by Vic Broquard
Both barons had married for love, having carefully avoided the usual arranged marriages that their parents’ generation had done — frequently executed for political gains. Indeed, it had been Zoran’s split from his father that had allowed Leo and Stefan to marry for love, breaking the long standing tradition of arranged marriages. True, there was still quite a bit of that still going on as witnessed by their own sibling’s marriages, Dusan and Andrea, for example.
Stefan pointed out, “Look, we’re going to have to have our suitors bring something more to the arranged marriage than just their own good looks and skill. Barons Storm and Adolf will raise an awful stink if that is the sole criteria for choosing. We need to have our suitors bring what the baronesses really need: soldiers, Duska assistants, and mages.”
“Yes, but the tricky part is that the Meerong women want and need to be the real rulers. Whoever we choose must not be power hungry and usurp or override Chan and Wen’s desires. That is the tricky part. We know that they will not accept anything less; they are powerful, strong willed baronesses,” Leo argued.
“Granted, that makes our choices more difficult. Another thing to consider is that Jing is mainly marshes and swamps. We cannot turn to Baron John or Baron Arcangelo for help; their people are used to good black-dirt farms. Their men would not adapt to swamps at all well. Here on Valtr, we have great rolling hills that are often heavily forested and your Gladno has dense forests. Our people would have an easier time adjusting to the marshlands and swamps than the farmers,” Stefan suggested.
“True, but we dare not risk sending three suitors. What about the plains of Gonda? Would someone from there be able to adapt to the extremes of Jing?” Leo wondered.
“Have to try. It is going to be tough finding an available cousin in their early twenties who is not married already and who is willing to go to Jing and yet be subservient to the women there. Though what man would not jump at the chance to become a baron? Still, we have our work cut out for us,” Stefan replied. “We have to do this very carefully otherwise Chan and Wen may reject the whole thing. Ought we also work with old Chen as well? Does he have any influence left with his daughters?”
“Certainly not much, I’ll wager. Still, if we have his backing, he might be able to lend an extra push, if needed. We’d best get busy and find our three beaus,” Leo advised. “The enemy barons already have suitors on Jing.”
It took the two men nearly two weeks to find three suitable bachelors. Baron Gaspard of Gonda readily cooperated and on the 5th of May the three barons took their bachelors to Jing to meet the three available baronesses. They were to meet at the fancy palace in Nanchan and Wen was to be the primary host.
“Dana, what about us? I love you, but. . .” Wen fought back her conflicting emotions, unable to finish her sentence.
“I know, I love you too, but — but,” he faltered, “you have to think of your whole world, Wen. At least see these men and hear their offers.”
“If only my stupid brothers had not gotten themselves killed, we could get married,” Wen shifted the blame over to Gang and Li.
“I know, I know, you didn’t ask to be the main ruler of Jing. Yet, you are and there is no one else. That’s certainly clear enough. So many have died!” He had dark bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. He’d been awake much of each night standing guard over her quarters. At least twice, an assassin had attempted to reach her while she slept. Possibly they were sent by Rehor or Dietmar in an attempt to remove the women and regain control of Jing for the enemy camp. He couldn’t prove such assertions, but few had other plausible ideas for the attempts on Wen’s life.
None of the three women chose to dress up or even wear fancy dresses to meet the arrival of the three barons and their three bachelors. Instead, they wore their new leather outfits that Zong had made. These were highly practical and reflected their positions and personalities. Right on time the group of six arrived. Dana stayed in the back of the room, his heart grieving already. He knew that Wen was going to have little choice now. Six suitors had come already, but these three new ones would likely win the day. He’d carefully outlined to Stefan just what the women desperately needed. If Stefan and Leo provided that, he knew Wen would have to accept. Old Chen sat in a chair beside Dana. He’d been kept appraised of the suitors and had wisely decided to keep quiet for the moment.
