That was how he wanted a woman to behave. That was how he had bound queens of Zenina to the treaty for the last three centuries. He had never had a refusal from a queen before, but then Dalzina would be queen for a shorter time even than Plavina. Marina’s resistance was not to the treaty, but to both the crown and him. She’d been more willing the second time, no matter how she protested.
Neman wondered how she would deal with his son Count Nadan. He would send him to her soon. The treaty was broken and he was preparing for war. The future of his race and the Zeninan Empire depended on the courage of one obstinate woman; he hoped she would make the right decision in time. He did not want to consider the consequences if Marina did not become queen.
Chapter Forty - When Fortune Calls
In Alpha, Marina shuffled uncomfortably as Stenlina unleashed a tirade of rhetoric to force her return. Marina listened as a captive audience, with the amount of amplification Stenlina used to relay the message to her in Alpha, she had little choice. Stenlina was uncompromising in informing her duty required her to return and fight. Stenlina’s thoughts burnt into Marina’s mind and niggled guiltily at her conscience. Dalzina’s actions already bode ill for Zenina. Promoting Ketla and Zada as well as Kapalina to the Council was not a good move.
Vlama also called but used less amplification. Her quiet disappointment with Marina was more upsetting to Marina than Stenlina’s angry denunciation. Vlama told Marina, “Divak is being forced to take part in Dalzina’s breeding program. Kabaneev had been informed he will have to take part, but so far he remains under my protection. Mikkal was asked to participate, but Zadina insisted he took no part.”
Dalzina had decided Sebie at fourteen was old enough to be owned as a slave and took him to bed, this went against Zeninans’ taboos, for while adolescent Zeninan children could find sexual partners of approximately their own age, adults were expected to leave them alone. Only Marina would have disapproved if Kazimira offered Floren her badge to keep him in Zenina, as they were of similar ages. If she had forcibly taken him as slave she would have been thought of as abusing a child who could not fight back so his slavery would be nullified.
Marina admitted her guilt to Vlama, but made excuses why she should wait. Vlama treated her carefully argued justifications with total weariness. Implying she had heard it before and had not believed it the first time. Marina used to Vlama’s ability to reduce mature officers to quivering wrecks by the exclamation of a few terse curses, found the sombre mood of her tutor, very damning. If she had seen Vlama’s much loved face while she stated her views so placidly, Marina would have been reduced to tears.
The distance between them gave strength to Marina’s will. She stopped apologizing and told Vlama, “My decision to stay in Alpha is unchanged. If you are so sure it is my destiny to rule, you should abide by my decision. Don’t tell me my duty, I know it. I will do it only when the time is right. Now I order you to cease your nagging and let me be. My father was probably right, I should have taken power years ago but now I have no option but to wait. All I can do is to advise you to be patient.”
Marina terminated the call and Vlama brooded on what she had said. If Marina was to be queen, she must accept that Marina might be wiser than herself. It was tiresome to wait but maybe Marina’s rule would be worth waiting for, yet she lived with Kabaneev’s mind predicting a thousand different disasters that could prevent Marina becoming queen. It was not enough to know Marina could be a great queen, if it never came to pass.
The days went by and other voices joined Vlama’s and Stenlina’s as Dalzina’s pact with Zadina affected the lives of Zeninan citizens. Signed letters by the thousand turned up at the Zeninan Embassy and were forwarded to Marina’s hotel. Delegations from other Empire planets came to badger her to fight Dalzina, now the Fertility Cult levy applied to them.
Marina declared she was only a private citizen; the affairs of the Zeninan Empire were not her problem. There was rebellion from several planets refusing to collect the levy, but Dalzina swiftly ordered Zeninan troops to quell the revolt. The troops were not well managed, minor atrocities of various kinds were committed. The planets cowed by the invasion submitted.
In Zenina few were happy with the new queen. Dalzina turned up punctually but was often offensive to her subjects. She mocked and gloried in demeaning her servants in front of the court. Her punishments for the smallest failure were excessive. Kapalina became more solitary daily. Dalzina noticed Kapalina’s withdrawal wondering. Christians went into hiding, the police half-heartedly sought them. They arrested Serengia, but her mother General Calzina demanded her immediate release. Afraid of Calzina, Irzina released her and Dalzina declared her exempt from the pogrom.
Half a dozen Christians were arrested and brought before a hastily set up Fertility Cult Tribunal.They refused to deny their beliefs or pay the levy and were sentenced to death. Two elderly Silvers demanded to be crucified emulating their Saviour as an example. The remaining four opted to be killed by different methods depending on what they feared least. One selected beheading, the second death by anaesthesia, but Zeninan doctors refused to administer the drugs. She persuaded a veterinary surgeon to put her to sleep. The third chose poison and the last death by drowning which took longer than anyone expected it to.
The non-Christians of Zenina saw the executions as proof of the wickedness of their new queen. “What did it matter what a Zeninan believed in?” The people asked. “Christians committed no crime, why should they be persecuted? There was no necessity for it.” So they cheered the brave victims as they went to their martyrdoms and jeered at their cultist tormentors. Many made a commitment to adopt the religion. Anything Dalzina and Zadina disapproved of; must have some value they decided.
