"Do you have any final comments or statements?" Darlanis asked, her lovely azure eyes holding mine as Sharon squirmed a bit at my side. The hard oak seat of the chair no doubt just a bit uncomfortable to her well spanked buttocks under her thin short skirt. The beautiful Empress of California having taken Sharon aside after we boarded Sarnian Lady and there in front of everyone impressed upon her bare rear end in a very effective way that one does not threaten the ruler of the Empire of California with a crossbow! I had to smile at the sight, Darlanis giving Sharon a good two dozen where they did the most good, there being considerable strength in that tall beautiful muscular regal body!
We were now seated on the quarterdeck of Sarnian Lady, the entire crew of the ship assembled to listen, to see justice done! Darlanis magnificent there in her golden attire, seated between the captain of the trireme and its young first officer, who was, I understood much to my surprise, Darlanis' own legal heir to the throne of California should anything happen to Darlanis herself! He had been the young officer in the boat that she had ordered to remain there while she went aboard the Ronda alone by herself. His name was Jers Bisan, and he was the son of the formidable Imperial Warlady, the Princess of Baja, a former Queen of Sarn, the Princess Tara Bisan of whom we will meet later on in this story. The woman herself being an evil sadistic "witch" who I think you will learn to "hate" just as I have now with very good reason!*
* It was the "practice" in the 26th Century that when a woman was divorced that she took back the "name" she had borne before her marriage, Tara having been married earlier on and then widowed.
Overhead flew the colorful banner of Imperial California, below the smaller flag of Darlanis herself. The sun yet bright in the sky above, a breeze having come back up, unfortunately too late to do us any good now that we were the captives of Darlanis! Sarnian Lady was under sail back to Sarn, the Ronda following close behind, the former slaves now once again locked in chains. Darlanis having ordered such fearing that they might attempt to seize the ship from the half dozen sailors sent over from Sarnian Lady to sail the prize back to Sarn for its eventual disposition.
"I ask freedom for the woman Shirl," I answered, remembering how she had kept her wits about herself and had safely disarmed Sharon before my stepdaughter managed to kill Darlanis. Princess Janis sitting there at my side, keeping her thoughts to herself. She had been questioned, as had others, as to the truth of my statements about my taking the Ronda and why I had done so. Darlanis had done most of the talking, drawing me out, making me relive the horror, the terror of our passage through time to this era. Then our "rescue" by the Ronda, and my battle against its barbarian crew. Telling Darlanis of what the Ronda's captain had said about Sharon and what our fates were supposed to be once we reached Sarn. Darlanis nodding, hopefully understanding what the situation had been. She was a woman. I hoped she understood what any mother will do when her own children are in danger.
"Gladly granted," Darlanis answered with an understanding smile. "Let it be so noted." Turning to the Scribe who was now taking down the hearing for the official record. The two handsome officers on either side of the briefly clad Queen nodding in agreement. I mused to myself that Darlanis should perhaps wear a longer skirt if she was going to sit before men dressed like that in that gold mesh outfit, but wisely kept my opinions to myself, very well aware that they would probably not be appreciated! On the other hand I suspected that Darlanis wore what she did for a reason, since any man dealing with her would have a hard time keeping his mind from drifting into visions of what laid beneath!
To one side sat Lady Lana Daris, who was acting as my legal counsel. She had used as my defense the fact that I had only acted in self defense there aboard the Ronda and that at no time had I ever sought to harm anyone who did not first offer me harm! Whether or not this had any impression on Darlanis was another question, although I thought that no doubt Janis' opinions of the matter carried considerable weight, the woman being Darlanis' older sister and the Princess of Dularn. She now wore a long gray gown, one of Darlanis', which fitted her fairly well, although she was not as broad shouldered or wide hipped or as tall as Darlanis. Darlanis being a full 5'10" in her bare feet, although she usually wears thick soled spike heeled boots to give her an additional four inches, making her stand an actual 6'2". I have seen her in nothing but clips and strap, and would guess that she weighs about a hundred and fifty pounds, twenty more than I do! She is one "BIG" blonde! A very "impressive" woman!
"If there are no more comments or statements, this hearing is hereby ended," Darlanis spoke. "The woman Lorraine Duval, who claims to be from another time along with her stepdaughter, Sharon, will be held until a decision can be rendered by this courts martial as to her guilt or innocence of the charges brought against her under the laws of the Empire of California." With this Darlanis rose, the two officers doing the same, and Lana took me by the hand, her face somber, to another part of the deck where we might speak in private. I did not understand why she was so depressed. I thought we had done quite well in impressing Darlanis as to just why I had done what I had. Certainly as a woman she would be able to understand why I had been forced to do what I had! Rape has never been "legal" in any civilized state!
