Fenton scowled blackly.
“Guess people are going to go hungry,” Zara said, eyeing the bowl.
“Well, you can figure it out on your own time since you have so much of it,” the domina said, handing the bowl over to her. “This should serve as an incentive. Want them fresh? Figure it out,” she growled.
Zara took the bowl and looked at the domina. She saw that the older woman was stern and loosing something, some part of her edge. She looked tired and frazzled. She also looked like she was even more dangerous than before. The princess nodded.
“Will there be anything else?” she asked mildly.
“Go,” the dominus growled, dismissing her and her guard.
~~~^~~~
Zara clung to the bowl as she was marched back through the castle. Wherever her entourage went, she noted people around them stopped what they were doing to look and stare at her. She kept looking straight ahead. She didn't want to be seen looking about.
It wasn't a matter of pride, though that played a part. She knew that the people seeing her and seeing that she was unchained and unbroken would get around. That she had food, what looked like fresh food might get around too. She was privately certain it would have an effect on the morale. How it would play out was beyond her computations though.
She was pretty sure things weren't doing well for the traitors though. That made her smile ever so slightly as she began to climb the spiral stairs back up to her tower prison.
~~~^~~~
Fenton sighed after the princess left. They had all thought that they'd have a massive upwelling of support for their cause from the people. But, instead it had petered out when the long hiems had settled in and people realized what they'd done. What little they could deliver just evoked comparisons to the Imperials and what was left out.
He looked over to Olaf. The old man was now facing desertion in his ranks as people realized they couldn't deliver and weren't going to get paid any time soon. Just trying to feed them regularly was an issue; this just made it worse.
Discipline was a serious problem. Percival was heavy handed, a marionette bent on training, drills, and patrols around the castle. Olaf approved of most of it though.
Worse though, some who deserted took some of the Terran weapons with them. They had a team hunting them down, but it seemed they had slipped past Stephan's gate guards and out of the capital. Where they went from there was anyone's guess it seemed.
“Another fine mess we've gotten ourselves into,” he muttered.
“This one you can lay at the precious princess’s feet,” the domina replied. “She set this up. Set us up to fail.”
“To be fair she had no idea we'd take over,” Olaf rumbled with what sounded suspiciously like a chuckle in his voice.
The domina shot him a glower and then looked away.
“Be that as it may …,” she turned as a guard blocked a familiar woman in a dusky brown dress from entering. Another guard moved in. “Yes? What is it?”
The guard turned to her. “This woman said she has something to present to you. She comes armed though,” the guard warned.
Emma craned her neck around them and waved eagerly, all smiles.
“Send her in,” the domina said with an impatient wave.
When the girl got to them, she was practically bouncing. “Yes? What is it?” the domina asked in a stern tone. “Can't you see we are in an important discussion?”
“I found it. I remembered what she said,” Emma said, placing a pistol on the table in front of them. Olaf used a finger to push the muzzle away from being pointed at him gently.
The girl bounced in glee and put another down next to the first, then clips of ammunition.
“Where did you find these?” Olaf asked. “We've searched the castle.”
“Not all. The princess hid them and other weapons in her suite. I thought they had been taken to the armory. I just checked and there they were.” She put more ammunition down. “There is more.”
The dominus swore an oath but then swore another as the girl triumphantly dropped a bag of coins on the table. “There are coins too!”
“Are you serious? Under our nose the entire time?”
“Yes. And a few other things. She had a small stockpile in case of emergencies. She showed us it. Someone got some things out of it, but the rest is there including her personal rifles,” Emma said.
The domina looked at the bag and then flicked her fingers to open it to see the contents. After a moment, she nodded.
“You've done well, Emma; take a pair of guards and secure the rest. The weapons go to the drott; the coins to the dominus and me. In fact,” the woman rose, “let's go see them for ourselves, shall we?” she said, sounding a bit relieved.
The others nodded. It wasn't much of a reprieve but at the moment something was better than nothing.
~~~^~~~
“With this we'll have enough coin to pay some of the men backpay and get others back,” Fenton said, letting the coins dribbled through his fingers. He knew it was but a tithe to what they needed to balance the kingdom’s debts though.
He had no idea how the princess had kept such careful records. Well, no, that wasn't true. He did see it; she had left notes and papers in the ledgers. He just didn't understand the sheets of numbers. He was used to doing everything long form.
“We need more dominus to support us,” Olaf rumbled. “You said there were others,” he said, looking at the two in the room.
