Orc Dominion: Zentara Ch. 04

Frederick nodded in agreement with Jeanette. "Of course, Your Highness. I will be sure to find something suitable for him. If I may Your Highness, we also need to send word to the Duke of Braden and the King of Heste. What do you want to tell them?"

"The wedding was scheduled for four months from now. Obviously, it will have to be postponed until after a proper mourning period. Say, a year from now."

Frederick smiled wryly at the suggestion. "That would be appropriate, Your Highness. I'll make sure they understand the necessity for postponing the date of the wedding."

"Excellent. Susannah tells me that there have been orcs spotted in your land, and I've been told that there are more orcs in the city looking for trade. Do you have any additional information to indicate what they might be doing?" Please don't say they're here for a new human whore, she thought with some amusement.

"Well, as you know Your Highness, there orcs have been increasing their raids on Thesta and Sandora. With their elevated activity, they are amassing greater wealth. Normally they sent small groups into Zentara to convert their loot into either practical goods or symbols of wealth and status for them to wear and display in their tribal encampments. With their greater hauls of treasure from Thesta and Sandora, there are more of them looking to dispose of the loot. What's also interesting is that they seem to be converting it to gold bars and coins. I don't know why they are doing this, or what they hope to spend it on in the Angrian March. But whatever is pushing them to increase their attacks is also pressuring them to begin building up their gold reserves."

Jeanette listened intently to Frederick as he explained. "I see. Do you think they pose any threat to Zentara? Is there any indication that they're scouting our lands for raids of their own?"

"I don't believe so, Your Highness. The orcs have never raided our lands before. As the trade center of the region, we are a better customer than a victim. Even still, the bulk of our standing army is stationed along the edge of Zentara. They regularly patrol and will be able to give warning should that change."

"Thank you, Your Grace. Our military though, is much smaller than either of Thesta and Sandora. If they do attack, will we be able to hold them off?"

Frederick frowned as he answered. "Probably not, Your Highness. However, if they began to attack us, they would have to pull back from their raids to Thesta and Sandora. That would give both those Kingdoms an opportunity to counterattack, which I believe they would do. But really, Your Highness, I do not believe you have to worry about an orcish attack."

"Thank you, Your Grace. You've relieved my mind. Please send Susannah to me, and return tomorrow morning after I meet with the Minister of Coins to update me on Sir Drake, the coronation, and the attempts to recover the bodies of my parents. Have a good evening, Your Grace." Jeanette rose from the table to bid the Duke goodnight.

Frederick stood up and bowed low to Jeanette. "Of course, Your Highness. Good night."

Susannah entered the room next, her eyes red from tears. She swept across the room and embraced Jeanette tightly, sobbing onto her friend's shoulders. "I'm so sorry Jeanette..."

Jeanette wrapped her arms around Susannah and squeezed firmly, a lump forming in her throat at the display of emotion for her parents. "Thank you, dear Susannah, I appreciate it..."

Susannah sniffled and pulled back slightly to look Jeanette in the eyes. "The King and Queen were such lovely people, and they loved you very much. They always treated me so well for your sake. Do you remember the first time I was presented to them as your companion? I was so nervous...my skin turned all blotchy and red and I was shaking so hard I was afraid I was going to fall over. Your father gave me the kindest smile, and told me I had nothing to worry about. He said I was trembling like a leaf and was worried I was going to blow away, so he told me to hold onto his hand. I clutched him as hard as I could, and then began to feel safe. They were wonderful people Jeanette, I'm so sorry. I'm going to miss them dearly."

Jeanette's eyes watered at the recollection, and she kissed Susannah on the cheek. "Thank you Susannah. I'm glad they are remembered fondly. They will live on, in all of us. The impact they had on us will be their legacy and we shall carry it forward with honor."

"They would have been...they were so proud of you Jeanette. You'll be a wonderful Queen and you'll do them justice. I just know it." Susannah smiled at Jeanette earnestly.

"If I am, it will be with your help. Now that I'm Queen, I should like you to be my chief Lady-in-Waiting." Jeanette smiled at the gasp, and look of shocked delight on Susannah's face. "Oh I'm honored Your Majesty!"

