The Girl with No Name Ch. 19

She turned and knelt, placing her face to the floor. She pretended to be kneeling out of gratitude, but she really was hiding her dismay the ruler had taken a liking to her and that there was no chance, none whatsoever, he'd ever willingly let her out of his life.

"Your humble serving girl...doesn't...doesn't know how to express her gratitude, Your Majesty."

"Yes, indeed. It is a nice necklace, is it not? And now, it is yours. Something to make the crown jewel of my girls shine the way she should. And how should you express your gratitude, my favorite minx? Simply keep doing what you've done already. You're more valuable to me than all my ministers combined. The necklace is my gift, but also my commitment...that your Path in Life will always be here, with me, serving the people of the Duchy.

"Yes, Your Majesty. To hear is to obey."

"Now rise, and run along, my favorite minx."

As she turned, he gave her a very sharp slap on her bottom. She responded with:

"Your humble serving girl wishes to express her gratitude, Your Majesty."

When she got back to her room, she struggled not to become sick. She had always entertained a glimmer of hope, unrealistic as it might have been, that some day the Grand Duke would become bored with her and release her if she did not become pregnant. The necklace told her there was no way that would happen. The Grand Duke understood how valuable she was to him and had no intention of releasing her...ever. She wondered if he was silently sending her the message: I know you want to leave, but that is not what I want. I'm keeping you forever, so you'd getter get used to it.

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Silvítya wore her new necklace around the castle the following day. She did not dare not to wear it. The necklace changed her status: the staff understood she now was the ruler's favorite servant. Therefore, the others treated her with deference. Even the matrons were polite and nervous around her, because her status now was above theirs. She easily could have punished a matron had she invented an excuse, but she knew better than to try such a thing. She could fall out of the sovereign's favor just as easily as she had fallen into his favor, so making enemies would be completely foolish.

She went outside to calm her nerves. She rapidly walked around the garden and the castle grounds to work off her stress. Fortunately the day was warm and sunny, so she was able to wander in the nude in relative comfort. It was nice to be outside and she was grateful for the chance to enjoy sunshine on her body and to exercise.

She saw her friend Protector Buláshckt, sitting on a stone bench with a supply of weapons he had brought outside to clean and sharpen. He had a favorite cross-bow and sword, but the item taking up most of his time was his cumbersome musket. Silvítya was curious to have a better look at it. She approached the guard and, because she was in a public location, saluted him. When he returned her salute, he congratulated her on her necklace. In a sudden burst of honesty she blurted out:

"Protector Buláshckt, do you truly think I'm happy having to wear this? Do you really think I'm content with my Path in Life?" Do you think I'm satisfied the Ancients have spent two years, two years, mocking me and punishing me for my stupidity?"

She covered her face, partly to hide her horror at her outburst, and partly to hide the fact she was crying. He calmed her down, assuring her that he wouldn't repeat what she had just said. He understood what had happened; that she had spent two years concealing her thoughts and emotions, with no one to talk to or confide with. The isolation had gotten to her. He understood because the Royal Guards had to endure the same torment of silence, year after year, serving the Grand Duke and hiding their doubts from each other.

When the concubine recovered and had an opportunity to look at the Royal Guard, she noted the worried expression on his face. Because she had opened up to him, he confided with her his latest concern, which was personal. His step-daughter had just celebrated her ninth birthday. She wondered why such a thing would worry him. He was reluctant to answer that question. He changed the subject by showing her the weapons and letting her try out the crossbow. She aimed at a distant tree and surprised him by hitting it.

Protector Buláshckt talked about techniques for aiming the crossbow. He was about to let her fire a second bolt, but abruptly stopped. He thought over how he wanted to phrase his next statement, and finally asked Silvítya a question:

"Tell me this. When you are with His Majesty, what do you see in him? What do you think of him as a man?"

"As a man, Protector Buláshckt? I suppose...I would say...he's very aggressive with all of us. There's usually ten of us...twelve now...and it seems we spend all of our energy trying to keep him satisfied...and it's still not enough."

"No...no...that's not what I mean. I'm not interested in knowing about your duties to him in bed. I want to know what you think of him as a man...as a person..."

Silvítya thought about it. What did she think of the Duke as a man?

"He's very restless. I've never seen anyone as restless as him. And he's obsessed with learning and curious about everything. He loves to outsmart people and force them to give up their secrets. He got out of me that I used to be a Follower of the Ancients and lived with a alchemist, and as soon as he found that out, he demanded that I tell him everything that I learned from her. He was very interested in her ideas about the rat-plague and her medicine-making. The cave charcoal and the metal stoves... that wasn't his invention: he learned that from me. The explosions from last summer...he learned that from me, and I learned it from the Cult. He uses other people's ideas, but can do incredible things with them. He's alert and seems to understand everything. I mean...he is a brilliant man. When I talk to him I have a very strange feeling...I don't know how else to say it...it's like he has the soul of an Ancient, trapped in the body of a mortal."