Father O’Flaherty came out of hiding and insisted on hearing the final confessions of his flock and burying their remains in his cathedral grounds. He was so forceful in his demands neither Dalzina nor Zadina even considered acting against him. He buried his saints and returned to the country. After the first six executions, few wished to see more.
Even those who supported the Cult hid their Christian friends and relatives. No one would denounce them. Police officers individually avoided arresting further Christians. Irzina directed them to arrest named Christians, but the police tipped them off giving them time to get away. There was an attitude of quiet resistance to the queen and council’s orders. Two Imperial Council Meetings were cancelled when the quorum of half their number failed to appear. The missing members of the Imperial Council had taken to their beds with crippling migraines as the people complained mentally to them and swamped their minds. Some members remained incapacitated for many days.
Chapter Forty-one - Tumuldic Seas
Admiral Folada produced a short list of possible replacements for herself. She intended to deliver it to Dalzina and hand in the new copy of her resignation. She sat on the bridge of her flag ship, somewhere to the west of the Derinoean islands. Around the ship a school of large spotted dolphins played.
“I’ll miss being Admiral, I’ll miss Crown Prince Neman turning up when least expected and demanding imperiously my favours. I fear he was preoccupied the last time and tired quicker than before.”
Folada knew Neman was very old, but how old even she was not certain. Naval records indicated he had been Crown Prince for just over three hundred years, but did not tell how old he was when he took over from his father Nizal. Three hundred years seemed about the longest time a Crown Prince had ruled as far as her records went back. Neman had seemed eternal, unchanging, and indestructible. Was it possible he was wearing out?
Two hands appeared clasping the rail from the starboard side and Folada’s heart beat faster. Had Neman caught her thoughts and come once more to demand her body? No, she recognised the upright figure walking towards her. Count Nadan, one of his sons. His requests were unusual for a member of the sea-people. He wanted to see Vellina, at once and then for the space ocean-ship to bear him secretly to Alpha.
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Chapter Forty-two - On Display
Ondiella’s colour began to flicker but she was so wrapped up in her plans to poison Marina she ignored her symptoms. She took painkillers to deaden the headache, checking they would not damage the child she carried. She had found someone to administer the poison. Ondiella had hung around the back entrance of the presidential residence and followed a junior cook from there.
She soon discovered he was an addicted gambler. The offer of a large bribe and the threat of exposure to his employer bought his complicity. He would add the poison only to the dishes prepared specially for Marina. The foods Marina took pleasure in would not be willingly consumed by the Council Members.
Ondiella handed over the poison and a down payment on the bribe and returned to her hotel room. She intended to meet the cook the next day and make the rest of the payment on results. So Ondiella went to bed to rest. She no longer felt sick but her head throbbed as with an appalling noise. She slept badly feeling feverish as Marina prepared to go to the Banquet.
Quesden had asked her to wear Zeninan costume for the banquet which Marina considered unsuitable. Quesden believed Marina would make more effect as a strong Zeninan woman if she did not bow to local dress conventions and wear a more concealing evening dress.
“You might prefer me to wear a few pompoms and get a huge cake for me to jump out of as well. If I’m to be put on display I might as well not dress. Your male colleagues would probably love that.”
Quesden wasn’t swayed by her and told her to wear Zeninan dress.
“If I’m to be displayed like a side of meat, how many of your legislature will expect a slice?” she finally asked sarcastically.
His mind feared the answer might be several and despite his years he jealously rebelled against the idea of Marina obliging his political cronies. He knew Marina lent him her body in friendship. He enjoyed her even though the satisfaction was mostly on his side, but he did not ask her too often for fear of outstaying his welcome. As she remained loyal to him, he remained loyal to her.
She did as he requested, dressing in a tight black velvet skirt with slits from hem to each thigh edged with tiny pearls. Around her neck she wore Neman’s gift. It was not traditional for Zeninan women to wear either black or velvet but it was not unheard of. Her skin she lightened to the pale flesh tones most prized among women on the planet, leaving just her nipples gold. She then added the metallic sheen of a Zeninan to her skin. The effect was alien but subtle. It set her apart from the other guests without making her seem in fancy dress. She consoled herself; the whores of Alpha would think it restrained and modest.
The guests were already gathered when she made her entrance on time. Some of the men’s eyes bulged from their sockets as they took in her form. They did not wait to be properly introduced, flocking around her like lost sheep. They wanted to be affectionate to her, but a Zeninan crowd groping her would not have bothered her. The accidental brushing of her flesh and paternal caressing of her arms irritated her beyond measure. She concentrated on isolating and controlling her annoyance.
Marina identified her reasons primarily as aesthetic prejudice. She told herself her reaction was irrational, and then dismissed the thought and set about making her companions love her. She made no promises, but not all those present had stampeded to get next to her.