The barons wore their finest suits and the three suitors also dressed well, but also carried their prized enchanted swords. “Welcome to the Royal Palace of Nanchan,” Wen greeted the six arrivals, stepping forward and giving a perfunctory hug to Leo, Stefan, and Gaspard. Chan nodded politely as did Zong.
“Hail and well met again, Dragon Slayers and baronesses,” Baron Leo began, setting the tone by emphasizing the fact that these were not ordinary baronesses. “It is my great privilege to present my cousin Wenceslas Radink to you, Baroness Wen. He is twenty-three and a master swordsman on Gladno. He carries his enchanted bastard sword with him everywhere he goes.” Leo knew that Dana was Zoran’s master swordsman and thus he had to at least equal Dana. Wenceslas was tall and fit, but not extremely handsome.
The young man bowed to Wen, “Most pleased to meet one of the most famous Dragon Slayers in the Federation and one so fair as well.” Wen returned his bow respectfully. At least he isn’t an ugly pig like the one from Rehor, she thought.
Baron Stefan stepped forward towards Chan and announced, “It is my privilege, Baroness Chan to introduce my cousin, Radek Ves, a proven fighter. Alas, he’s a young widower raising his three year old daughter, Vesna. His wife died in childbirth two years ago. Terrible tragedy.”
Radek was fairly attractive, tall and blonde, with piercing eyes. “It is my great honor to meet the most famous Dragon Slayer and Baroness Chan Meerong at last. If nothing else, I would dearly enjoy discussing your techniques for slaying the foul beasts which are ravaging our worlds today.” He had been coached to play to her skills in this arena and her fondness of small children.
“Well met, Radek. I would love to do just that. The more who know ways and means of slaying these fell creatures the better. It must be hard for you to raise your daughter all by yourself. Surely you have a nanny to look after her.” Chan bought the dangling bait, Stefan mused.
Baron Gaspard introduced his cousin next. “Baroness Zong, this is my cousin, Edmond Douard and proven leader of the Tenth Regiment. He is twenty and a most able fighter and Duska.”
“Very pleased to meet you, Edmond. We surely do need fighters around here,” Zong replied.
“I am your humble servant, Baroness Zong. I must admit I admire your leather outfits. So very well made, so appropriate for the hard times that have befallen all of us,” he addressed Zong for the first time.
She flushed, “Thank you, I made our outfits myself.” Again, Dana guessed the three men’s initial remarks were very well rehearsed and the three women had accepted them, establishing an instant affinity for the three beaus. Well, that first impression would be critical, he thought.
“We should sit down and discuss what these men have to offer you three baronesses,” Baron Leo suggested, wasting no time. Chan and Wen had expected this and led them into Wen’s private study.
“This is the most secure room at this time. We have so few security forces now and this is the best that I can offer,” Wen admitted. Dana took up his guard position at the door, protecting the three barons, the three suitors, and the three baronesses. “Oh, do you need refreshments?” Wen asked. “You must forgive me. Our whole days have been focused on regaining control of Jing, not on such formalities.”
“We are good. We fully understand, Baroness Wen,” Leo answered. “We are here to help. Now then, Baroness Wen,” he continued.
“Please, just Wen. We really are not used to such formalities. Just Wen,” she suggested.
Smiling, Leo said, “Wen it is. If you accept Wenceslas as your husband, he will bring with him one thousand soldiers, four mages, and two Duska. This should go a long way to
helping you get firmly established here.”
“Right. Radek will bring a thousand soldiers with him, Chan,” Stefan added, “and five mages and three Duska workers.”
“Edmund comes with my support as well, Zong,” Gaspard spoke his proposition. “He’ll also bring a thousand soldiers, four mages, and three Duska helpers.”
Leo added, “That should help you three out of the most difficult positions that you are in at the moment. We dare not offer these men outright, baronesses. Politically, other barons would raise strong protests that we were interfering in the affairs of another planet. Old Chen can back this up, if you doubt me.”
