bed either side of the girl whilst Urna went to get one of her staff to organise tea, cake and biscuits for them all as she drew a chair to the side of Jena’s bed, and, with a deep breath and her eyes screwed shut Jena began to tell her tale.

Chapter Seventeen.

“My earliest memory is of my mother Sleal and I living in a small coastal village, my father Treed was a fisherman and was away for long periods of time. But my Mum and Dad loved each other, and we were happy. My Daddy would carve the most beautiful dolls heads and little animals for me while he was away at sea. Some out of wood and some out of ivory or bones he got from somewhere. My Mummy would get paints to decorate the dolls and animals. Then with scraps of cloth, she would make the dolls bodies and their clothes, they were so very beautiful.”

“The man who owned the boat my daddy worked on was called Zelch, he didn’t go to sea that often but when Daddy was away Zelch kept coming to our house, and he always seemed to pester my Mummy. I remember that my Daddy hit Zelch once and I heard Daddy tell him to keep away from us. Daddy said he was only going to do one last trip to sea as, he’d promised his best friend Polk, he’d do this voyage for him, and then he was finished with the sea, and was going to go work in a wood factory.”

Jena opened her eye’s and looked around at her audience, her lashes wet with tears.

“Daddy went off to sea and we never saw him again. Polk later told us that he’d heard Daddy and Zelch arguing, then, the next morning they found my Daddy’s body tangled in the nets they’d got over the side of the boat, he’d drowned. Mummy became sadder and sadder; she was worried about how we were going to buy food and pay our rent. Eventually, Zelch kept coming around to our house more and more often and I saw him giving my Mummy money. It was for food and such stuff Mummy said. Then eventually Zelch moved in with us, he said I had to call him Daddy from now on! I told him I didn’t like him; he wasn’t my Daddy, and I would never, ever, call him Daddy!”

“He hit me and said I was an ungrateful brat, and he’d get the better of me. He said I had to leave school as he wouldn’t pay to educate some other man’s bastard child! Anyway, I tried to keep out of his way, I did cleaning jobs or looked after younger children, anything to earn a few coppers so I didn’t have to rely on Zelch for anything. With the help of some of the older women and their daughters I taught myself my letters and my numbers. When Zelch found out he hit my Mummy and me, he tore all my books and pictures to shreds. Then, he threw all my toys and dolls that my Mummy and Daddy had made me on to the fire, he said they were more use keeping the house warm and cooking our food than being stuck on shelves in my room!”

Jena gave a half smirk!”

“He didn’t get everything though; he didn’t get my necklace!”

From under her nightgown, she pulled out a leather thong, to which was attached several small exquisite figures, amongst them a fairy, a mermaid and a kitten.

“My Daddy made me these when I was a baby, they were painted by my Mummy at some point, but it’s all worn off now!”

All her audience looked with wonder at these examples of rustic art, they were scratched and chipped to be sure, but even after all the intervening years of hard use, there was no denying the skill and dexterity that had been utilised in their manufacture. After everyone had had a close look at her prized possessions, Jena tucked them back under the collar of her gown and laid back in her pillows. She closed her eyes.

“It was only a year or so later that my Mummy had another baby. She had a girl who she named Jinz. She was a beautiful baby and I helped Mummy to care for her and she grew up to look a lot like Mummy and me. Where my Mummy and I had long straight blond hair, Jinz had bright blond curly hair, Zelch had curly hair!”

“As Jinz grew older she spent more and more time with me. We really loved each other, even though she was six or seven years younger than me, we were really close, and the more we loved each other, the more Zelch picked on me and he hit me a lot, I didn’t want him to hurt Jinz, so, the more he picked on me the less chance there was of him hurting her.”

“Then, one day, he came in my room and told me I was a useless bitch, and it was about time I repaid his kindness! He pushed me onto my bed and tried to push my legs apart and his, . . his, . . thing got really big!” Jena released a big sob, and Rusan went to hug her tighter, but Jena shook her head no!

“When, he couldn’t get my legs to open, he grabbed my head, wrenched my jaw open and shoved his thing into my mouth! . . . It smelt awful and the taste was . . . was even worse, and he laughed, . . he laughed at me, told me I was a worthless c**t and like my mommy this was all I was good for! So, I relaxed my body, and so did he!” Jena half smirked. “Biggest mistake he ever made! Because I bit . . . and I bit . . . .AND I BIT!!!! . . . He was screaming, just like a little girl!

The more he hit me, the harder I bit! Eventually I spit the end of his thing out of my mouth! The blood was everywhere, and I laughed at him, then . . . then he hit me with a bottle on the side of my head and I passed out!”

Jena looked at her stunned audience with a bit of a self-satisfied smile.

