The Courier Ch. 20

The Priestess moved on to the first day Maria Elena was in the Royal Residence and her treatment at the hands of Anyia. The Priestess was especially interested in hearing about the incident with the two male servants and the fact one had been forced to perform oral sex on the other, on the direct orders of the Grand Duchess. Kim knew that there was plenty in that incident alone which would allow charges to be filed against Anyia, and the Colombian had witnessed several other incidents that were only slightly less perverted.

The conversation moved onto the more trivial details of life in the Royal Household. Even in the most mundane activities of daily life at the Royal Residence, Anyia's utter contempt for her servants was clearly evident.

Maria Elena's portrayal of the Grand Duke was much more neutral. The Grand Duke was totally detached from what his wife was doing, eager to go out with his three servants and play golf, or polo, or play soccer with the Royal Guards. Undoubtedly he was at least vaguely aware of what Anyia was doing with the other servants, but he did nothing to rein her in. He was very attached to her and did not want to offend her, but more importantly, his mind was lazy and he had no desire for any confrontations. However, she never had seen him act abusively towards a servant, which was why those three favored women so desperately stuck close to him.

The Priestess then sought information about the various meetings between Anyia's assistants and their business associates. She allowed Maria Elena to go at her own pace, because she knew the meetings were far more important for the future of Danubia than anything else Maria Elena had witnessed. The Priestess extracted, in minute detail, everything the servant had seen that proved the connection between the two Lords and Mega-Town Associates. She teased out of the girl's shattered memory physical descriptions of the visitors and even some names. As she desperately copied Maria Elena's statements into her notebook, Kim was amazed at how skillfully the Priestess conducted the interview and extracted information.

Kim had expected the interview to end with lengthy prayers, but the Priestess kept that part of the confession brief. There would be plenty of time to pray later. Instead she asked her superior, Grand Prophet # 4, to enter the reception room. With him present, she signed the document that officially sanctioned the return of Criminal # 101025's custody to the Ministry of Justice. Kim put a metal tag on the ring in Maria Elena's collar which had the Ministry of Justice emblem on it. Cecilia explained to Maria Elena that, as of that moment, Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna was her provisional custodian. The custodianship would become permanent during a court hearing the next day.

Maria Elena was surprised that she did not feel much emotion at that moment. She would have expected to be elated, or angry, or vengeful, or...something. But she really felt very little because she was exhausted and psychologically drained. The only thing in her mind was that it was extremely important not to get separated from Kim or Cecilia. Until the actually left the Royal Residence, the promise of transfer would remain only that, dream based on a promise.

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Kim decided to send Cecilia and Maria Elena to the infirmary so they could get some rest. It was obvious that Maria Elena was terrified of being separated from Kim, but the Spokeswoman and the Priestess had an extremely busy day ahead of them. Cecilia entered the infirmary and immediate collapsed on one of the medical beds. Maria Elena sat next to her sleeping translator. She was terrified of being seized and pulled away from Cecilia. If it had been possible, she would have chained their collars together to make sure one could not be moved without the other. She waited, curled up on the foot of the bed with her arms around her knees, for the final order that would take her away from the mansion where she had spent the most hellish week of her life.

Criminal # 101025's statement had been taken, but now Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna had to obtain corroborating statements from other Royal Servants. She and the Priestess had planned to transfer all of the servants from the Royal Residence based on the initial testimony of her client, but she could not remove them as a group; she had to interview them one by one and the Priestess had to sign release documents one by one. That meant a total of 30 interviews. The local Temple helped out by sending over five additional Priests and Priestesses to help with the confessions and taking statements. The Clergy members would work in two-person teams, one conducting the interview and the other transcribing. If there was anything of legal interest for the Ministry of Justice, Kim would have to be called in.

Dukov was concerned about the paltry representation by the Ministry of Justice at the Royal House; just one Spokeswoman and a few police officers. However, he wanted to keep the affair as quiet as possible and transfer the servants quickly before any scandal broke out. The following day they would be returned to their former Spokespersons and more detailed statements could be taken later in the week. At the moment the only issue that concerned the Prime Minister was obtaining Church sanction to dispossess his daughter of her slaves.

The Clergy members stood in front of the kneeling servants and explained that they had come to take confessions. Several of the servants had waited to confess for months, but to their dismay had never seen a member of the Clergy. The Priestess told the criminals what had happened, that the Royal Household kept "losing" the confession requests, and used the lack of documentation as an excuse to turn away Clergy members that had shown up at the gate. Then she held up a copy of Criminal # 101025's letter and explained how the Church finally had outwitted the Grand Duchess and her advisors. When she asked which servants wanted to confess first, 20 of them raised their hands.