“And so there are. Berg and Hansen are supporting our cause … albeit a bit unwillingly,” the domina said smugly. “Young Siegfried does so openly as does Percival. The others may not know of what has become of the capital since most of the roads have closed,” she said.
“We can compel them,” the dominus said. “A show of force will do the trick.”
Olaf shook his head. “We can do no such thing in the depths of hiems . It hinders us as much as it does the Imperials.”
“Then we wait,” Fenton said. “We get our riders out as soon as the snow clears.”
“I think we can do more,” the domina stated.
“Oh?”
“We should move some of the hostages out. Don't keep them all in one basket,” she said carefully and thoughtfully.
“And that will help us how?” Fenton demanded.
“If we break them up into smaller groups and distribute them and let the enemy know that they are in small groups but not who is where, it will force them to think twice about attacking. We can still kill one of the other hostages elsewhere. And they'll never know where the important ones are.”
“Except for the princess, who remains here,” Olaf rumbled.
The domina studied him but after a moment nodded.
"They might be willing to write the others off but not her," Fenton said, rubbing his chin.
"Certainly not her. Not easily. Though we all know that the imperatrix bore a daughter," Domina Rasmussen warned.
Fenton stared. "Then you say our hostage has no value?"
"It is … reduced."
“I like it. But we can't send them to my holdings; I can't get there myself!” Fenton said in disgust.
“I'll take a few,” the domina offered. “We can send others to Percival's residence and others to Berg and Hansen.”
“Why there?” Olaf asked.
“Ah! Because if the army crosses the border, we can send them a lordling to get them to see the error of their ways and stop. One. Piece. At. A. Time,” she parsed out with a malicious grin.
~~~^~~~
Augustus was worried when the guards arrived. But he listened as they took a selection of lords out. “These will do. They want them at the dominus' castle, and the domina's,” the warden said, pointing to the group.
Each had been released from the wall but still had their hands and feet fettered.
“What do you intend with us?” one of the lads asked in a quavering voice.
“Shut your jabbering yap. Ya blubber too much,”
the warden said, cuffing him and then ordering them up the ladder.
Augustus watched them go and then looked to the others. He wasn't sure what was going on but he didn't like that they were splitting them up. Not that he had any choice in the matter.
~~~^~~~
Olaf watched a group of children and young adults playing Kubb. The game was simple; they threw stones or ice at stakes. Some called the traditional game Duluthian chess. He remembered it vaguely. He knew he'd been good at it.
When a throw made a block skate, he was amused when two of the kids came to arguing and then blows over it. He snorted and then went about his business.
~~~^~~~
Emma brought the next meal to the princess. Someone had finally rigged a pulley up and line to bring wood up. One end had a weight; the other you put the wood on. As long as they were mostly balanced it took little effort to get the load up.
She put the small pot of stew on the hook and then used the rope to get it up to the top. When she got up there, she caught the guards sampling it. “Trust me, you don't want that,” she said with a smirk.
They grimaced and put the lid back on.
She waited for them to unlock the door and then swept in with a grin as she brought the meal and news to the princess.
“So, you'll be happy to know I remembered your stash and turned it over to the dominus and domina,” Emma said with a malicious laugh. “Your weapons will be put to good use. And so will your coin. I'm afraid your clothes were only fit for rags though,” she said with a twisted grin.
Zara blinked. That was news to her; she'd thought they'd found it ages ago. She shrugged.
“No response?”
“Sorry, I'm not into fashion as much as my sister is. Whatever happens to my clothing, I know more can be made.”
Emma's face stilled as she realized the taunts and barbs she'd spent time carefully saving and crafting had fallen flat.
“Your memory must be slipping if it took you this long to remember it. Tell me, did they reward you for your loyalty?” Zara asked as she took the small pot of stew and set it on the floor by the bed.
Emma glared at her for being snotty and then in a flash lashed out and slapped the princess.
Zara rocked from the blow and came back, eyes flashing angrily. "That was a mistake."
“Enough,” the lead guard said, calling the girl off. “The domina said she is to remain untouched. Finish cleaning up and go."
"Ah, is that a problem?" the girl asked, turning to him. “I thought the princess could use a trim. I was considering a little but now that she has shown how insolent she still is, we can take it all,” the girl said, making snipping motions with two fingers on one hand.
“No,” the guard said.
“No?” Emma demanded glaring at him. “Why not?”
"Orders. It means if we can't have our way with her, you can't either. Now out," the guard said firmly.