“He won’t try to rape any other women . . . or girls, . . not anymore!”

“Oh Jena, Jena, what happened next, can you tell us?” asked Rusan. Jena nodded.

“Could I have something to drink do you think first please?”

“Of course you can sweetie!” answered a clearly stunned Queen. “Here, this is a warmish, really sweet herbal tea, it’ll do you some good, and give you some much needed energy too, now drink up!” as the Queen pressed the cup to Jean’s lips. After drinking almost all the mug of tea, Jena closed her eyes once again and eventually recommenced her tale.

“The next thing I remember was waking up in the back of some sort of prisoner wagon. There was a sullen crowd around the vehicle, my Mummy was banging on the door with one hand demanding my release with Jinz in her other arm. Then in the background, a screaming Zelch could be heard being taken to a hospital, I think. Then as I watched one of the guards brought his rifle down hard on my Mummy’s head and she dropped to the floor, I am sure she died, one of our neighbours, Layce picked my sister up and held her tightly, and giving me a half smile, a half grimace and a nod, I saw her taking my sister into her house, some of our other neighbours picked my mother up and they disappeared into the silent crowd, that’s the last time I saw either one of them, I am sure my Mummy is dead but hopefully, my sister is living with our neighbour Layce, at least I hope she is, she was a nice woman was Layce.”

A deep silence permeated the infirmary, the depth of hurt, pain and suffering this frail girl had lived through was far beyond anything that her audience had any understanding of.

“What happened to you Jena, how did you end up in the clutches of that animal Strin?” Asked Princess Aryn quietly.

Jena lay there with a desperately sad smile on her face, with tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Before I was properly awake, and knew where I was, I found myself in a courtroom. They asked me if I had bitten Zelch, and I said “Yes, but!” That was the last thing they let me say! For an unprovoked attack on an upstanding member of society and for his permanent disfigurement and the loss of a vital appendage or words to that effect, I was given life in prison with no parole for the first twenty-five years. Even then it would require Zelch to give his agreement. So, I was sent to a high security orphanage cum youth prison. Well, with nothing to lose, I joined the underground network aiming to dismantle everything that the bigwigs in Masonville’s government stand for. Because I could read and write and not many of my fellow inmates could, I started giving lessons. Most of my fellow detainees had life stories just as horrific as mine! The vast majority are desperate for change, they are sick of Signi and his yes men. Then, just as I thought I was doing something useful, some way to commemorate my parents love of me and to maybe give my sister a better life than mine, I was sold into slavery!”

Jena needed another drink as she was rapidly running out of energy.

“It was then that my nightmare took on a whole new dimension! I was sold to Art Strin, Zelch’s older, more sadistic brother! The first thing he did was to get some of his fellow soldiers to hold me down while he raped me, then, after sticking his thing in my bottom, he told me I was going to suck him clean, and if he so much as felt a tooth scraping his skin, he would get the smiths pliers and he’d pull all my teeth out, one by one!

For the last two years or so, most of them have raped me practically every day! They . . . they even killed my, . . my BABIES!”

With that, the wails that screamed from the very depths of Jena’s soul rent the air, and she was inconsolable until Urna gave her a sedative injection. She slowly relaxed and sleep overwhelmed her tired body and shattered mind.

None of the audience that had listened to this tale of degradation and misery knew what to say. Most were hugging another woman, desperate for comfort and cognizant that every one of them needed that reassurance in return.

Queen Adred looked across at Rusan with a grim determined look on her face.

“We’ll be back to see her soon Rusan, give her our love when she comes round. But I want to see what background information you can get from her! I would like to know her family name, the name of her village, the name of her father’s boat, anything and everything you can get her to remember, I want to see if we can put that poor soul’s life back together in some way. I want to talk to her about how Masonville’s elite are hanging onto power and is there any way for us to help upset their applecart!”

Just as the Queen was about to move from Jena’s bed a herald approached.

“Excuse me your Majesty, I have an important message from the Chamberlain, it seems that Masonville’s ambassador is in the throne room, demanding an urgent audience with yourself!”

“Is he now, well how fortuitous, I think I am in exactly the right frame of mind to talk to him too! Tell Chamberlain Glessa I shall attend the ambassador at my earliest convenience!” with that message received, the herald went to report to the chamberlain.

“Come ladies, I suggest we retire to recover our sensibilities and lets discuss tactics to deal with that lowlife, sorry, ambassador! Let’s keep him dangling for a while, we’ll let him stew, the more annoyed he gets, the more rash he’ll get, the more information he’ll let slip, the better for us and, by the sound of it, the ordinary people of Masonville.

They stopped to obtain the latest update on the two survivors before they left the infirmary some time later.

Chapter Eighteen.

