He then formally shook Leo’s hand, “Congratulations, Baron Leo, Baroness Lida!”
Duke Leo was very pleased that Zoran acknowledged his new position, though it would not be formally recognized until the morning’s High Council session. “Thanks. I have the prettiest baroness in the Federation,” he replied, squeezing Lida’s hand.
“Oh just you wait. I’ll have the prettiest baroness in just a few more months,” Duke Stefan protested. Rayna grinned. Soon the five were chatting, catching up on the news.
When Zoran got the opportunity, he whispered to Leo, “We need to have a very private talk about you and your Circle.” They agreed to find a time when they could sneak away from the others.
When the men finally returned to their suite, they found the dragons had returned as well as the ladies. Their bedroom was now filled with their new dresses and undergarments. “You have to wear all of this?” exclaimed Zoran in surprise, as he and Zdenka went into their room for the night.
“Somehow they all go together to make their newest look, but I sure don’t know how! Honestly,” her mellow alto voice which always enamored him continued, “I am dreading that corset thing and those heels, Zoran! Just look at how tall their heels are. Abigail said that the sides of the boots really, they are hardly shoes, are steel re-enforced so that we cannot twist our ankles. Zoran, I’m going to need your arm constantly, if you want me to wear that outfit.”
“You don’t have to, love, not if you don’t want to,” he said, “I love you just like you are.”
“Yes, I know, but baronesses must uphold the highest fashions. Everyone else looks up to us. At least that is what the other baronesses are saying. I don’t know if that’s true, but even Lida and Rayna are wearing these new outfits. I will look out of place if I don’t and I don’t want to embarrass you.”
“Honey, you can’t possibly embarrass me. Even when our castle is finished, it is going to be utterly plain compared to those that we have seen.”
“True, still, I will give it a try, only promise me that you will always hold on to me.”
“Of course, love.”
“Say, Abigail has lined up special events just for us and Leo and Lida to attend all week long. Of course, there is the formal opening night ball tomorrow night. Then, we go to a play, then we go to the music concert, then there is a night of ballet, then there is the choral night, and finally the closing ball. She’s got all of our evenings all lined up. I’m excited about the balls and the ballet. How about you?”
“Dances, you bet. I love nothing more than to dance the night away with you, my dearest. The ballet we saw last time was intriguing. I wonder how they can walk around on the tips of their toes like that. Pretty amazing, don’t you think?”
“I’ll show you what is amazing!” She pulled him into their overly large bed.
At seven the next morning, Abigail and Dusana, along with two personal assistants arrived to help get Zdenka and Jarka into their new outfits. Meanwhile, Zoran and the others donned their fancy suits with twin tails. Looking as formal as possible, Zoran liked his image in the mirror. Now they had to wait on the ladies. Breakfast was at nine and the wedding was at nine forty-five, minutes before the opening ceremony hosted by Baron Tom. Zoran wanted to see the wedding; he had a vested interest in observing the new couple.
It was almost nine before the ladies appeared from their room. Zdenka, holding onto Abigail, moved slowly into the room and took Zoran’s arm. She looked incredibly gorgeous. The sky blue satin dress, though enormous, was an eye catcher. Her waist looked so tiny, he thought. “I can barely walk! This corset is so tight I can hardly breathe! What these women do for fashion! Don’t let go of me, please!” she whispered to him. Jarka, dressed in her cherry red matching satin dress, took hold of Bernard’s arm. Bernard gaped at her and whispered something into her ear, which caused her to blush. Indeed, Bernard never took his eyes off of her the rest of the day. Jarka finally teased him calling him her little puppy dog.
As they all headed into the castle next door for the meeting, Zoran commented, “You didn’t eat much breakfast. Are you doing okay?”
“Can’t. I’ll say this, you sure won’t get fat wearing this outfit! If I have to walk much further, I swear my knees will give out. Oh, she said tiny steps, maybe that’s it.” Zdenka was having a hard time adapting, he noted and was glad that he did have to wear her outfit.