Silvítya paused: "The problem is that I don't know what he wants. He wants something, but I don't know what it is..."

"That I can answer. He has plans for the Duchy...huge ambitions. You're part of those ambitions. I am too, or at least my wife and daughter are."

"I don't understand, Protector Buláshckt."

"Hórkustk Ris is just the beginning. He wants the Duchy to be united, a strong modern kingdom, like some of those countries to the west. He wants everything under the control of the Royal House. He has plans, and most of them are good. He wants better roads, better houses, better farming, schools for the peasants, and to end the Destroyer's curses such as the rat-plague. He understands that we can no longer defend ourselves by hiding behind trees and shooting arrows. I hate this musket: it's heavy, slow, and hard to use, but it is the weapon everyone else is using, so we have to employ them as well."

"But how do I fit into that?"

"You're a concubine. Do you know why the Grand Duke keeps concubines?"

"I suppose he's not happy with just one woman...he wants more..."

"That's only a small part of it. I'm sure he doesn't mind enjoying his privileges with you, but the concubines serve a larger purpose. You are the mothers of the future of the Duchy."

"So...that's why he wants all those kids?"

"Not kids, daughters. He wants as many daughters as he can have. He plans to use them."

"How?"

Protector Buláshckt paused, trying to figure out how to explain the Grand Duke's complicated plans. He answered with a question:

"How much do you know about the vice Duke of Rika Chorna?"

"I know he doesn't like the Grand Duke...and that they never pay taxes or help out in wars and stuff like that."

"That is correct. The vice-Duchy of Rika Chorna has always been a problem for the Grand Dukes, ever since the days of King Vladik. They don't consider themselves part of the Duchy. The Grand Duke will use his daughters to change that. He has daughters and sons scattered around the country. He doesn't care anything about the sons: they'll just lead normal lives. He very much cares about the daughters. When each one turns 10 years old, he separates her from her mother and brings her to the castle. The girls receive special education and training to serve their father. When the time comes for each to braid her hair, he will marry her to the son of one of the families in the east who has sworn allegiance to the vice-Duke."

"Why?"

"Yes...why. I suppose you still don't know about that part of Royal protocol. A family that has any member married to a relative of the Grand Duke is prohibited, by the law and by the Church, to act against him. I repeat...any member. So...over time the Grand Duke will summon the sons of the east to visit him in the capitol. There will be goodwill, and then...a forced marriage. The marriage will be blessed by the Church and Royal proclamations will let everyone know how fortunate the man's family is by having a son return to Rika Chorna with a young flower, plucked directly from the Duke's garden. The young men will not be able to say anything to argue that the marriage was not consensual, because to do so would entail losing honor. And... anyhow... I doubt the young men themselves will fully understand what is happening until it is too late, because His Majesty is gifted with trickery and deception..."

Silvítya responded by sadly nodding. The Royal Guard continued:

"He will do this over and over...with a steady supply of daughters coming from the wombs of his concubines, until every family from the east is allied to him through marriage. Their sworn loyalty to the vice-Duke of the east will mean nothing. When the Royal Army marches east to assume control of the vice-Duke's palace, the nobility in the other towns will not be able to raise a hand against the sovereign."

"But if the Grand Duke needs to secure the loyalty of Rika Chorna, isn't that a better way than war?"

"It is, except for one problem. I married a former concubine, a beautiful young woman, just like you. Her daughter, who is from the seed of the Grand Duke, is the girl who just tuned nine. But she is not the Duke's daughter. She is my daughter. She knows no other life, no other family, than the household she shares with me, my wife, and our sons. When I look at her, see her with her mother or playing with her brothers, I know we can't give her up. She's of the Grand Duke's seed, but she's my daughter, just the same as my sons. Now that I seen everything that man is capable of, I don't want him touching her."

"So you have just a year to figure out what to do."

"That is correct. A year."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"We'll have to escape somehow, but we must do it in a way that will make the Grand Duke think we're all dead. Maybe stage an ambush or burn our house. I still don't know, but I'll have to come up with something before my daughter's 10th birthday."

There was a long moment of silence. Finally Silvítya spoke:

"I don't want to bear the Grand Duke's child. I've been able to prevent that so far. And I don't want to spend another winter in the castle. When you leave, can I go with you?"

"Of course. And I'll move your bucket to my house." The guard gave Silvítya a mischievous smile. "I suppose I shouldn't ask about that interesting item you have in there."

"It's a secret, Protector Buláshckt. I'm sworn to protect it as best I can."

"Yes, we both have our secrets, don't we?"