Other stories in the paper also denigrated the Zeninans. There was the tale of a so called returned slave who claimed he had spent three years on Zenina. He claimed to have been lucky to escape from the torture, beatings and sexual abuse to his body. From the picture Marina doubted any Zeninan woman would enslave him, but someone who had not been to Zenina would not necessarily realise it. Marina was convinced it was a put up job and the young man had never visited Zenina.
Further into the newspaper there was another article which purported to be an honest analysis of Princess Marina’s place in Zeninan politics. It was a neat hatchet job. It exaggerated some facts, including Marina’s suicide rate and the number of people she was known to have killed during fights. It also stated she was the megalomaniac who ruled the sinister Zeninan Internal Security Department and hinted at the secret and evil goings on therein.
What the journalist could not find out or twist against Marina was pure invention. The cartoon had saddened Marina, but this article made her very angry indeed. If it had been only a load of lies and mangled truth, she could have laughed it off, but it was accompanied by some very deliberately taken pictures of herself at the last Zeninan Games, pictures taken from ground level, chosen to titillate the readership. She was unconcerned by her own nudity but these images were not selected to show off her muscles.
She had seen views of herself taken in this way before, but not published in a “family” newspaper. Marina did not mind men slavering over images of her body and expected some criticism over her lifestyle from non-Zeninans. What annoyed her was the hypocrisy of the paper. The way it disapproved of everything in a salacious puritanical tone and then printed some of the most explicit pictures they could find.
Marina always analysed what irritated her before deciding if she would do anything about it. In this case it was the hypocrisy that infuriated her. Mr J.Q. Atwelly was responsible for the tone of his paper. Who else could be blamed? She wondered what revenge would be satisfying. So much depended on knowing her enemy, so she mentally called up the ship’s computer and instructed it to get hold of the file on JQA.
Despite the misinformation large numbers of parents and invalids descended on the hospital seeking the curative powers of Marina and her team. Marina chose the patients she would handle on a totally biased basis. She concentrated on the young and those who had dependents or could be useful, if they were healed. She appeared to consider those who’d lived a full life of lower priority. She had a limited supply of energy. If she preferred to expend it on a physically handicapped boy rather than a crippled old woman, she did not attempt to justify her decisions. All people should be healthy, whole and happy but Marina could only spread herself so thin.
She practically emptied the spinal injuries wards of paralysed men and women. She cleared the paediatric wards of children with faulty organs. The renal unit was emptied of dialysis patients hoping for others to die to enable them to live fully. They did not even need to take anti-rejection drugs and went home fit within hours.
It took a while before the file was available and Marina mentally digested the information. Mr Atwelly was 39, divorced with two children. He had inherited the paper and other businesses from his mother and was a very ambitious, successful businessman. He had a law degree, a taste in fancy hover-cars and a fondness for beautiful women. Marina requested physical details; five feet nine inches, red brown hair, pale blue eyes, very thin. The computerised image showed an impish man with hooded eyes and long eyelashes and a mischievous smile. He was pictured hunched forward slightly, his thin frame swamped by his clothes. He had long hands with tapering fingers and was playing with a ring on one of his fingers. The impression of helpless boyishness hung about him combined with a ruthless streak.
Marina could see women would find him attractive. She did too. Mr Atwelly deserved to be taught a lesson. It would serve him right if she made him fall in love with her. It was just an idea and the thinking of it used up most of the anger she felt. She did not plan to go out of her way to punish Mr Atwelly but he should watch out if he crossed her path.
Fenzela had moved from the Deputy’s office into Marina’s office, as Marina had instructed. She now went by the title of Acting Director of Zeninan Internal Security. She noticed that Marina’s code had accessed some data and appended a message to her.
“Marina, Plavina is dead. Dalzina is Queen. Any instructions? Condolences, Fenzela.”
“Carry on as usual, keep me informed. Thank you for your thoughts, Marina.”
The Lady Mayor had organised a supper and dance to raise funds for the families of those who had lost loved ones in the epidemic. She told Chilka of the function and expected Marina to attend. No one told Marina, probably because Marina spent most of her time at the hospital making several specialists redundant. The Lady Mayor assumed Marina would have read the information from her mind or Chilka would have told her. Chilka presumed she already knew about it, implying Marina would come.
When the evening of the supper came, Marina by chance returned to the Mayor’s house, she found the Mayor dressed up in her finery fretting about her absence. Chilka was dressed in a floor sweeping scarlet dress and was just putting the final touches to an elegant dark brown hairdo. Marina explained she had not known about the arrangements but was prepared to attend. But she had only brought medical whites from the ship to wear. Even if she transported herself back to the ship, her evening costumes were too revealing for Bellatrix Society and the rest of the wardrobe she had brought with her was too casual. She had intended to purchase local clothes if they were needed.
The Mayor was about the same height as Marina but of a more matronly build. She offered Marina the choice of her wardrobe, but the dresses went round Marina nearly twice. Her taste was fussier than Marina’s. It was too late to get a shop to open specially or to alter clothes. Chilka had bought her frock because she had had nothing suitable either.
