The Girl with No Name Copyright 2013 by Edward -EC- EC's Erotic Fiction - /~caligula97030/ (warnings: public nudity, sex between adults, corporal punishment, maledom, humiliation, war violence, occult, language) Chapter Sixteen – The Instructor The Grand Duke returned to the castle in a foul mood. During his trip he had discovered that most of Hórkustk Ris province was not under Danubian control at all. The only enclave remaining was the provincial capitol, and the only reason that city was still under the Duchy’s control was that the Kingdom of the Moon had not yet sent an army large enough to conquer it. The city was packed with Danubian refugees who had been denied permission to move north, precisely to prevent the people of the capitol from knowing how bad the situation was immediately to the south. There was inadequate food for the crowd and a lot of the people had become sick. The Grand Duke had discovered the awful news that the entire western half of the Duchy was under threat. Hórkustk Ris was the only major Danubian city to the south of Danúbikt Móskt. After that city was taken, there would be nothing standing between the Army of the Moon and the Duchy’s people. The Grand Duke rounded up his military advisors and demanded to know why no one had told him about the foreign occupation of Hórkustk Ris province and the plight of tens of thousands of sick refugees. It turned out the advisors had been divided about telling their ruler the truth. Some advisors did want to tell him about Hórkustk Ris as early as the previous summer, but they were overruled by the advisors who were determined to procrastinate. The advisors remained loyal to each other, so the ones who wanted to talk to the Grand Duke about the occupation were stuck in a dilemma. They either had to betray the ruler, or betray their peers. In Danubian culture, betraying one’s companions is considered extremely dishonorable, so the more honest advisors’ actions were restrained by cultural taboos. The Grand Duke was angry at himself for not realizing his advisors were lying to him. Now that he knew what was going on, he needed to find out why he had been deceived. The ruler summoned the Grand Prophet of the Great Temple to assist his interrogation of his subordinates. With the Prophet present, the advisors would have to lie in front of the leading Clergyman from the Danubian Church if they wanted to continue protecting each other. The presence of the Prophet, coupled with the Grand Duke’s insight and ability to extract information through simple conversation forced the full story out of them. He already understood that it was not simple fear or procrastination that had motivated some of his subordinates to cover up the invasion and force their companions to go along with the deception. It turned out that the traitors had made arrangements with the Lord of the Moon to be spared, along with their families and properties, when the Kingdom invaded the Duchy. All they had to do was facilitate the capture of Hórkustk Ris by withholding intelligence and delaying any response from the Danubian Crown. The Grand Duke did not want the public to know that he had been deceived by his own advisors. So, there was no public trial of the traitors, no retaliation against their families, no public spectacle at all. He simply grabbed a long bow and ordered Royal Guards to take the traitors to the execution post. He ordered them tied to the post one-by-one and shocked his spectators by conducting the executions himself. The castle staff, the Royal Guards, and the matrons watched with dumbfounded expressions as their ruler fired five arrows into a traitor, checked to make sure he was dead, ordered the body taken away, and then proceeded with the next execution. Before ordering the bodies taken out of the castle and returned to their relatives, the ruler wrote the following for each household: If you value your lives and the safety of your children, you will not ask why this happened. I assure you my action was justified. Bury your relative, say nothing, and your Path in Life will continue in peace. Disobey my command, and the Destroyer will visit you. The choice is yours. The Grand Duke of the Duchy of Upper Danubia ---------- From their balcony the concubines watched their master killing his subordinates. They were terrified, because they did not yet know what was going on and assumed the sovereign had gone mad. His behavior over the next several days did not reassure them. He vented his anger and fear through sex and copulated with the eleven women as though he were possessed. He did not spare the group’s spokeswoman: she had to join her companions in the Royal bed-chamber and endure his rough treatment. After spending a week calming his nerves with his women, the ruler re-emerged, determined to meet the impending threat coming from the south. He had several months to prepare for the upcoming military campaign, because during the 18th Century it was very difficult for any country to invade any other country during the winter. Large-scale military operations usually took place in the summer, when it was easier for invading armies to live off the land. The Grand Duke replaced his executed advisors with field commanders from the Royal Army. He ordered the commanders to familiarize themselves with standard military strategies and drills commonly used in Europe at the time. He did not plan to emulate those strategies, but needed to know how to counter them. The Danubian Royal Army, especially the cavalry, would have to adapt to fighting on open ground and abandon the traditional strategy of using forested areas for concealment and protection. The most significant decision facing the Grand Duke was his country’s reliance on