The attendant took up the dirty dishes and then turned. Maliciously she dumped the midden into the fire. The room suddenly filled with stench as the light from the fire went out. Smoke poured out of the fire, too much to go up the chimney at once. Some of it came into the room.
"There, now I don't have to carry it downstairs, dump it, and then back up again. So we don't have to see each other for a while," the girl simpered as she mockingly put the chamber pot back in its place.
The guards coughed as the girl put the tray of dirty dishes to her hip and left with a wicked smile. She curtsied her way past the guards out onto the landing, leaving with a mocking smile as she went. The guards covered their mouths and faces and quickly slammed the door shut.
Zara shook her head, coughing as she went and opened the narrow window. The chill air would quickly make the chamber cold, but heat from the chambers below would hopefully help a bit to warm it again while she waited for the fireplace to clear. It would take time for the soiled wood to dry out. She'd have to dig it out.
Well, it wasn't like she had anything better to do.
She stared at the fire and then sighed. She'd want it later, and besides, she didn't want to sit there cold and bored. She went over and tucked her dress skirt in as she knelt and then daintily picked at the sodden wood with her fingertips and a much-wrinkled nose.
The soiled wood went out the open window. She hoped the girl was below; it would serve her right if she got hit with it.
That gave her an idea. She had been dumping the waste from her pets into the midden chamber pot too; she decided to pitch that out the window as well.
~~~^~~~
Percival couldn't help but get increasingly frustrated over the situation. Problems, nothing but problems. He fumed over problems, mainly because they were out of his control or caused by that fool Stephan. He was sorely tempted to slit the bastard's throat just to be rid of him.
He inhaled and exhaled, then stepped outside to get some fresh air. He tipped his head back and inhaled, closing his eyes and then something splattered onto his shoulder.
Angrily he looked at the substance and flicked it off, and then looked up to see where it had come from just in time to get hit in the forehead and mouth with more shit.
"Oops! Sorry ," a distant voice said mockingly from above.
He gagged on the putrid material, turning and trying to get it off his face and away from his eyes and nose. "Who did that!?" he roared once his mouth was reasonably clear. "Find out!" he snarled.
~~~^~~~
Zara grinned in full malicious devilry. That couldn't have gone better if she'd planned it. She just wished she could have gotten it on camera to watch over and over again.
It was a small comeuppance, but it was a down payment on what she hoped would come soon.
Chapter 43
Duchy of Emory
General Periot was impressed when the convoy arrived at what the guide called the Duchy of Emory. He could see different styles of architecture in the castle and supporting buildings design.
Unfortunately, they had a little too much time to explore the castle and the hospitality of their elderly host as they were delayed by a series of snowstorms.
It pissed him off but he understood that the roads were impassible and trying to travel under the conditions was suicide.
He was amused and nodded as their host showed them some of the Terran innovations. Privately he was surprised that they'd adapted and even industrialized to that level in such a short time. Obviously, someone back home had not anticipated that. It was something he was going to need to bring up.
That and the long winter. Finding out that they were not quite halfway through it was a bitter pill to swallow.
He managed to keep a lid on Doctor McEntire and the others, directing them to speak in English and to keep their comments to a minimum while a native was around. The doctor might be contemptuous of the natives, but they surely understood tone and body language. Some had seemed closed after some of their conversations. To him they were more like rants as the scientist vented repeatedly over the contamination.
He shook his head. If he had any idea of what we're planning … he thought, then cut his thought train off.
~~~^~~~
Kattegat
“Hayden, Tia?” a voice asked ever so softly.
Brynhild heard the voice call the names over and over muzzily before she returned to consciousness.
She finally looked up and realized the person was asking for someone. “Hayden, Sennia? Tia Sennia?”
“Dead.”
“Both?”
“Aye.”
There was a long pause. “I feared as much,” the voice said. Something was dropped and then kicked through the grate to them.
“You are not alone,” the voice whispered in the darkness.
Augustus felt a hand nudge him, and then again harder, when he didn't immediately wake. He turned over and looked up to the grate. He didn't see the person, just felt the presence of someone near. “She knows. We are here. Stay alive,” the voice whispered.
After a long moment, there were crunches in the snow as the person left.
He puzzled over that as the others spoke softly. The thing that had been dropped was a coin. “Fat lot of good it does us in here,” a miles growled, passing it to the captain.
He turned it over and over in his hands, puzzling over it. The coin was bright and new. It had an image of the imperatrix on one side, an image of the castle on the other. He didn't recognize the design.
Hostage Rescue (Princess Rescue Inc Book 2) Page 56