Prime Minister Dukov took a deep breath. There was no doubt his daughter's reign of terror was finished. As he looked at the forlorn group of servants, anger swept over him at that thought that his own daughter had been capable of treating people entrusted to her in such a despicable manner. He remembered what he had said to Kim, that for the good of the nation and the tradition of the Royal Family she would escape the punishment she truly deserved, Life without Honor. However, she would pay for her crimes; he and the Clergy would see to that.

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While the Clergy members collected confessions and statements, Anyia remained chained to the whipping post in the courtyard. She screamed insults and threats at her captors, still indignant that she was immobilized naked to the same post where she had so often beaten her servants.

The young woman's mother and brother stood by, sadly watching her. Maritza finally tired of the spectacle and decided to attempt to get her daughter to calm down by reasoning with her. All Anyia had to do was be quiet and stop threatening everyone, and she would uncuffed and released. Maritza approached her and placed her hand on the younger woman's shoulder.

"Anyia...Anyia...please...you must stop this nonsense. I assure you that..."

At that instant the Grand Duchess made a mistake that considerably added to her troubles. She spat at her mother. As soon as she felt the spit hit her cheek, the last of Maritza's patience vanished.

"Vladik, please remove your belt and pass it to me. Your sister has sufficiently dishonored herself and our family name."

The officer did as his mother requested. He took off his heavy leather belt, removed the various police items that were attached to it, and passed it to Maritza. She calmly doubled the implement, tapped it to Anyia's bottom, and struck hard. There was a tremendous CRACK and an enraged scream coming from the Grand Duchess.

"No daughter of mine will spit at me, Anyia! I do not care what title you have! I do not care that you are an adult! You remain my daughter and I am not to be dishonored in such a manner by the child I carried in my womb!"

With that Maritza struck hard a second time. The Grand Duchess pulled hard on her chains, as though she expected that her title would force them to give way. However, the whipping post and the belt did not care about Anyia's title. The cuffs held her as tightly as they held her servants and the leather stung just as viciously. There was nothing more for her to do but scream. Unfortunately for her, she foolishly continued hurling insults at her mother and tried to spit at her again.

"You are the one who is restrained, my daughter. Not me. Spitting in your circumstances is quite stupid, but I guess I raised a stupid child."

Maritza struck again, laying a third cruel welt across Anyia's bottom. The helpless Grand Duchess screamed, but this time the scream was from pain, not rage.

"Anyia, throughout your adolescence your father and I were patient with you. We treated you with restraint and kindness, even though you were a willful, selfish, and difficult child. We believed that kindness was a trait that we could pass along to you, because your father and I had so little of it in our lives when we were young. Obviously, we were mistaken."

CRACK!

Anyia screamed and sobbed, while her mother continued: "You chose not to pay attention to the lessons we tried to teach you. You left our household and turned into a person whose behavior far exceeds the simple definition of dishonorable."

CRACK!

"You chose the Dark Path, my daughter. The Creator gave you everything you possibly could have wanted, and the only thing you did with all those gifts was to squander them and trample them."

CRACK!

Maritza had no desire to stop flogging her daughter anytime soon. She was a patient woman, but she harbored nearly a decade of resentment, disgust, and anger at Anyia's behavior. Even so, she would have stayed her hand, because the only reason Anyia was chained to the whipping post was to keep her under control and force her to calm down. No one had planned to inflict corporal punishment on her, but Anyia had done two foolish things. The first was screaming at the Royal Guards to kill Prime Minister Dukov and the others. It was a terrible shock to Maritza to realize that Anyia would have been perfectly capable of murdering her own parents and brother, had the guards acquiesced. However, what finally broke Maritza's patience was the spit. To spit upon her own mother was the ultimate insult, the ultimate statement Anyia could have given to show how little regard she had for her parents.

"My child, you will suffer for spitting on me. I will make you regret that, just as I will make you regret trying to kill me. You will learn all about regret, Anyia."

CRACK!

While Anyia screamed and let out a pitiful cry, Maritza turned to Vladik.

"Bring the Royal Household staff. Bring everyone in this household who is not in confession so they can bear witness to what is happening to their Mistress. Remind them that under the rules of the Crown, no one may raise a hand against a member of the Royal Family except a relative. I am this girl's mother; therefore I am within my rights and my obligations to punish her."