crossbows. The crossbow had served the Duchy admirably over the past several centuries, but it was an archaic weapon suited for guerrilla skirmishes and silent raids. It was not a weapon suited for confronting a large modern enemy army on open ground. Like it or not, the Grand Duke’s army, or at least many of its troops, would have to switch over to using muskets. The Danubian ruler wrote to a Vienna arms dealer to speed up the purchase of modern muskets. He cringed at the cost of the cumbersome weapons and their ammunition, but he had no choice. ---------- Most rulers would have despaired knowing what the Grand Duke and his Army was up against, but the Danubian ruler’s personality was not prone to despair. He knew that, no matter how bad the situation facing him might be, he still had some decisions to make and options available. None of the choices were very good ones, but they were choices nonetheless. Besides, not all of the news coming from the south was bad. The Kingdom of the Moon did have some significant weaknesses that could, under the right circumstances, work in favor of the Duchy. The most important potential vulnerability was a rival heir contesting the throne. Just a few years before, the Kingdom of the Moon had been ruled by two brothers who, while both were still alive, got along and made a very effective team. After- all, they had maintained their independence from the Ottoman Empire and even managed to annex some additional Ottoman lands. Trouble began, however, when one of the brothers died and the surviving brother made his son, the Lord of the Red Moon, the heir of the throne. His cousin, who called himself the Lord of the Blue Moon, opposed the arrangement and had the support of several nobles. Under current conditions, there was no way the Lord of the Blue Moon could openly confront the ruler, but if the Lord of the Red Moon’s forces suffered some defeats, it was possible the situation to the south could change. The Grand Duke considered the news of the rival heir important. He did not plan to make an alliance with the Lord of the Blue Moon, but the prospect of a civil war in the Kingdom of the Moon, should the Lord of the Red Moon’s forces be weakened, would play into his plans if he could win some battles on Danubian territory. The Danubian ruler did not harbor any illusions his Army could possibly match the Kingdom of the Moon’s army in a traditional battle on open ground. The only hope of winning a fight with the enemy would be to combine modern and traditional Danubian tactics, which would entail luring the invaders into a location favorable to the Danubians. How many such locations were there in Hórkustk Ris Province? Well, in the past there would have been plenty. During the reign of King Vladik the Defender, the area was heavily forested, allowing the last Danubian King to fight the Ottomans using guerrilla tactics. For a century after the King’s victories, the trees remained as the Duchy’s most important line of defense. However, settlers, both Danubian and foreign, had since cut down most of the forest, leaving only a narrow strip between the capitol and Hórkustk Ris. Now the only feature marking the official southern border was a small river and a low-lying range of hills. The hills were still partially forested, but the land immediately to the north was not. The Grand Duke studied maps and pondered from where his army could launch raids. He found very few suitable locations, of which most were away from the main road leading though Hórkustk Ris and thus could be bypassed very easily. Still, there were some possibilities, including some areas along the East Danube River, or possibly the city of Hórkustk Ris itself. However, for any such plan to work the Grand Duke had to have a full understanding of his enemies and the way command decisions were implemented in the Kingdom of the Moon. Fortunately for the Duchy, the Danubian Grand Duke had an excellent network of informants that had been established by his father. A couple of his spies had direct access to the Lord of the Red Moon and two of his top generals. The Danubian ruler was interested in the Kingdom’s battle tactics, equipment, and troop strength, but he was even more interested in understanding the thinking and psychology of his enemies. He knew from the beginning the only hope he had of winning the upcoming war would be to find out about any psychological vulnerabilities of the enemy leaders and try to outsmart them. The Kingdom of the Moon had an excellent army and cavalry. They were seasoned veterans that had humiliated the Sultan’s army over the past two decades, men who were proud, competent, and well-trained. They totally disdained their opponents and enjoyed killing and torturing “inferior” prisoners. They had done some horrible things to Turkish captives, so it was safe to assume if they ever seized control of the Duchy, its people would suffer tremendously. The Army of the Kingdom of the Moon had never suffered a defeat, so they were confident to a fault. The Army of the Moon’s tactics usually focused on charging into an enemy’s position with massive force to overwhelm any opposition, following an initial artillery barrage. Much of the strategy relied on speed and terror. The strategy had been employed against Ottoman and rival lords’ cities, forts, castles, and hilltop positions over the past two decades. It had always worked, so it was predictable. As the Grand Duke and his commanders studied battle after battle won by the Army of the Moon, the over-all pattern of the fighting was always the same: the artillery barrage, the overwhelming charge, and then atrocities against the conquered. The Danubian leader pondered his enemy’s strategy: always the same… predictable… overwhelming