Slowly they made their way to their assigned seats. Once seated, Zdenka took stock of the other baronesses and their dresses. Over half wore this new style outfit, she noted, and all of those women were being as cautious and slow as she and Jarka had been. In this, she took comfort. The others wore the style of dress which she had worn when she came here. Those ball gowns only billowed out some five feet in front of their bodies. Even more interesting, she noted that all of the other women were constantly noticing everyone’s dresses, particularly those wearing this new fashion. So these women were being observant of the dress code; this she found interesting.
At last, some musicians played the traditional wedding music found nearly uniformly among the planets. Baron Kazimir and a man in his thirties, both wearing the finest blue suits, entered and then Baron Eckhart entered with Brunhilda on his arm. Baroness Gisela followed, holding onto the arm of a youthful teen, presumable her son. Zdenka noted that Brunhilda also wore this latest in fashion type of dress, only hers was pure white, naturally.
While the simple wedding was conducted, both Zoran and his friends studied the new couple intently, as did many others in attendance. His brother, Damek, more closely resembled the late Radek, tall, well-muscled, and sporting a moustache. Zoran noticed a close resemblance to both himself and Radek. No doubt he was their half-brother.
Brunhilda was twenty-one now, equally tall, probably because of her heels, he thought, thin and of average attractiveness. She had curly black hair worn shoulder length. Even from this distance, he could see her overly long fingernails, painted blood red. Her countenance suggested that she was a woman used to having her way. Zoran guessed that she would tend to be the bossy, take charge, type of woman, an asset which Damek would need at his side.
When the ceremony was over, both moved to the Visitor’s Area, joining Duke Leo and Lida. At this point, Baron Tom rose and gave his opening welcome speech. Once that was done, he dove into the first item of business. “Brother Jiri Zar and Priestess Anezka have finished construction of another Circle of Ascension. This one is on Gladno. The owner of this newest Circle is Duke Leo.” A loud round of applause followed.
“Per our rules, at this time, the High Council is obligated, per our rules, to pronounce Duke Leo as Baron Leo Matous. Hearing no objections, I give you our newest baron. Baron Leo Matous and Baroness Lida Matous, please come and take your rightful place at the High Council.” No one objected.
Gracefully, as if born for this moment, the young couple gracefully, albeit slowly because of Lida’s outfit, moved over to sit beside Baron Milan’s group. Zoran didn’t recognize the man who quietly slipped in with them, his advisor.
Baron Tom continued, “Brother Jiri wishes me to announce that the construction is well underway for a Circle of Ascension on Valtr. He expects it to be done before spring. Once finished, he will commence construction of a Circle on Alta. Perhaps by our spring meeting, we may have two more barons at our table.” A polite round of applause signaled their acceptance. Zoran noted that Baron Alvaro looked very pleased and gave Zoran a nod of appreciation. Zoran wondered whether or not Jiri had decided to do Alvaro’s next because he had put in the good word for Alvaro. He made a mental note to ask Jiri later.
Next, Tom gave Baron Kazimir the floor. Zoran noted that the Baron’s eyes were bloodshot. In spite of the fact that the portly man was well dressed, he sensed a great tiredness, a heavy weariness emanating from him. “At this time, since my appointed heir, Lida, has become a Baroness on Gladno, per our rules, she can no longer be my heir, unless she will rise and divorce herself from Baron Leo Ma
tous. Will she do so at this time?” He did not look at his own daughter.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I will do no such thing,” Baroness Lida retorted.
“Thus, my choice of heir is no longer valid. I take my right to name another heir. I chose my son, Damek Kamil, to be my formal, legal heir to my throne. Yes, as many of you know,” he stared at Zoran, “Damek is not a Duska. Yet, I point out that his wife, Brunhilda, is a Duska. Thus, this is a legal heir.”
“I protest,” Baron Milan rose and objected. He listed his reasons. However, Barons Alvaro and Hajime quickly pointed out that this situation had occurred thrice before in the past. As long as his wife was Duska, the rules allowed Damek to become a baron. As expected, his protest was voided. Primarily, Milan wanted to be on record opposing this heir. It was purely politically motivated. The other barons realized that this heir, should he become baron one day, was totally ill equipped to handle the responsibilities of his post. Many Neutrals expected that Damek would become their very weakest baron and thus their vote was uniformly in favor of Kazimir’s request.