"Don't be too honored just yet, it's a lot of work...you'll be in charge of my chambers and staff. It's a big responsibility...but I know you will live up to the challenge, Susannah. And who knows, with all the time you'll now be spending in court, perhaps you'll come to the attention of your future husband." Jeanette giggled softly, for the first time since being informed of her parent's death. Imagining her friend's future happiness was enough to lift her spirits, at least slightly.

"You think so? It will be so exciting to be living at court...though I shall miss my father and brothers terribly."

"Oh don't you worry so much about that Susannah. I've decided to make your father Chancellor, so he shall be right here at court with you. It's time your family was rewarded for the long years of friendship you've given me." Jeanette smiled, happy that she was now in a position to repay her friends, even if it was not under the circumstances she would have wished.

"You have? Why that will please him...and I just know he'll do his best for you, Your Highness. He's always said that he did not like Sir Drake, and that he would do things differently if he got the chance. Now he has! I know he'll make the best use of it." Susannah smiled at Jeanette in gratitude for the honor the Queen Regent did her family.

"I'm sure he will. Your father is a very capable, intelligent man. It's not just gratitude that caused me to appoint him Chancellor, but trust in and recognition of his abilities. I know he will be up to the task. Now come with me, Susannah. Let us tour the castle, and let the staff know that I am in firm control of things." Jeanette looped her arm through Susannah's, and led the girl out of Jeanette's chambers to begin making rounds with the staff.

It took two weeks for the bodies Jeanette's parents to be recovered from the rockslide. Naturally, Jeanette hadn't visited the Soiled Dove in all this time. The game she played, the rebellion, just didn't seem important anymore. The days leading up to the funeral were difficult enough for Jeanette. To make matters even more trying, the Duke of Braden arrived to offer his condolences as well. "It is fortunate that I was already on my way to Ruar to welcome your parents home after their tour, Your Highness. It took only a week for the letter bearing news of their death to me, and another week for me to get here. Don't you worry about a thing, Jeanette. Now that I am here, you can rest and let me take charge of things for you."

A look of annoyance passed Jeanette's face at the Duke's presumption. "I appreciate your support in this trying time, Gilbert. But my Chancellor, Duke Haverset has things well in hand, and has been a great asset in the transition to my reign."

The Duke of Braden looked over at the Duke of Haverset. "I was wondering what you were doing here, Haverset. It certainly didn't take you long to push our Sir Drake. Out with the old, in with the new, eh?"

The Duke of Haverset regarded the Duke of Braden cooly, then shot him a murderous glare. "That's in rather poor taste, Braden. Rein in your tongue, or you might not get the chance to reign."

"Heh, is that the best you can do? Bad puns? You might be Chancellor now, but when I'm king-"

"-You'll no doubt offer me advice and counsel on all my appointments. Now gentlemen, let us calm ourselves, this is no way to honor my parents." Jeanette looked between the two Dukes. The Duke of Haverset seemed to be on the verge of attacking the Duke of Braden, who merely looked back with dismissive derision.

"You're quite right, Jeanette. What better way to honor your parents then to honor their wishes, and marry as planned? I have no doubt that they wouldn't wish for their deaths to prevent, delay, or interfere with your marital bliss."

"I can't agree with that, Braden. The late King and Queen honored propriety, tradition and customs. Including the custom of observing a proper mourning period. I don't doubt that they would wish Jeanette to observe the proper, year long waiting period before engaging in something as festive as a wedding." The Duke of Haverset continued to glare at the Duke of Braden, growing more confrontational.

The Duke of Braden began to lose his patience, and his face began to flush red. "Whether they would or not is really immaterial. The wedding will occur as planned. Any delays will be seen as an insult to myself and my brother, the King of Heste. It will be show that Zentara is not truly interested in peace, and we will respond accordingly."

"Is that a threat? Her Highness doesn't need to stand here and listen to this!" The Duke of Haverset objected angrily.

"Calm down, Your Grace. Your conduct is quite unbecoming of my fiancé, Gilbert. Of course Zentara is interested in peace, and I assure you that I do intend to see us wed. We are merely concerned that our reign begins on the right foot. The people would look ill upon you if you became the King Consort while they are still mourning my parents. Surely you can see the wisdom in keeping the people happy and allowing your joining my reign to be a joyous occasion, instead of marred by hostility?"