The four female members of the Legislative Council each reacted differently to how the men had done, but they did not react alike. One lady was affronted by Marina’s semi-nudity, a dishonest response as she saw worse in Alpha daily. Another found the display boring and the men’s reaction comical. She immediately labelled Marina an intellectual light-weight and prepared to ignore or patronise her.
The third, a small well corseted but still voluptuous lady admired her body and wished her own was as good. The last lady came from a very old family - she was far too polite to concern herself with the dress, or lack of it of another guest.
Three men present had also ignored Marina’s body. The first because he belonged to an extremist religion which thought nudity, sex or bodily functions should not be seen or mentioned. He had great difficulty even eating or drinking in public which he saw as a sin. He had been given a special dispensation by his religious leaders because of his political success. The other two gentlemen were not interested in female flesh preferring that of their own sex. Despite Marina’s well-toned muscles her femininity could not be denied.
Marina went out of her way to impress the ladies and the three men who ignored her. The first man was appalled and looked at his feet whilst she spoke with him. The two homosexuals were impressed by her quiet intelligence and diplomacy. The voluptuous lady liked her immediately. The lady from the old family thought she was simply truly a Princess and absolutely charming. The lady who expected her to be stupid, slightly modified her opinion but declined to admit that Marina was her intellectual superior. The first lady’s views like those of the first man remained unchanged. Their prejudices were too deeply ingrained.
Quesden’s butler announced dinner was served and they went into the dining room. Princess Marina as guest of honour was seated on Quesden’s right hand. On her other side was a man named Cars Bindal. Bindal was tall with gently greying ginger hair. An upright man who carried no obvious excess weight, he had a smattering of freckles and violet blue eyes. Quesden’s mind warned Marina he was important. He was powerful in the legislature and had industrial clout, not a man to be crossed.
When his hand stroked her thigh and moved higher, Marina did nothing but uncross her legs. His stimulation was precise and deliberate and it took effort to show no response on her face. She had been engaged in conversation with the man opposite, but she moved the napkin in her lap and his hand down to her knee at the same time. Then she crossed her legs tightly trapping his hand. His face registered no surprise and he did not try to pull away.
She began to talk to him asking about his areas of interest in the legislature. He made it sound fascinating, his voice had a sharp rasp to it in his lower registers but a warm round sound in its higher notes. In the context of the situation they were in, she found his voice very sensual. Marina questioned bedding him for pleasure rather than expediency. She pushed a delicate thought towards him to see if what lay beneath the top show was as attractive. His mind noticed the contact and replied to it. “I want you.”
“I rather gathered that,” she replied in his mind, “I was trying to discover whether I should accept or not. May I look around or would you prefer mental privacy?”
She released his hand and he removed it. His mind was wondering whether to risk her intrusion. Then he decided anything she found out against him was only local to Alpha, and probably wouldn’t bother her.
“I’ll risk your inspection,” his mind said.
Marina’s inspection tour was brisk. Cars was not entirely honest in political or business matters. But then few men were. He was a low-level natural telepath which helped him in bargaining. He ascribed his business acumen to insight which could mean knowing what the other men thought. He was intelligent in an untrained way for even his university education had made little impact on his instinctive style of thought.
Cars was divorced with three children, all boys, currently bedding his secretary but was not emotionally involved. He had made no promises and was intending to replace her by promoting her within his organisation. Marina thought that Cars was a bit of a bastard, but an attractive one. He had enough experience with women to justify accepting. So she assented and asked him to forbear from turning her on until later.
“Will you see me after the banquet?” he asked.
“Only if you refrain from further drinking,” she replied. His mind laughed but his face continued to smile blandly.
“At least I know where I stand. Will you come to me or me to you?”
“Your place, through the front door.”
“No pretences, I accept. I don’t think it will harm my reputation if it’s known you visited me.”<
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“Bath and wash the perfume off. I prefer a man to smell like one.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Marina turned and spoke to Quesden whilst the first course was cleared away. The man opposite Cars tried to catch her eye and she looked directly at him. He did not talk to her but his thoughts said laconically, “You have my vote and don’t have to buy it.”
“Thank you, for your support. When did you change colour?”
“Blue, twelve years ago.”
“Do you find Alphan society stifling for your sexual drive?” she enquired politely.
“Not really, I was over sixty when I changed. Now I look fifty and am really seventy five,” he said.
The second course was served, a choice of three different fish dishes. One was a kind of squid combined with a variety of Zeninan sand worm, its pink colour blending with its native sand. The dish had been prepared for Marina. No one else chose to eat it but Marina noticed no ill effects. The main course was offered and several dishes had been prepared for Marina alone. There was a purple mushroom dish prepared with Tanganon, a spicy Zeninan herb and a well spiced meat dish which Quesden’s chef knew Marina loved.
Marina ate well of both and other things when she felt pains in her stomach and kidneys. She stood up and emptied a large salad bowl on the table.
“I’m sorry, but please look away,” then withdrew her knife from its sheath beneath her skirt and with one deep cut spilt open her stomach into the bowl. The movement was swift and the cut in her belly nearly healed before most guests realised what had happened.
Champion of Zenina Page 17