That settled, Damek and Brunhilda were allowed to sit with Kazimir acting as his advisors. Now the meeting settled into complete boredom, as far as Zoran was concerned. The rest of the day, the barons took up several petty beefs several had with other barons. None of it concerned Zoran in the slightest.
That evening, the formal opening ball provided both entertainment and a time for quiet political discussions between the barons. Zoran finally realized that most of the real decisions were made at these times, not during the actual meetings! Twenty musicians began playing from a raised gallery at the far end of the elegant ballroom. The highly polished oak planks of the floor reflected the magical lighting coming from incredibly ornate chandeliers. Zoran and Zdenka moved onto the dance floor immediately; Jarka and Bernard were right behind him.
By now, Zdenka’s feet were killing her, as was the tight laced corset. Still, she said nothing. She had a passion for dance and would allow nothing to interfere with her evening in the arms of the man she dearly loved. The dancing couples presented a colorful panorama, the huge dresses were definitely a showcase, adding beauty to the large gathering.
Before long, others began cutting in, requesting the next dance with either Zdenka or Zoran. As Baron Alvaro cut in, handing off Baroness Anita to Zoran, he whispered, “Many, many thanks for putting in the good word for me with Brother Jiri. How about that? We are next in line. I owe you, Zoran. Ah, Zdenka, you are the flower of the dance floor.”
As he took the arms of Baroness Anita, also wearing the latest in fashion, she said, “Yes, thank you so much. Our son can now have his birthright without waiting for our demise. I am so glad that Zdenka has taken a fancy to our latest fashions. Though I must admit, I find these are a wee bit too much to handle. How’s everything in Brn?” she chatted away.
A bit later, Baron Hajime and Baroness Lami broke in on their dance. As they exchanged partners, Baron Hajime whispered, “Please accept my apologies for those assassins ruining your honeymoon. I do hope that you two will come visit us again. To make amends, I will give you another week of all expenses paid on Asami.”
While dancing with Hajime, Zdenka, thinking of the mermaids, Chika and Akira, commented, “We know about your shinjutori, your tortured mermaids. How dare you permanently clamp their legs together and force those awful fish tails on them and make them search for your pearls? I think that is just terrible mistreatment of your young women.”
Baron Hajime flushed. “How did you . . .” He didn’t finish his sentence and Zdenka would not have answered his question anyway, though she knew what he wanted to ask. He quickly regained his composure. “You misunderstand our shinjutori. Please Archmage, allow me to explain.”
“I’m listening,” she said quietly.
“Our shinjutori, our mermaids, are perhaps the most important women on our planet. As you have seen, we have nothing but a few scattered islands, yet our population number in the millions. How can so many be fed and housed? Only by buying off-world all of the commodities everyone else takes for granted can we possibly survive. We buy grain, tools, clothing, wood, everything but what we can take from the sea. We have no ores, no gems, no mines from which to extract gold and gemstones to trade. We have only the pearls from the oysters. These lie deep under the waters of Asami. Originally, men and women dove for them, but many could not swim either deep enough or hold their breaths long enough and drowned. Oh so many, many have drowned diving for pearls.”
“By selecting out the very best of our maidens, we have made them into shinjutori, teaching each one to cast the Water Breathing spell. Their tails are absolutely vital for them to be able to swim farther and faster and deeper than any of us. Honestly, a shinjutori can swim probably more than twice as fast as the most ablest of swimmers. The shinjutori hold a singular position of great honor and pride among our people, because of their ceaseless work and donation and sacrifice, millions of Asami can live and survive. We owe our shinjutori our total survival. Because of the pearls that they find, we can purchase all the off-world things we need to survive.”
“Without the shinjutori, Asami would perish within a few years. We treat them with our highest honor. So please do not think ill of us for wanting to survive.”
“I see. Well, I admit that I had not seen the bigger picture. Still, I think that you ought to give those women some choice in the matter of whether or not they want to be mermaids. Perhaps you ought to consider allowing them to retire after five or ten years of pearl diving. Allow them to experience life the way the rest of your millions do.”