A few minutes later, almost everyone from the Royal Household, staff, servants and guards, had entered the courtyard to watch the Grand Duchess being punished by her mother. Anyia wailed with despair and humiliation, but she no longer tried to threaten anyone. Her imperious facade broke; she ceased being the Grand Duchess and returned to being Anyia Dukov. She became nothing more than a dishonored young woman who had insulted her mother and was being punished for her misdeeds. Everyone present clearly saw the change in their Mistress.

CRACK!

Anyia cried every time her mother struck her, but no longer did she threaten anyone. She realized that the others no longer saw her as Divine and that no one was coming to her aid. Her mystique had been broken, broken by her own parents. The only reality in her life now was the belt and the pain tearing into her bottom...and the sobs and tears rolling down her cheeks.

Vladim Dukov came into the courtyard just as Maritza was finishing their daughter's punishment. The young woman's bottom was deep red and very swollen. Maritza quietly handed the belt to Vladik, who put it back on. Anyia continued to sob while Vladik put his police gear back onto his belt.

Maritza touched her daughter on the shoulder for a second time:

"Anyia...I'd like to release you from your punishment. It is very painful to me to see you like this. But I need to know if you are ready to change your behavior. You have no right to threaten me, or your father, or your brother. And you certainly had no right to threaten and abuse those who tried to serve you."

Anyia continued crying, but tried to nod. Maritiza continued:

"My daughter, a period of your life has come to an end. I want to loosen your bonds, but you have to understand that your Path in Life has changed. You must acknowledge that before I release you. Now...are you ready to be released?"

"Yes...yes, Mother..."

"Very well, my child...I will let you down from the whipping post."

Maritza unhooked Anyia's cuffs. The broken young woman no longer was restrained, but she had to remain standing in front of her household. She was naked, her bottom covered with painful welts, and her face covered with tears. The servants saw their former Mistress as they had seen each other after their beatings. The only difference was that, unlike the whippings administered to her servants, Anyia's punishment was well-deserved.

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A few minutes later a city bus that had been commandeered by the Ministry of Justice pulled up in front of the Royal Residence to take away the former Royal Servants. They would be transported to the Central Police Station and kept overnight in holding cells. The following day they would be formally transferred, re-collared with Ministry collars, and turned over to their Spokespersons to resume their lives as ordinary criminals. They would not speak about their ordeal to anyone outside the Ministry of Justice, for a very simple reason. Dukov announced that as long as they all stayed quiet about had gone on in the Royal Residence, their scheduled judicial switchings would be cancelled for the remainder of their sentences.

Once the bus departed, Vladim Dukov addressed the uniformed staff:

"I want this whipping post taken down and disassembled. I also want the pillory taken down. Take the lumber back to the carpenter's shop and see if it can be re-used for something more productive."

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Maritza took her stricken daughter to a small guest room in the Royal Residence and ordered a guard to lock both her and the Grand Duchess inside the room. Maritza would take charge watching over Anyia until her situation was resolved. Anyia did not resist. She quietly let her mother take her into the small room where she would be kept as a prisoner. She asked if she could have a dress, but Maritza replied:

"My daughter; a dress is not something you should be concerned about right now. I doubt you will ever wear clothing again."

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister was busy talking on the phone with various police officers. The Grand Duke was on a hike and still needed to located and brought back to the Royal Residence. The second Lord assisting Anyia also needed to be located and detained, along with the Mega-Town executives. Later Dukov would need to figure out what to do with the salaried staff of the Royal Residence. Resolving custody of the Royal Servants and locking up Anyia was only the beginning.

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While he waited for his police officers to return his calls, the Prime Minister entered the throne room with the Priestess. The ornate chamber was now totally empty. The two officials contemplated the thrones, especially the one that had been used by Anyia.

"They've been with us so long, Priestess...ever since the Epoch of the Ancients...the same family...3,000 years...in their time they were heroes, they were considered Divine...and now...what has become of all that...an empty house...a dishonored girl locked up in a room with her mother...a couple of treasonous Lords who will face the firing squad...and a disinterested man on a hike. This is how 3,000 years will conclude..."

"Everything comes to an end, Prime Minister. Three years or 3,000 years...long or short...In the end it doesn't matter. Ultimately it is the Destroyer who is tasked to bring closure to all...to all life, to all material goods, and to all dreams. The Destroyer concludes everything. You were a fool to think the Royal Family would be any different. You are also a fool to take blame upon yourself."