“You sure do know precisely what we are most desperate to have at the moment,” Chan replied. “Lord, knows this help will save the day. We’ve been having at least two assassination attempts on us each week. Security is almost nil around here, what with the loss of almost everyone who was in the government. But Wen and I have one huge problem with this whole marriage proposal thing.”
She didn’t see any of the barons reacting as she thought they might and so she continued, “It’s this way. Wen and I are the rightful rulers of Jing. We don’t want to suddenly give that away to a husband who is not even from Jing. On your worlds, barons, you rule, not your wives. Here, we are the true Dragon Slayers, the true and rightful rulers of Jing. We’ve earned that along with the respect of the common folk who we’ve tried to protect over the years from the tyranny of our brothers and the dragons. We are not about to give that up and become window dressings. Besides, with this,” she waved her left stump, “I am hardly fit for such. I can’t tie my own shoes without using magic spells.”
Baron Leo chose to reply, knowing this was the most critical point of the negotiations. “You are absolutely right about that, Chan, Wen. We six have discussed this aspect in depth. All three men are more than willing to let your rule stand and not usurp your power and authority. Yet, that is mere words. Instead, we’ve taken the liberty of drawing up three official agreements, one for each of the men. In essence they state that each will always follow your decisions and wishes, excepting in those areas in which you give them full control. In essence, they will be your window dressing and protection as well. In time, they may come to earn your full trust and respect as well as that of your people on Jing. These will be binding pledges, breakage of which will void their marriages, freeing you if they fail to back you all the way. You can’t lose and each of you will retain full control of Jing, not the men.”
“Damn, Leo, you’ve thought of everything,” Chan replied, somewhat surprised.
“We have to, Chan. These are hard times. This dragon mess threatens to destroy us all. We have to help each other out or the dragons may well win,” Leo declared.
Stefan added, “We’ve taken up too much of your time already. We three barons will return to our worlds and duties. If you need anything, we will be in regular contact as always. We’ll let you take time to get familiar with one another. If you find our choices not to your liking, let us know and we’ll see if something else can be worked out and soon.”
After the barons left, Wen asked Zong to show the three men around the palace and fortress. She and Chan wanted a private word with their father. After they headed out to inspect the buildings and security arrangements, Chan said, “Dad?”
“I know, you both want to marry for love not politics. Yet, you could do far worse. Their offer is not to be taken lightly. It is a kingly offer. Never has an arranged marriage come with such arrangements. You two must be very highly thought of by Leo and Stefan. When you were young, I always told you what to do and I was wrong to have done that. I won’t tell you what to do now. I can only share what little wisdom I have learned the hard way at times. As rulers of our people, you sometimes have to place the welfare of the many above that of your own. That is the awful mistake that I made for so very much of my own life. I put mine and your brothers ahead of our people. Here I am at the very end of my road and have had my own daughters teach this to me.”
“At least you finally learned it, dad,” Chan replied, warming to him somewhat.
“I had my heart set on marrying Dana, dad,” Wen fought to keep from crying. All her life she had sworn that she’d not take an arranged marriage, that she would marry for love instead.
“There is far more at stake here, dear, than your love for one man. Look at it this way, while you have been fending off a couple assassination attempts each week, it will only take one successful one to end your life and perhaps that of Jing. Their offer will ensure that the assassinations cease. You need mages now and guards and Duskas. Yes, Archmage Ivana will likely come through with some mages for Jing a few years down the road. Your job is to keep Jing here for them. There’s no reason that you and Dana cannot be lifelong friends. If you insist, he could even be your consort. Many barons are unfaithful to their wives. You could do the same.”
“No, I couldn’t do that to Dana. I’m not like that,” Wen sighed, seeing that really she had no choice. Dana’s eyes told her that he had been up most of the nights watching over her. She could not keep on having him do that. It wasn’t fair to him or her.
