Westrons Pt. 27

Author's note: I have to say, I'm disappointed by the flurry of comments from people who obviously prefer selections from the 'Loving Wives' category.

You're welcome to your opinions, but in this case, did you even read this story?

- Cook is a human in an alien world (the moral standards - especially around sex - are very different)

- Westron society is female-dominated (alpha male?)

- Westron hemmers and the Penchen Change have a significant impact on both species (chemical and biological)

I thought these things had been made clear, and repeated often enough. Apparently not. That said, you're still welcome to your opinions. Please don't post an insulting comment, though, because I don't want to read them.

*****

Iloni was sitting on the edge of the bed, wearing a diaphanous shirt - and nothing else.

Her moist lips were just a foot above my painful erection - but so was the naked blade of her knife.

She heard something, and snapped her head to the left. I suddenly realized that I'd heard it, too: a deep thump, followed by a clattering sound, like that of a musket banging against the wall.

- "What's going on out there!" she snapped.

There was no answer.

Iloni stood up.

That's when the door burst open. Koroba leapt into the room, a dagger in her hand.

Two quick steps, and she reached Iloni.

The Countess hesitated for the briefest of moments. She couldn't seem to decide whether to use her knife, or to open her mouth and scream for help. She chose the latter - but too late.

Koroba stepped close, seized the Countess by the hair, and then jammed her dagger under Iloni's chin.

The blow was so savage, so powerful, that it lifted Iloni off her feet.

***

I might've gone into shock. A minute earlier, I couldn't tell if Iloni was going to suck my cock, or cut it off.

Then the door seemed to explode inwards, and ...

I realized that Isa was holding me in her arms.

- "Are you alright? Cook! Are you alright? Oh, my love ..."

- "Cut his bonds." said Koroba. With her bloody hands, she set about severing the rope around my ankles. "Is he wounded?"

- "No." said Isa. "I don't think so."

Beautiful, wonderful Isa. Crazy, clever little Koroba.

- "We have to move." said Isa. "Can you stand?"

As she levered me into a sitting position, I saw Ishana step into the room, followed by Madze.

The sight of Ishana almost completely unnerved me.

- "Ah! Ah!" I grunted. I tried to point.

Koroba squeezed my ankles. Hard.

- "Cook! Snap out of it! Cook!" she said, sharply. "She's on our side. She came to free us. We'll explain later. Damn it - where's his kilt?"

My mind began to clear. As if she'd been a fog, Iloni's hold over me began to dissipate. I still couldn't help staring at Ishana.

She must have been reading my mind. "I'll explain later." she said. "Right now we have to move."

Iloni was dead - gruesomely so. Ishana had betrayed us, and now was helping to rescue me. Everything made sense, but nothing did.

- "He'll have to wear these." said Isa, producing a pair of breeches several sizes too small.

Two soldiers came into the room, wearing the uniform of Aneli's regiment. For some odd reason, I recognized them.

- "Nantia." I said. "Hello. And I know you, too." I said, to her companion. "You were at Limset. I can't remember your name, though. You wouldn't meet my eye, the other day."

They told me afterwards that I babbled nonsense for several minutes. I don't recall what I said, or did. The only really clear memory I retain is of Koroba driving her dagger into Iloni's chin. That, and Isa taking me in her arms.

And Ishana being there.

- "We have to move - now." said Ishana. "It's time to get out of here."

They snuck me out Aneli's stately house, with me wearing nothing but a long shirt. We didn't encounter any of Brune's soldiers until we got outside. There were several platoons camped out on Aneli's estate grounds.

Nantia and her companion went to distract them, while Ishana, Koroba, and Madze led Isa and me into the woods.

I had no idea where we were going. My first contribution to our escape was to walk with them, clutching the tails of the shirt and trying to cover myself as best I could.

My second contribution was to keep my mouth shut. This was neither the time nor the place to start asking stupid questions.

Ishana led us unerringly through Aneli's forest, her private hunting preserve. Ishana obviously knew where she was going; there was no hesitation when we reached a fork in the path - she immediately took the right branch.

- "Can we stop now?" asked Isa.

- "For a moment." said Ishana.

- "I just want to make sure he's alright." She touched my cheek, gently. "Are you there, love?"

I had to smile at her. "I think so. Or else this a very pleasant dream."

- "He's back." said Isa.