In the main receiving room of the palace, two heavy doors swung open and a herald banged his mace on the floor.

“All stand, all observe Her Royal Majesty Queen Adred the Fourth, Queen of Granaria, all observe The Duchess Pellinore, Prime Minister of Granaria, All acknowledge the Princesses Aryn and Caryn, all who seek audience please make themselves known to Her Majesties Chamberlain!” proclaimed Chamberlain Glessa.

The new ambassador rushed up to the Queen. Her escort quickly drew their swords and, at sword point, pushed him back down the steps of the dais, steps that he’d almost mounted.

The Queen made a great display of seating herself on her throne and carefully arranged her robes, removing imaginary pieces of fluff and smoothing her skirts, before looking up at the ambassador.

“Well, Major-General Clercq, I see you have about the same level of manners as your predecessor and that you yourself displayed at your last audience. You seem to have little respect for the title and authority I have here in MY PALACE!! OR THE ROLE OF AN ABASSADOR, NOW SIR, I am within a hairsbreadth of demanding your expulsion from my realm and your immediate replacement! NOW! DO I MAKEMYSELF CLEAR Major-General Clercq,. You Sir are skating on very thin ice, displease me or my court again and I will not be responsible for the consequences. NOW SIR, WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

“My apologies your Majesty, I apologise for my exuberance, it is just I have spent nearly all day waiting for an audience with your Majesty, on a matter of great importance to both our nations!”

“Is that so ambassador? Do you propose that I should organise the rule of my nation at the beck and call of someone like yourself?”

“Of course not your Majesty, I naturally assumed that given the urgent meetings our nations have been party to over the last few days, that you would wish to resolve these matters at the earliest opportunity!” spluttered the ambassador.

The queen stared at him for several seconds, before fixing him with an icy expression that superbly hid her rising anger with this man, the Queen was not someone to play cards against, not if you expected to win!

“I really have no idea to what you refer Mr. Ambassador. You asked if we had any of your property, both you and your predecessor were told we had none of your belongings other than bodies and wrecked military equipment, none of which you expressed the slightest interest in, so, that’s the end of the matter, is it not?” Stated the Queen, daring him to contradict her!

“Actually your Majesty, if I may show you some photographs, recently placed into my possession, they clearly show some of your forces removing some items from the foothills above Riventon!”

The Chamberlain accepted the photos from the ambassador, and after giving them careful scrutiny, examining each one several times, he passed them to Prime Minister Pellinore, who also gave them a detailed examination, before she, in turn handed them onto the Princesses Aryn and then eventually into Princess Caryn’s hands. Caryn moved across the dais before the photos slipped from her hands and were scattered all over the floor.

“Sorry Mother, I am so clumsy, I shall gather them up, it’ll take but a moment!” Caryn then made a real performance of recovering the photographs before she handed them over to the Queen.

All the while these interactions were taking place, the ambassador was becoming ever increasingly angry and short tempered. The queen quickly scanned the images before she turned to her sister.

“I’m sorry Prime Minister, do any of your staff have a magnifying glass to hand, I find my eyes get tired this late in the day, and I do want to understand the point the ambassador is trying to make here, so I would like to take a closer look at these photographs!”

“I am not sure any of my staff actually carry such an aid with them your Majesty, but I am sure we have one in the office somewhere, just a moment your Majesty!”

Pellinore turned to an aide.

“Lady Dilss, could you go fetch us a magnifying glass if you please?”

“Of course Prime Minister, I shall return shortly!” said the aide as she turned and left the room.

A great cry of frustration was practically yelled by Major-General Clercq, as he spun on one foot in a complete circle, his face was almost scarlet with apoplexy.

“This is beyond an insult to the great nation of Masonville and its glorious leader President Signi."

He was busy wringing his hands together his voice was almost a screech!

“Do you women have any idea of just who you are dealing with? You should stick to what you are meant to do! Provide us our next generation and look to your husbands needs, not this feeble charade you have just enacted! You think you are so clever, you are just weak, pathetic, females, women playing at running a country, I WILL HAVE OUR PROPERTY, AND I WILL, . . HAVE, . . IT, . . NOW!!”

Queen Adred stood up from her throne and smirked at the ambassador who was now suddenly feeling a little less confident of himself.

“Chamberlain Glessa, summon the Master at Arms and her escort if you would be so kind!”

Major-General Clercq’s right arm reached for his sidearm, but before he had completed half the move, Princess Aryn had taken his thumb and bending it backwards forced him onto his knees. She then deftly flicked his firearm to her sister who trained it on his head from a distance of two feet. Clercq’s own escort stood on in mute amazement with the speed of developments.

The Queen looked down on the ambassador in disgust.