The Duke of Braden looked unhappy. "The people are of no concern. Peasants are always going to find something to be upset about if they want to be. Their opinion has no impact on the validity of our marriage or our reign. They will learn to love it or they will suffer in silence."

"This isn't Heste, Braden. We are not going to butcher peasants for you if you're obnoxiousness, arrogance, and short sightedness drives them against you." The Duke of Haverset glared at the Duke of Braden as he moved to stand face to face with the fractious foreigner.

"You'll do what I tell you, when I'm the King of this land. I mean to be King in more than just name. My brother means for that to be so as well!"

Jeanette interceded again as tension rose. "Your brother is not King of Zentara, Gilbert, and if you do mean to be King in more than just name you'll have to learn to separate yourself from your brother and his desires."

The Duke of Braden snarled at Jeanette. "You think you're so clever, don't you? This wedding will go forward, and I will be King of Zentara. Then we shall see how clever you really are."

"Well until then, you are still just the Duke of Braden and I am the Queen Regent of Zentara, and you are dismissed. I will see you again at the funeral. Once more thing, Your Grace, now that I am the Mistress of this Castle, there are different standards of behavior from your last visit. Assaulting, molesting, or otherwise importuning the staff or any of the ladies at court will not be tolerated."

The Duke of Frederick flushed red with rage, and then stormed out the door, slamming it behind him. "We're going to have to do something about him, Your Highness. You cannot be allowed to marry him, and he cannot be allowed to become King of Zentara."

Jeanette's mind whirled as she considered the possibilities. Zentara did not have the forces to cover the Angrian March and the border with Heste. But so far the orcs had shown no indication that they planned to attack Zentara, while Heste had repeatedly. Clearly, Heste was the bigger threat at the moment. "I know it, Your Grace. We shall have to come up with something. If we moved our forces from the Angrian March to the border with Heste, would it be enough to stop them?"

"We could slow them down, Your Grace, but we could not stop them indefinitely. We need allies, but both Thesta and Sandora are unable to assist us at this time. Which is why Heste has become to bold in their threats."

Jeanette nodded, but continued to think. There had to be a way out of this. For every problem there is a solution. "What about an alliance with the elves? Or the Catabrians?"

"The elves have even less a military than we do. Their islands are small and sparsely populated. They have a shallow water navy to prevent invasions, but that is it. The Catabrians...well, they are barbarians and on the other side of Heste. It would be difficult to contact them, and I'm not sure what we could offer them to attack Heste even if we did. They have nothing that Heste wants, so they ignore each other and it seems to work for both of them."

Jeanette sighed, but resolved to think of something. She could not allow the wedding to go forward, but she also couldn't find a way to prevent it. "Thank you, Your Grace. If you'll excuse me, I needed to be fitted for the Funeral garment." Jeanette rose, and so did the Duke of Haverset. The Duke bowed, and departed, and Jeanette returned to her chambers to meet with her dressmaker.

Things were different now, Jeanette reflected, as she made her way toward her chambers. When she was the princess, the staff was all smiles. Now, as Queen Regent, the staff was much more reserved and respectful. They fell silent when she walked by and averted their eyes. Jeanette knew it wasn't because they thought less of her now, but rather, they were still getting used to her elevated status and unsure if they should treat her the way she did when she was a little girl and the princess.

It was also a reflection of the somber mood permeating through the castle. Her parents had been well loved by the people, who had brought many years of peace and prosperity to the Kingdom. They were still in mourning, and respectful of the pain that she still felt. It would pass, she thought. After the funeral, and the coronation, she would no longer be the Queen Regent, but the ruling Queen herself. That is, unless she married the Duke of Braden. Slowly but surely, one day at a time, he would sap her spirit and erode her will until he became the King and she was a mere shadow of herself.

There had to be a solution, and she would discover it. Jeanette reached her chambers to find her dressmaker waiting for her. Jeanette had not yet moved into the royal chambers, and her receiving room was small and sparsely decorated. The dressmaker curtsied as Jeanette entered the room and dismissed her footmen. The dressmaker and her assistant undid the ties on the back of Jeanette's dress and removed the long, flowing velvet garment, leaving her in her shift and underclothes. The dressmaker then began taking the Queen's measurements, taping her bust, legs, hips, and waist. The dressmaker frowned, and redid the measurement of Jeanette's waist.