- "More or less." said Koroba. "Probably less. Welcome back, Cook."

- "Let's get going, then." said Ishana.

It seemed like a long journey through the trees, but it was probably less than an hour. Where the path was wide enough, Isa walked beside me, close enough that I could take her hand. If the path was too narrow, she followed me, watching to make sure that I didn't stumble.

Either that, or she was checking out my ass.

Once we left the woods, we almost immediately encountered soldiers - carrying rifles, and wearing the uniform of the Chancellor's regiment.

Votuda's.

***

Votuda had brought her entire regiment. Due to casualties suffered at Kesmansha and Rassbrook, and to short-term leaves, the companies were vastly under-strength: she had barely 450 troopers.

Ever practical, Votuda had her aides bring us food and drink. They also located a pair of breeches which would fit me.

Koroba suggested that I rest - seconded by Isa. But my head was beginning to clear, and I had too many questions that needed answering.

- "Votuda's regiment isn't here by accident." I said. "Would anyone care to explain to me what the hell is going on?"

- "He's back." said Koroba. "Mostly."

- "I'll explain, General." said Ishana. "If you don't mind a short walk?"

I understood that some of the things she had to say weren't meant to be overheard. She led me a good distance away from Votuda's soldiers, and from Koroba and Isa.

Ishana stopped, and turned to me. She hesitated, as if unsure where to begin.

- "This is Kanitz' doing - at least in part - isn't it?" I said.

- "She knew all along that there was a plot under way. Iloni went to visit Vis - twice."

- "That doesn't sound so suspicious. They were friends." I had a momentary vision of Iloni on her tiptoes, with Koroba's dagger under her chin.

- "Countess Iloni didn't have a sentimental bone in her body. She wasn't the type to go to anyone - people went to her. But she also found time to visit General Brune's H.Q. - while we were at war - something she'd never done before."

"She also met with Countess Marbaud."

- "The one with the cushion?"

- "That's her. That particular meeting was impossible to ignore - Iloni and Marbaud were close, at one time, but they hadn't spoken in years."

- "Aneli?"

- "Spent far too much time with Iloni. Kanitz had all of these people watched." said Ishana.

I took a deep breath.

- "And what about you, Ishana?" I asked.

The leader of my bodyguards hesitated, for the first time. Then she looked up, and met my eye.

- "Kanitz instructed me to make some comments - anti-hybrid comments. Complaints. That sort of thing. Around the army camp. Here and there."

- "And to make faces when you had to look at me and Tallia. Or at Isa. Disgust? Disapproval?"

Ishana nodded. "It worked. A spy for Iloni in Aneli's regiment approached me - very carefully. To sound me out."

- "You must be a great actor." I said. "You had me fooled: I thought that you really did disapprove."

- "I'm no actor, General."

Ishana paused for a moment, to let that sink in.

"I don't approve ... of these mixed relationships. I don't like having non-Westrons in the army. Especially a male. I'm not comfortable with many of the changes you've made."

Suddenly, I remembered her grimacing after I'd fought my duel with Berandot. Ishana wasn't happy that I'd fired my shot into the grass. She was a traditionalist. A true conservative.

- "You've never liked me, have you?" I said.

- "My likes and dislikes don't enter into it." she said. "For what it's worth, I don't like some of the things you represent. It's too much change, too quickly. A male General. Hybrid children."

"But you have to understand one thing: my loyalty to the Chancellor, and to the Queen ... those are absolute."

I wondered if Ishana had any idea that Kanitz herself was a hybrid.

"Those loyalties," continued Ishana, "take precedence over my own ... opinions. As far as I'm concerned, any attack on you is an attack on the Queen."

- "You saved my life, Ishana. More than once. I haven't forgotten that. I never will."

- "I'm not a complete idiot, Cook." she said. "I know that we wouldn't have won the war without you. One victory might have been a fluke. But three?"

"And I've seen what you've done to the army. Their confidence. Their skills - that's your doing. They're so much better than they would have been, under Brune, or Vis."

"It's also hard to dislike you personally. You've been generous, and considerate. I can readily understand why the soldiers follow you. And Koroba - she's difficult, at the best of times. But she thinks that ... well, you know how she feels."

- "Thank you for that, Ishana. I wish we'd had this conversation sooner."