Marina decided to wear a dress with a pale blue background and huge cerise flowers all over the material. The fabric was locally produced but only for the home market, it was soft and moved well around the body. Marina found a long cerise scarf and bound it three times around her waist. She took a knife to the dress and removed the sleeves and then slit the side seams to the waist on both sides. Then she twisted her hair into a complicated braid and coiled it several times on the top of head pinning it into a tight high bun, leaving the end of the plait trailing from the centre of the bun to her waist. It was the best she could achieve in the time available.
The function was held in the best of the town’s hotels. Dinner was tedious in the extreme so Marina amused herself by comparing the spoken small talk with the actual thoughts of the speakers. There were many anomalies. She was seated next to one of the Mayor’s councillors who spent most of the meal stroking her thigh under the table whilst the dignitary opposite tried to play footsie with her and catch her eye.
Marina ate enthusiastically of the food, which was better than she had expected besides she had been eating mainly hospital food for the last month, but she drank only water. She was tired but maintained a smile and a flow of polite conversation. Her audience were greatly impressed by her quiet demeanour and charming interest. She encouraged all those around her to talk and they hung on her every word, so everyone thought he or she had impressed her with their wit and erudition.
Marina laughed musically at their jokes and did not comment on their mistakes. She was the perfect princess, a good listener who made each speaker feel important and privileged to have met her. Everyone thought she had the manners of real royalty and Marina made each guest think her very special. At the end of the meal she was sober and bored, but she had created a superb impression.
After the meal, a dance band struck up and the Mayor asked her if she would take the floor with the Councillor she had been seated next to. Marina apologized that protocol would not allow her participation. She said it straight faced knowing she lied. They should go ahead with the danc
e without her. She would retire to the bar where she would speak with those guests who had not yet had the opportunity to meet her. She suggested to Chilka mentally that she follow and then moved with considerable speed to the bar.
She positioned herself centrally and ordered a stiff drink for herself and Chilka. Chilka arrived soon after and pulled up another stool. Several of the younger men appeared around them. Most of their thoughts were wondering what they would be like in bed and some of the braver ones were considering how to invite them there without the rest of the town finding out. Marina was not interested in any of them, but supposed she should be polite.
From where Marina sat she could see the dance floor and the entrance. She noticed the late arrival of a slight slim man dressed expensively but vaguely untidy. He looked like someone who followed the dress code without being aware of it. She knew who he was, but when she had read his file there had been no thrill of recognition. She had known this man before. Not recently. She searched her memories, a younger man, a younger Marina.
Several women welcomed him clustering around him, touching him shyly and giggling like young girls. A few of the men went out of their way to join the group around him and shake his hand or slap his back. He was chatting cheerfully, enjoying his popularity until he caught sight of Marina looking at him, sitting at the bar surrounded by younger men.
He fell silent and his companions followed his eyes. Some of the more intelligent correlated what his newspaper had said about Marina and Zenina and panicked. There might be an unpleasant scene. J.Q. Atwelly excused himself, straightened his collar and his shoulders. Then he walked directly over to Marina.
“I’m sorry I’m late Marina shall we go?”
“Twenty years is a long time to wait, Jang.”
“You did not wait half an hour!”
“I had a better offer. I see your punctuality is still appalling.”
The Mayor had been advised of the situation and hurried up to separate them before trouble started. She stood bemused as they laughed together.
“You know each other?” she asked confused.
Marina looked at Jang who hesitated before answering. ”We’re previously acquainted. We met a long time ago.”
“A fortnight in Alpha, twenty years ago,” said Marina.
Chilka catching on slower than usual said, “You do know who he is, don’t you Marina?”
“I’m sorry Chilka, you haven’t been introduced. May I introduce you to Jang Q. Atwelly. Jang this is Chilka who is my best friend. I don’t think I knew your surname in the old days, I certainly didn’t remember it.”
“You mean you knew each other? You were lovers?” Chilka asked wanting to clear up the point.
“That’s the polite way of describing it. We had sex together until Jang didn’t turn up one evening and I tired of waiting.”
“That spells it out to everyone. Want to tell everyone how terribly I scored as well. I never thought the years would make you vindictive.”
“Or you a hypocrite, Jang. I doubt those present would be interested in the performance of a nineteen year old virgin, even your readership must have better things to do.”
“You’re angry with me.”
“That’s an understatement.”
Marina turned to the barman and ordered Chilka and herself fresh drinks, turning her back on JQA.
“Marina, please can I talk to you in private,” Jang wheedled.
Marina faced him again.
“Anything you have to say can be said now. Secrecy encourages dishonesty.”
“Very well, please accept my apologies for what was written about you. I hope you will forgive me and we could see each other again.”
“Forgiveness has to be earned. You are seeing me now but that wasn’t what you wanted, was it Jang?”
“You know what I wanted. I hoped you might still fancy me a little.”
