2569 A.D.!
THE DULARNIAN QUEEN
AN ADVENTURE IN THE SECOND DARK AGE OF MAN
By Jerome B. Bigge
Chapter Forty Three
"There's more `depth' to you than I realized when I first married you," my husband smiled, cuddling me close to him. It was still in the afternoon, not usually the time we had sex now. I had bared the door too, not wishing to be "surprised" by Kathi, who normally didn't require any "permission" from us to come in.
"We tend to have `idealized' pictures of each other," I smiled back, wondering if he really found me all that `attrac- tive' as a wife? Being married to a woman like me can be a strain on any husband. I recalled Lorraine's marriage, the fact that her husband seldom seemed to accompany her anywhere anymore? The "same" was true of Darlanis, although not to the same degree. It was also "true", of course, that Serak and Jon had their own "duties" to attend to, Serak a Prince of the Nevadas, while Jon Richards was California's "Sealord", commander of her navy now...
"Marriage destroys `romance'," he smiled, holding me close. I supposed it is true. Maris Marn, Queen of Dularn, in a long silken gown, all perfumed and "fixed up" is a much "different" woman than the "same" he was now holding in his arms just "used". No woman is as "beautiful" after sex as she is "all fixed up"...
"We will be `together' on the voyage to Japan," I told him.
"My father "believes" that we will sail off the edge of the world," he laughed. There were people who believed such things.
"The woman your father has been going with is a woman who has a `reputation'," I answered, seeing Paul nod back in "reply".
"She will have little `opportunity' back on the plains," he answered. The women of the Wyomings live much like squaws did... Pharis had been an "exception", but Pharis had been "unique" too!
"She is not going to find `life' as she expects it," I said.
"`Happens' to `all' of us," he answered, caressing me a bit.
"Would you `marry' me knowing what you do now?" I asked him.
"I'd be a fool not to," Paul laughed back, kissing me then.
"I am sort of a `fun wench', aren't I?" I then smiled back.
"You're `better' than Kathi in bed..." Paul admitted to me.
"But you don't have to `ask' Kathi," I pointed out to him.
"Haven't had to `ask' you either," Paul grinned back at me. *****************************************************************
"It's `warmer' here," Mara said, looking about at things.
"This is Trella," Princess Tara answered, glancing about.
"Where does Queen Lorraine live?" the teenage girl asked.
"Up there," Tara answered, pointing with a scarred hand. Those who had seen her face had often now drawn away, horrified. The Princess was well aware that none would recognize her either. Medicine had done what it could for her, but she was now only a thing of horror, with her face burned the way that it was now... *****************************************************************
"You have a `visitor', your majesty," the guardswoman said.
"`Admit' him," I spoke, busy studying the legislation before me. The Senate had "passed" a number of bills, and it was now up to me if they were to become "law" or not. The Senators were quite well aware too that they got all the "credit" for legisla- tion that I finally "O.K.'d", and I got the "blame" for "things" when a "law" that the people now "wanted" didn't get "passed"... In another week I'd be sailing to Japan, LYS willing, and I had to get my "affairs" in order before I left or there'd be "hell" to pay when I got back. The life of a Queen of Dularn is often best described as being "`damned' if you do, and `damned' if you don't". No doubt Janet Rogers had the same problems in her time.
"I am sorry to intrude..," a soft feminine voice said to me.
"You're that old woman who took care of Tara!" I breathed!
"I have a letter from my daughter," she answered me back.
"I'll `do' what I can for Mara if they catch Tara," I smiled back. Tais hadn't been too "delighted" by Tara's escaping her... If Darlanis or Lorraine got their hands on Tara she wouldn't live long either, I suspected, as neither had any love for the woman!!