"Why the long face?" I asked Lana, Sharon coming to stand beside me there at the rail. "I thought we did pretty good." I certainly had sensed that Darlanis understood why I had acted as I had. Why it had been a matter of "life or death" for Sharon and me! Everything I had learned from Janis had indicated that while the status of women was not as high here in the 26th Century for the most part as it had been back in the 20th Century, it was still permitted for a woman to defend herself against her rape. Still permitted for a mother to "defend" her daughter against any who sought to rape her! And the late captain of the Ronda had made it ever so clear that was exactly what he planned to "do" to Sharon as soon as he had the opportunity to do it too!
"On the matter of your being a `pirate', yes," Lana smiled, then adding, "But don't forget that you are also legally an `enemy' of the Empire and that might just have consequences we haven't thought of yet." I also was considering the fact that Janis had considered me "valuable" because of my 20th Century knowledge, and Darlanis might have exactly the same plans for me too!
"It's just not fair!" Sharon protested, surreptitiously rubbing her buttocks there beneath her skirt, Darlanis having given her a spanking that I was sure she would not forget for some time! Sharon had been "lucky" that Darlanis had a sense of humor or it could have been very unpleasant for all of us had Darlanis decided to say lop off Sharon's head or do something else to her!
"You're lucky that Darlanis is the sort of person that she is or you'd be feeding the fish right now," Lana answered Sharon in reply, telling her that there was a death penalty for what she had done as I had suspected that there would be. Darlanis had not known of the slim dagger I had worn beneath my skirt when I had asked her what she planned to do to Sharon there aboard the Ronda and Darlanis had laughed and said that she planned to give her a good spanking! Otherwise I had planned to take Darlanis hostage in the hope that Sarnian Lady wouldn't fire on the woman herself! Telling the Californians that they could have Darlanis back when we reached Dularn safely and not before! Darlanis had asked me exactly that question later on, and I had been honest with her there at the hearing, feeling that she should know just what sort of a person I was, although I don't think she had any doubts about that after hearing what I had done aboard the Ronda.
"All gather! A decision has been reached!" the scribe said in a loud voice, the crew gathering as Darlanis and the two officers came back up on the deck from below where they had been considering our fate. A number of Darlanis' Warrioresses standing by, proud in their chain mail and helmets. The scribe obviously a slave girl judging by the collar locked around her neck, the thought going through my mind that I might end up the same way! Her brief gray clinging shift well revealing the provocativeness of her thighs, the sweet feminine curves of her body there beneath the clinging cotton. I recalled what I had been told by the slave girls aboard the Ronda of what it was like to be the slave of a woman like Darlanis and shuddered mentally to myself.
Once again we seated ourselves after Darlanis, it being the protocol that you stand until she sits, which reminds me of an old joke I'd better keep to myself about the royal posterior. I suppose Darlanis wouldn't mind, as she does have quite a sense of humor about such things, but she is a good friend of mine even if we don't agree on some things, and I don't want to embarrass her.
"It is the decision of this court by unanimous vote that the woman Lorraine Duval is innocent of all charges brought against her for the seizure of the vessel `Ronda' upon the grounds that she was acting in self defense of herself and her stepdaughter," the young Prince intoned as Darlanis sat there smiling at me while he read from the script there before him. The smile there on Darlanis' lips making me wonder just what now was in store for me! That woman was as smart as she was beautiful, and I suspected that she was also ambitious enough to "use" me if she could!
"Oh Lorraine! You're Innocent!" Sharon cried, throwing her arms around me before everyone there, sobbing in relief now that she knew that we were "safe". Safety being a relative term here! Especially considering the way that Darlanis smiled at me as Lana took my hand in hers. Janis frowning to herself, looking out over the sea. I felt sorry for her. It might be a long time before she saw Dularn again. I wondered what "plans" Darlanis had for me. I suspected that this entire "hearing" had been cooked up by Darlanis to get me in the "proper frame of mind" for something she wanted from me. I knew her sort from the 20th Century. Some things never change despite the passage of time. Darlanis was a woman "driven" by ambition. She would stop at nothing to satisfy those ambitions. I wondered what her "offer" would be?
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