“You are better so much better than I ever was, Wen, Chan. I am very proud of each of you. Go now, get acquainted with the men. Realize that they too are giving up their worlds and lives to come here and marry a strange woman as well. You will each have that much in common initially,” old Chen hinted.
After they left, Dana slipped in beside the old man. “Well, did they accept it?” he asked.
“My daughters are so superior to me and my sons that I am ashamed of myself, Dana. Time will tell, but the barons presented a kingly proposal, one that they desperately need right now. I hope that they do, but I am sorry for you and Wen, though.”
“I know, I had such high hopes. She is a fantastic young woman,” Dana sighed, knowing that the love of his life was likely lost forever to him.
During the next few days, the other suitors heard of the proposals and contacted their respective barons for help. However, after much juggling and dealings, they simply could not match or exceed Stefan, Leo, and Gaspard’s proposals. A week later, the three agreed to the arranged marriages and the promised support personnel arrived shortly afterwards, much to everyone’s relief. Now at last, the three baronesses could really begin to get Jing back on the road to recovery.
Dana stuck around for several more weeks, helping the new fiancés get familiarized and helping them set up proper security for all three fortresses and the Circles and particularly Wen’s palace. He also spent time with Archmage Ivana and several others, helping them de-trap and clean out Jing’s late Archmage tower inside the fortress at Nanchan. He also assisted Ivana with her new magic students which allowed her to do a little advanced planning for her students. This was her first batch of students and she was just a little frazzled by it all.
That last night, Dana and Wen held each other tightly. “What will happen to us?” she asked, fighting to keep from crying. She didn’t want his last memories of her to be watching her bawling.
“You will be the best ruler that Jing has ever had, Wen. I just know it. I will always be your friend. Call on me for help anytime and I’ll come as fast as I can. Remember everything that I taught you and stay alive,” Dana whispered in her ear, smelling her hair and scent for the last time.
“I never wanted to be the baroness.”
“I know, I know, but your people really need you. You and Chan have been fighting for what is right for Jing for a decade. Now you have the chance to really make a huge difference. You have to do it. I know it and so do you.”
“I know, I know. But I will miss you.”
“Same here, my little Dragon Slayer.” They kissed and at last Dana tore himself away. He picked up his bag and waved as he stepped into the Shadows heading for home with a heavy heart, arriving late on the 12th of August.
Akira welcomed him home with a late birthday cake. She and Marek knew that he’d
just lost his first real love and wanted to cheer him up a little. “Mom, don’t you think that I am a little old for birthday cakes?” he grumbled.
“Well, you are still my little boy, even if you are all grown up now. You can lend us all a hand with the new magic students. You heard that Jarka found a cure for the women’s deadened arms, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but some didn’t make it?”
“True, thirty-two to be exact. Tough break for them, but they are all displaying the same spirit as Zdenka’s original seventeen, so we are all hopeful,” Akira answered positively.
“Damn dragons anyway. Well, it is good to be back. Jing is nothing but a swampland, everywhere you go. Mosquitoes are murder.”
“I know. I bet you really miss her, son.”
“Yes, but you know, I think it is for the best. I really don’t want to be a baron. I got a taste of what it is like this summer and honestly, mom, I don’t want any part of it. I surely don’t know how Zoran can stand it.”
Archmage Marek laughed, “Son, I’ve watched him. He doesn’t like it either and puts a whole week’s worth of administration duties off and does them on one day only. Kind of funny or maybe sad. You keep your eyes open. There are plenty of other fine women out there in the world. I was fabulously lucky to come across your wonderful mother here.” He gave her a hug. It was his best attempt to sympathize with Dana’s lost love.
The next morning, Dana reported to Zoran. “I’m back baron. What is needed to be done?”
“Good, Dana. I’ve really missed you. Sorry about the way things turned out for you and Wen. Planetary politics can make a mess of personal lives. At least this way, Jing is relatively secure and can begin to recover properly and move forwards. I am surprised that Storm or Adolf didn’t try to physically invade and take the planet by force of arms.”