"You are a `good Queen'," she answered, giving me the let- ter. I had given her injections of the anti-aging serums, but it was too late I suspected to do any good. Such drugs reduce the rate one ages, and do nothing to "reverse" what has already been. There is a reoccurring "rumor" that both the Priestesses of Lys and the Women of Mars have a superior version of the serums. It being claimed that Priestesses have lived past two hundred years as have large numbers of the Women. In the case of those living on Mars it is likely that their "environment" has something to do with a longer life span, Lorraine claiming here that Mars' lesser gravity than that of the Earth would naturally increase the span of one's life considerably there. Additionally, those of Mars no doubt enjoy a "diet" that extends the span of life somewhat too according to what I am "told" by my Physician, Dr. Salmona Tora.
"Doesn't `tell' us that much," I said, reading the letter.
"At least Tara hasn't `harmed' her," the old woman said.
"Perhaps Tara isn't as `evil' as people thought," I said.
"Or perhaps she has repented her ways," the woman answered. *****************************************************************
"I `fear' for you," Mara said, Tara sitting there across from her. The girl had seen Tara's scarred face enough now that the sight of it no longer bothered her as it might have another.
"I am not a woman who any one should `concern' themselves about," the Princess answered. "I have lived a life of evil, and now I am paying the `price' for my sins," she continued on then.
"Where will we `go' when we leave Trella?" Mara asked her.
"I have `friends' in Mexico," the former Princess said.
"Why did you `become' what you became?" Mara asked Tara.
"You saw Darlanis when she came looking for me, didn't you?" Tara answered. "That damn blonde slut destroyed everything I had to live for. She took my husband, my marriage, even my child..."
"But you `served' her later as a Warlady," Mara pointed out.
"Thought maybe I could get her killed, get my throne back, but it never `happened', damn the `bitch's luck'!" the Princess now grinned, her smile something to give one nightmares. "Backed that `Talen' woman for several years, but she never `did' any- thing until Lorraine came on the scene," the scarred Princess ex- plained. "Thought I could push Darlanis into enough wars that the people would rise up against her too, but it never occurred. Played around with hypnosis, learned `why' it's `forbidden' too!" The Princess having for several years "shared" her soul with the demoness from Hell known to Mankind as "THE QUEEN OF DARKNESS"...
"Why did you `attack' Queen Maris?" Mara then asked Tara.
"Got `trapped', didn't see any other way `out'," Tara spoke. "Damn Priestesses decided to get into the `act', and here I am. Just a scarred `horror' now that only frightens anyone who sees."
"I always thought the Priestesses only did `good'," Mara an- swered back. "I never thought that they ever killed people..."
"They `run' things, and don't ever forget it," Tara smiled. "Anyone who `crosses their path' doesn't live very long either!" The Princess reaching up, touching her scarred face in a way that left no doubts then as to the thoughts passing through her mind. *****************************************************************
"I raised my daughter to be a `good girl'," Clara San said.
"She took `mercy' upon one who has lived a life of evil," I answered. "And whatever we feel about it, I think she did what I would hope any daughter of mine would do," I then concluded now.
"Perhaps in a previous `incarnation' you were a Priestess," the old woman smiled back, sipping at the glass of wine that I had given her. That we passed through numerous incarnations was a proven fact in our society, although Lorraine relates that the concept of reincarnation was known if not "accepted" in her time. The Priestesses will only say that you have lived before, but as a rule they will not tell you "who" you were, or "what" you did. Perhaps it is just as well, if you stop and think about it now...
"I've always `wondered' how Tara `justified' what she did," I answered. "She always seemed to me to be `driven' by `hate'."
"She did say that Darlanis `ruined' her life," Clara said.
"Darlanis was years ago almost another like Tara," I spoke. "Her `attacks' on us, her use of a `mad dog' like Tara as her own Warlady leave no doubts as to the sort of a woman she was then."
"Yet now you are `friends'," the old woman pointed out now.
"Perhaps we all can `change'," I said, giving her a smile.
"Tara's face is badly scarred," the old woman said to me.
"I'm sure she won't appreciate that," I mused in reply.