"This is hard to say, Your Highness, but the measurement of your waist has gone up...this sometimes happens after a death, when the surviving family members eat to help deal with the grief...but it means I'm going to have to take out the wedding dress the late King and Queen ordered for you, unless you go back down again." The dressmaker looked nervous as to how Jeanette would respond to the implication that she had gained weight.

Jeanette blinked, and then began getting flushed and defensive. "I haven't been eating any more than normal, and I'm certainly not putting on weight!"

The dressmaker's assistant looked away while the dressmaker turned her attention to putting away her measuring equipment. "Of course, Your Highness."

Jeanette looked down at her waist, trying to see if she thought it looked bigger. She knew that she hadn't been eating any more. If anything, with all the new responsibilities and stress of running the castle and the Kingdom she had been eating less. It was not as if she could be pregnant, she had only been with orcs. Her chest began to feel crushed and constricted. She had trusted the orcs completely that they could not get a human pregnant. What if they were lying? Of course they were lying! What a naïve fool she was. She fell for what might be one of the oldest tricks a man had ever played on a woman. Jeanette's head began to spin and she dismissed the dressmaker and her assistant and rushed into her private quarters and collapsed on her bed.

She was pregnant. She tried to think back to the last time she had her monthlies, and realized that it had been well over a month. Jeanette looked down to her stomach, rubbing the soft palm of her hand over her womb. There was a baby in there. An orc baby. What was she going to do? What was she going to say? For the first time Jeanette was grateful her parents were gone and she was Queen. This would be impossible to hide if she were still the princess. Immediately Jeanette felt incredibly guilty for the thought. It was not worthy of her.

Then another flood of worries struck her. This half-orc child, though a bastard, would technically have a claim on the throne of Zentara. If she didn't marry the Duke, and never had other children, the orc spawn could be the next King, or Queen of Zentara. What would the people think of a half-orc ruler? It probably wouldn't be good. Though for her personally, it would still be a step up from the spawn of the Duke of Braden.

But what if she didn't marry the Duke, got married to someone else and had children? This half-orc child of hers would still be out there. Even with the problems that the child would cause her, she couldn't bear the thought of trying to stop the pregnancy. She wasn't even sure the tea she drank to prevent conception would stop an already progressing pregnancy.

The answer to the immediate problem was that she needed to hide. She could use the excuse of mourning to leave the city and go into the countryside for the duration of the pregnancy. The Duke of Haverset would be able to run the Kingdom while she was gone, and maybe it would be even better if she were absent. The Duke of Haverset would have better luck holding off the Duke of Braden and delaying the marriage if she were out of the city.

The next problem is deciding where to go. She had her own estates, of course, but it wouldn't do for her servants to see the Queen Regent pregnant out of wedlock. She needed to go into hiding somewhere under an assumed identity, but still somewhere she could be contacted in an emergency and where she would be safe.

There was really only one option, and it would be perfect. She could go away with Susannah and stay with her, while her father was in court running the Kingdom. She could claim to be a Sandoran relative, who had been assaulted during an orc raid. The only difficulty would be Susannah's brothers. She would either have to invent a reason for them to come to court, or find a way to keep them away from the two.

She would have to come clean with Susannah though, there didn't seem to be anyway around that. Jeanette dreaded having to have that conversation, the embarrassment and humiliation of it. What was she going to tell her? What could she tell her? She couldn't bear the thought of explaining to her friend how she was spreading her legs for orcs in a brothel. There had to be a better story than that, but what was it?

Some mixture between fiction and the truth would have to be the way. A lie is best believed with the truth. She would have to tell Susannah that she made a mistake after being insulted by the Duke of Braden, and that she went out into Ruar, that she was accosted by an orc in an alley, and that she kept it all secret. Hopefully, Susannah wouldn't wonder at the lack of a difference in her since the event, or perhaps she would be able to explain it away as being strong. It would be difficult to have to lie to Susannah about how she became pregnant, but it was better than the alternative.