She shook her head. "Kanitz said that you couldn't keep a secret - that your face would give us away, if you knew."

- "That's ... a little embarrassing."

- "Not necessarily, General. It happens to be one of the things I like about you."

- "Thank you - I think."

- "Would you mind if Koroba tells you the rest? I have to brief Colonel Votuda on what we saw - and what happened."

- "Thank you, Ishana. For saving me again. For ... everything."

- "You weren't really going to join them, were you?" she said.

- "No."

- "I didn't think so."

Ishana walked off, leaving me wondering how I could have spent so many years with her, and yet know so little about her.

It's usually a pleasant thing, when people retain their ability to surprise us. But in Ishana's case, I'd genuinely believed that she was betraying us.

Koroba was standing only a few feet away. She'd let me have my moment of reverie, undisturbed. There they were, those big brown eyes, framed by her pale skin and white-blonde hair, watching me as she waited.

- "Hey, Koroba. Here to tell me your part in this?"

- "Yes. You ready to hear it?"

- "I think so."

- "Do you remember when you first started putting the New Model Army together? How Ishana and I were taking a closer look at the new recruits?"

- "I do." They'd found several obvious plants, who were sent home, and one serious would-be assassin, who went straight to the gallows.

- "Ishana couldn't have hidden any of them from me." she said. "I just want you to understand that I knew what was going on from the very beginning."

- "You could've fooled me." I said.

- "We did. Honestly, Cook - it's not all that hard. I mean ... I love you, but you're not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, when it comes to politics and intrigue."

- "Wait - did you say ...?"

- "Yeah. You've been to my hemmers - did you think that I was faking it?" Koroba shook her head, and smiled. "Let's stick to the intrigue, for now, alright?"

- "Go ahead."

- "So, as I was saying, we found the obvious plants - and then a few of the not so obvious. Ishana didn't immediately expose them. That got their attention."

"That was how she started to gain their confidence."

"They convinced her to let a few of their 'friends' into the regiment. Then they began to take her into their confidence."

"She managed to bring a few reliable troopers - like Nantia - into their little circle. That way, she'd have someone at her back, if things went sour."

- "What about you? Weren't you included?"

- "No." said Koroba. "I can't keep a straight face that long. But Ishana kept me informed, every step of the way. If they'd grown suspicious - if anything had happened to her, I knew who to have arrested. And who to kill ..."

- "Speaking of killing ..." I was still seeing Iloni's death, with Koroba's dagger under her chin. "Was it necessary to kill Iloni?"

- "She could have raised the alarm. We couldn't have snuck her out of the house, bound and gagged. And if we'd left her behind, they'd have found her fairly soon. She could have caused a great deal more trouble."

She wasn't lying, but Koroba wasn't telling me everything. Besides, she'd answered just a little too quickly.

- "I understand that. Still, it felt like something ... more."

Koroba sighed. "Iloni's death was fore-ordained, Cook. She couldn't be brought to trial. She'd have charmed the judges, and somehow she would have won a reprieve."

"You know that Iloni was behind every attempt on your life."

- "All of them?"

- "And the sabotage of the Queen's wedding. Cook, that could have been horrific."

- "I know."

- "She was the guiltiest of them all. But she might have swayed even the Council, if the Queen had chosen to summon it again."

- "What is this hold she has, over people?"

- "Had. No more." said Koroba.

- "Had. Yes. I mean, I understand with males - she was damn near irresistible, with her constant pre-hemmer. But why would females listen to her?"

- "That's it. You've touched on it - one of the reasons Iloni was so famous. Everyone could feel her power - even women. They were drawn to her, pre-disposed to like her, to agree with her, no matter what nonsense she spouted."

Chemicals. Pheromones. Personal magnetism. Perhaps it was a good thing that Iloni hadn't lived in my era. The government, or the army, or some pharmaceutical corporation would have tried to isolate and copy whatever it was that made Iloni such a force - even if they had to dissect her to do it.

Poor Koroba. So young, to be asked to kill people - no matter how much they deserved it. I waved my hand to her.

- "Come here. Come."

Slightly suspicious, Koroba took one step towards me. When I spread my arms, she understood, and took another step, so that I could hug her, and squeeze her tight.

"Thank you." I said.

***

Isa held me tightly, that night. It was cool, that evening, sleeping under the stars. She shared her body heat with me, and it was a great comfort to know that she was there.