“Are you telling me you want to bed me?”
“Yes, I want to sleep with you,” he mumbled blushing.
“Are you buying or selling, Jang?”
“I think he’s selling,” said Chilka, “A man who is buying asks the price. A man who’s selling advertises himself. He was definitely advertising.”
“How much do you charge these days Jang?” teased Marina.
“I don’t charge for sex, you’re just tormenting me.”
He started to leave, but Marina stepped forward and touched his arm, pulling back his sleeve. In so doing she displayed an extremely fancy chronometer.
“I see you still wear the watch I bought you. We had a conversation when we first met. It went something like ‘would I take a destitute young man to bed with me?’I asked whether you’d any experience in that line of work and you tried to persuade me enthusiasm was more important than experience. I was amused by your nerve and took you on. You still have nerve.”
“You’re deliberately trying to embarrass me.”
“I was trying to see whether we could reach an agreement. You were disputing that you’re a whore. I can’t remember what I paid you last time, but I paid your bills for a fortnight, dressed you and when you stood me up, left you a cheque for expenses and a one way ticket back to Bellatrix. Both of which were cashed, I checked.”
“You didn’t leave me anywhere to contact you. I wanted to pay you back when I got home.”
“Any letter addressed to Marina, Zenina would reach me. There are no other living Marinas.”
“Was he good in bed?” asked Chilka, joining in the ragging.
“He was a very quick learner. I understand he’s kept in practice, so he should have improved not deteriorated. He had a very idiosyncratic style, original and full of enthusiasm.”
“Perhaps I should hire his services, myself? Or do you think he’d be too expensive for me? The free offer is probably just a sales gimmick,” said Chilka. “How much will you charge me, Jang.”
“I’ve already told you I’m not for sale. I don’t want your money,” he said becoming angry.
“Too stuck up to take a green to bed. Intellectual snobbery, I call that,” said Chilka really enjoying herself at Jang’s expense.
“Well you took money twenty years ago. If you’d become religious or got married I might believe your protestations of virtue, but you’re divorced aren’t you Jang? ‘Multiple adultery,’ the papers said. That would imply your behaviour hasn’t changed much. I’m told you’re quite a ladies’ man, Jang.”
“I never said I was celibate. I don’t need money.”
“So your accepting money for sex is purely financial, not moral?”
“I suppose so.”
“So if I were to make a token offer of a Zeninan crown or two each time, you’d agree?”
“I’ve told you I’m not a whore.”
“And you’re offended I should suggest you are?”
“Yes, of course I am.”
“I wasn’t offended your paper called me a whore, which is more or less true. I’m surprised you find the truth about yourself so unpalatable.”
“The joke’s gone far enough, Marina. You’ve had your fun. Haven’t you punished me enough? You’ve let me make a fool of myself by asking you to bed. I realise you have no intention of accepting. Why not just say no?”
“You’ve been embarrassed, but not punished. I could take my revenge but disdain to do so. I still find you attractive and if you’d not published the filth and lies about me and Zenina, I would’ve accepted your invitation. To do so without you rectifying the damage done to the relationship between Zenina and Bellatrix would be dishonourable of me.”
“I’ve said I’m sorry, what more can I do?”
“Print it for a start. Tell the truth of where you lied and twisted facts. Explain why you stooped so low to get back at me.”
“I’ll do that. Will you then let me bed you?”
“You called me a whore, whenever men call me that, I make them pay. I don’t personally accept money but I’m sure your Lady Mayor could organise a
charitable fund for a Zeninan clinic in her city and to pay expenses for any who need to go to Zenina for specialist treatment. The Zeninan Doctors are paid by Zenina; you get us free as members of the Empire. Five percent of the annual net profit of all your businesses should be enough to set it up and keep it running.”
“That’s an awful lot of money!”
“It is considerably less than you’d have to pay if I took you through Bellatrese courts for libel. If I’m too expensive a whore, you’ll have to do without.”
“All right I’ll pay.”
“I thought you would. Make the necessary arrangements with the Lady Mayor; I’m sure you won’t mind her accountant checking your books to make sure you play fair.”
“When can I see you?”
“After your apology has been published if I think it’s adequate, I’ll call you.”
Marina turned away and drank her drink but then added as an afterthought, “Send your cartoonist to me. He can draw a cartoon of you to put with the apology. If it makes me laugh, I might forgive you.”
“It’s too late to run it tomorrow it will have to wait to the day after.”
“Too mean to pay the overtime? If I don’t see the apology tomorrow, the deal’s off. It doesn’t concern me if you and your staff work all night, so long as it’s done.”
Jang finally got the message and dashed back to his office. The company buzzed with the news. Jang may have lost face with the men, but he’d gained it with the women. In Zenina it was said for a man to bed Marina, it automatically doubled his price. Marina left shortly after Jang but Chilka accepted one of the young men’s invitations and did not return to the Lady Mayor’s home that night.
Champion of Zenina Page 13