“Well Major-General Clercq, I think if Masonville wants to continue this dialogue, then they had best send a new ambassador to my court! As you Sir, are now no longer welcome in my presence, my palace, my capital nor anywhere else within the realm of Granaria. It is only my decision to honour your diplomatic immunity that halts me from having you taken outside and shot for an attempted attack upon the ruler of this great nation of OURS. A nation that does not wage war on its own populace, especially the women and children of its people. So, Sir, you are banished from this realm, and you are to be escorted to the main border between our nations as a matter of urgency. Inform your leaders I am sick and tired of the spurious claims of property rights that have seemed to consume you and your predecessor! The next ambassador had better have a healthier understanding of their role in ensuring the smooth relations between both Granaria and Masonville, smooth relations both people’s deserve. BECAUSE, SIR, YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO YOUR NATION, AND TO THE ROLE OF AMBASSADOR, A ROLE ENACTED ALL OVER THE MANY COUNTRIES THAT CONSTITUE VILLARIA IN AN HONOURABLE MANNER, I WILL NOT BE THREATENED BY IMBECILES SUCH AS YOU! Now, Master at arms, escort this individual and his aides from this room, after disarming them of course, directly to the border post, I don’t care how you remove them, locked in a refuse cart for all I care, but they are to be evicted from Granaria forthwith, and immediately they have crossed the border, all diplomatic privileges are to be rescinded and withdrawn, and, should any of these five individuals attempt to re-enter Granaria at any point in the future, you have my permission to shoot them on sight!”

“Understood your Majesty!”

Princess Aryn with an extra backwards jerk, released Major-General Clercq’s thumb and he sullenly and slowly regained his feet. Visibly wincing as he tried to ease the pain in his hand.

Glowering at all these pathetic women, he looked at each one before he held out his left hand for the firearm he’d so recently and easily been relieved of! The weapon that was now in the possession of Princess Caryn.

“My revolver Princess, if you’d be so kind?”

Caryn looked at the Major-General, then at the weapon in her hand and chuckling;

“I don’t think so Sir, no-one threatens any of us, especially my Mother, this has been confiscated, so I think it best you get out before I use it!”

“But, . . . But . . .That . . . That is a treasured family heirloom!” spluttered Clercq.

“You are really not that bright are you? The Queen has granted you your life, and you still want to argue about the fine detail! I suggest you get out while you can, under your own power, because us pathetic women are quite prepared to drag you out of here by what remains of your hair and sling you into whatever vehicle can be found at such short notice!” Spoke the Princess Aryn levelly, “Because sir, had I been in my mothers’ position, you would be smoking your last cigarette and diplomatic niceties be damned! The more I learn about your precious president and the manner you rule your populace, the more I am revolted by you and your ilk! So get out and get out now!”

Still bemoaning his situation, the Major-General was removed from the throne room along with his four aides.

Each man was surrounded by four guards, each one kept several strides apart from the others.

Just as the final aide was leaving the room he started to limp, the limp seeming to get worse and increasing the distance from him and the rest of the deputation.

He then stopped completely and bending over, grabbed his calf and collapsed squealing to the floor complaining he’d severe cramp. With a furtive glance ensuring his colleagues had left the vicinity and were being dragged down the corridor, surrounded by their armed guards, he quickly rose onto both knees, ripping his epaulettes from his tunic, along with his other indications of rank and cried out in a quiet but determined voice, ensuring that his argumentative colleagues didn’t overhear his next statement.

“Please your Majesty, please, as a matter of urgency I claim asylum, please your Majesty, I cannot and will not return to Masonville, I throw myself on your mercy. They!” with a backward furtive glance at his former colleagues who were no longer in sight. “They, they make me ashamed and sick to my stomach to be a part of that whole corrupt government! So please, I ask you for asylum, and in return I will tell you everything I know about President Signi and his evil empire! An empire that doesn’t know it is on borrowed time as the ordinary populace, its people, they are close to open revolt! It is a powder keg and it is about to explode, it could be a blood bath, I need to do something to help my fellow citizens”

That put a sudden stop to all the discussions that were taking place on or around the dais.

Queen Adred stared at the young man on his knees, who’d unexpectedly thrown everything into a bit of a state of confusion. She then looked at Aryn.

“Princess Aryn, summon four of your troopers, let’s take our friend here down to the cells. Then we can find out, safely, for all of us, just what is going on here. I want to know what has prompted this apparent change of heart, and the sooner the better!”

Ten munts later Adred and Pellinore were sat in the private lounge where they often talked through the day’s events while drinking tea.

“Well Adred, THAT, was a hell of a day!”

“That my dear Pellinore, is one of the most profound understatements I think I have ever heard you utter, since, since we were children!”

And with that they both stared into the fire, each deeply lost in their thoughts!