“Ah, Archmage, I will consider your suggestion. Perhaps, when we next meet, I will have such news for you. It has been such a pleasure dancing with you. Your new gown meets with my approval. You look just stunning in it. Zoran must be proud to have such a beautiful wife and companion.”
After many more ‘Excuse me, can I have this next dance’ requests, Zoran suggested that they cut in on his brother and new wife. “You talk to Damek and I’ll sound out Brunhilda.” She agreed.
Soon, Zoran took the arms of lovely Brunhilda. He noticed that she too now wore this latest of fashions. Her satin dress was emerald. “Congratulations, Brunhilda. Looks like we are now neighbors. I love your new dress.”
“Thank you Baron. Neighbors, yes. I am amazed that your wife can keep up with the latest fashions. After all Brn is so out of the way! Warlord country is so dismal, isn’t it? Downright primitive by our standards. So uncivilized. We owe it to them to bring civilization to them, don’t you agree?”
“Most certainly we do. I prefer peaceful means, however.” She didn’t respond, so he continued. “How do you like my brother, Damek? You will, of course, be the power behind him and support him when he becomes the baron, right.”
“Certainly, he is not a Duska, as we are. He knows so little about our ways. I do hope that you do not send your dragons to murder him like you did your brother Radek.”
“My dragon friends are here only to help protect my Circle. For the record, I did not send the dragons to murder Radek. He was with Kazimir as he and his army murdered and slaughtered all of the free people of Sholov Province. Wars are nasty affairs, completely unforgiving. I tried to talk Radek from following in Kazimir’s footsteps, but he would not listen.”
She chose not to respond, but said, “Well, just so the record is straight between us. If you send your dragons to attack Castle Dorumova, my father will send his entire army from Dietmar to help defend us. Don’t get any wild ideas just because Damek is not a Duska.”
“I wish no ill to my brother at this time. Besides, if you haven’t heard, I have neither a fortress nor an army.”
“No, you have the dragons,” she replied, slightly envious, slightly testily.
Meanwhile, Zdenka was dancing with Damek. “You dance well, Damek. You ought to come and visit your brother sometime. I know that he would really like to meet you. Until recently, he didn’t even kno
w that he had a brother.”
“Would he permit that? I mean, having Brunhilda and me come to Brn to visit? I don’t want to be burned to death by your dragons as Radek was.”
“Of course you would be safe and welcome to come. Just expect far cruder accommodations than you have at Castle Dorumova. I’ve only got the Archmage tower at the moment.”
“So I have heard. I’m an old soldier, used to field conditions. I’ll manage. Say, can I ask you something personal?”
“Sure, but I may not answer it,” she replied cautiously.
“You and I are rather in similar circumstances. I mean neither of us are Duska. Have you found it hard to learn what is required of you as a baroness?” he asked what was troubling him the most, Zdenka guessed.
“I knew nothing about Duskas, courts, barons or baronesses. Yes, it is a challenge to learn enough fast enough. I rather imagine your position is far worse than mine. After all, the baronesses here seem to be more worried about the latest fashions than ruling a planet.”
He chuckled, “Aye, they certainly seem that way. Even Brunhilda was very worried about wearing just the latest in fashion today. Yet, she knows what she is doing with the Circle and all that. She is good with magic, though she is not an Archmage, like yourself.”
“I understand. I am sorry that you were cheated out of your birthright to be both a Duska and a Mage. Kazimir is not much of a father in my opinion,” she added.
She touched a sore spot with him. “That is true. He didn’t even know I existed until he needed me for his token heir. Mom didn’t tell me that he was my father until I was twenty-one. By then, it was too late for everything. Yet, if I do become baron, that is something.”
“Yes, I do hope you do not then follow in Kazimir’s footsteps and be another tyrant over our people,” Zdenka decided to probe into his intentions a bit.
On this, he was cagy. “I hope not to be a tyrant either.” Just then, another couple broke in on them, desiring to dance with Damek and Brunhilda. Zoran gladly resumed dancing with his wife once more.
Zoran Chronicles Volume 1 A Dragon in Our Town Page 39