- "I love you, too." I told her.

- "I know." she answered. "Sleep, now."

***

Votuda's troopers caught two of Brune's soldiers trying to slip through their cordon that night. Then, in the early hours of the morning, they caught three more.

One of the three was Vis.

- "Will she stand trial?" I asked Ishana.

- "Of course."

Votuda offered to turn over the command of her troops to me. I declined.

- "Thank you, Colonel. I have every confidence in you. Go right ahead - I'll just watch."

In the end, the great plot ended with a whimper - no more bangs. Leaderless, the rest of Brune's soldiers had the sense to release Berandot, who convinced them to surrender. Aneli did the same.

Just like that, it was all over.

***

Kanitz had me tell her the whole story, from beginning to end. She stopped me frequently, to ask questions - a clarification here, an extra detail there. She was particularly interested in the exact words Iloni had used.

The following day, she had me repeat everything, for an audience of three: herself, the Queen, and Princess Maia Simonia.

Maia Matila was calm, and controlled. She had to be furious, though. Another plot, after the near-disasters at her wedding? Even after the punishments meted out by the Council?

- "Why did Iloni believe that you would join her conspiracy?" asked the Queen.

- "She offered me land, and a title. The post of General-in-Chief - whatever that meant. She promised that no harm would come to my ... my family. My friends. And she offered herself, of course."

- "She'd made that offer before." said Kanitz. "Cook turned her down several times."

- "That shows good sense." said Maia Matila.

- "But there was one more thing she promised, wasn't there?" said Kanitz.

- "Yes." She'd warned me, the day before, not to hide this information.

"Iloni offered me Princess Maia Simonia, Your Highness."

The Queen had remarkable self-control. She didn't blink or flinch in any way. Themis took a deep breath, but remained calm.

"She knew the name that Maia Simonia took as an ensign. She also knew that Tonola is our daughter."

- "Another leak in the Palace?" said the Queen.

- "I'm looking into it, Highness." said Kanitz.

Maia Matila studied me for a moment. I could see Themis looking at me, as well, but I couldn't turn towards her. One did not look away from the Westron Queen.

- "Were you tempted, Cook?" asked the Queen. She said it softly.

- "No, Highness."

- "Not at all?"

- "It was a false promise. Maia Simonia would never have agreed." I risked a glance at Themis. "She may be fond of me, but your sister would never put me ahead of you. Not in ten thousand years."

The Queen almost smiled.

- "Fond? Her feelings for you are somewhat stronger than that."

- "The point remains, Highness: she would never choose me over you."

- "The offer was never even remotely genuine." said Kanitz. "Iloni knew that Maia Simonia would never accept such a bargain. And Cook was wise enough to recognize that. He suspected that Iloni intended to murder every single member of your family, Highness. Except for Maia Ariana."

The Queen nodded. Then she asked me to continue with my story. I told the rest, exactly as I remembered it. Maia Matila frowned only once - when I named Countess Marbaud as one of the conspirators.

Before I finished, I praised Ishana and Koroba, Isa and Madze, and even Nantia and her companion. Then I commended Votuda for her efficient handling of the affair.

- "Is there anything else that you would care to add?" asked Kanitz.

- "I would ask mercy for Countess Aneli." I said. "She was duped. I don't believe that she knew all of the ramifications of Iloni's plot."

"And I don't believe that Berandot was involved in any way. They've used her in the past, without her knowledge. But she refused to join them, and was held against her will."

- "Thank you, Cook." said the Queen. She was getting ready to dismiss me, so I spoke up quickly.

- "Highness? Pardon me - may I ask one more thing?"

- "Go ahead."

- "Would it be possible to establish an Order? A club, if you will, composed of officers who have distinguished themselves in your service?"

The Queen glanced at Kanitz, who looked equally surprised. It was the first she'd heard of it, too.

"You could call it the Order of Honour. Or the order of Maia Matila. Membership could be accompanied by some simple privileges. It would serve to honour worthy recipients, of course - but it would also bind them even more closely to the Crown."

- "It might encourage others, as well." suggested Themis. She understood immediately.

- "The idea has some merit." said Maia Matila. She smiled at me. "Thank you, General Cook. We shall consider it."

***

Koroba and Madze accompanied Isa and me as we returned to the Belere.