force… terror… confidence… and maybe… over- confidence? There was another clue provided by an informant as he repeated a couple of jokes and mocking comments made by the Lord of the Red Moon to his commanders about the Duchy’s towns and the fact most Danubian settlements still had city walls. The Lord of the Red Moon had mentioned how much fun it would be to blast away every city wall in the Duchy, for the cowardly Danubians to watch in terror as their medieval defenses fell, and give them time to think about their fates before they were slaughtered. The Grand Duke fully understood that his enemy was planning genocide against the Danubian people. The Lord of the Red Moon viewed the inhabitants of the Duchy as inferior and as illegitimate occupiers of land he needed for the great Kingdom he was putting together. Only “great countries” had the right to exist in Europe and the Duchy was not a “great country”. So…it needed to be obliterated. The Grand Duke knew that any effort to counter an invasion from the south had only one chance of succeeding. The Danubians absolutely had to win their first battle. If they did not, there would be no opportunity to withdraw and fight a second battle: they would be overwhelmed. Everything the Grand Duke had read or heard about the Lord of the Red Moon indicated his army would come to any location the Danubians chose to defend, with the expectation of overrunning their positions and inflicting a crushing defeat. That knowledge gave the Danubian ruler a critical advantage: he could choose any location he wanted for his army to make its stand. So…the question would be: where to fight that critical battle? What location in Hórkustk Ris province would give the Danubians their greatest advantage? ---------- Silvítya spent much of March kneeling by the Grand Duke’s side at his throne, cringing as he ran his fingers through her hair. He spent day after day talking to his military commanders about the Duchy’s preparations. He also spent hours with councilmen from villages that had been attacked and over-run by the Kingdom of the Moon, with the hope of gathering additional information about the Kingdom and how its army operated. In spite of the uncomfortable posture and humiliating situation she had to endure, she carefully listened to everything being said. No one was bothered by her presence: she was just a naked concubine and certainly could pose no threat. Whenever she had any free time at all, Silvítya perused the Royal Library’s books and maps to fully understand what was going on to the south. She quickly realized the Duchy was in very grave danger. At first she wondered about trying to escape the castle with Antonia and fleeing north, but she knew that her Path in Life was not to live as a refugee from a defeated country. She was a Danubian, sworn to serve the Duchy and its ruler, whether she liked him or not. Fítoreckt’s final words came back to haunt her thoughts: “That is not to say the Ancients will not call upon you to serve. I firmly believe they will, but the manner in which you serve will be different from what your Mistress and I envisioned. Be patient and continue learning. Perhaps you will find yourself in a position to temper and influence the actions and decisions of our nation’s leader. How many of us can make such a claim?” The next time the Grand Duke called his favorite concubine to his bed-chamber, the Grand Duke forced her to have sex by forcing her to assume the submissive posture and taking her from behind. He conducted his usual routine of fingering her anus and silently threatening to sodomize her, but as usual, did not carry out that threat. She bathed him and allowed him to fondle her scalp. The humiliating treatment would make what she had to do much harder, but she forced herself to speak: “Your Majesty, your humble serving girl wishes to know if you need her to do anything to assist or prepare for the Duchy’s defense.” At first the Grand Duke was surprised by the question. It meant she had been paying attention to the conversations…but…what was he thinking? Of course she had been paying attention. This girl is different from the others…smarter and more aware of her surroundings. Indeed, she can be of use to me. “You mentioned training your companions in medicine, is that not so, my favorite minx?” “Yes, Your Majesty, that is so.” “That training is no longer optional. You will teach your companions to become field doctors. I will see about sending some of the castle’s other women to you. Write down an instruction plan and tell me what supplies you will need.” “Your humble serving girl will need some of the books from the Followers’ collection, Your Majesty, along with parchment and ink. Your humble serving girl will need alchemy ingredients and medical instruments. Your humble serving girl will need some dead bodies, and later she will need some live pigs for practices and a person willing to injure them.” “Yes. I will supply you with what you need. Train your sisters. Tell them that anyone who fails to learn will face the switch and the pillory. A motivated student is an attentive student, is that not so?” “Yes, Your Majesty, that is so.” ---------- The Grand Duke tasked one of his most trusted soldiers to help Silvítya gather what she would need to train the castle women as field doctors. The man was Protector Alexándrekt Buláshckt, the Royal Guard responsible for bringing her to the castle the previous summer. She felt apprehensive having to face him after the rough and condescending treatment she had endured during the first day she was with him. However, she hoped to find out what happened to her bucket and to have a source of news from the outside. She expected him to treat her in the same rude manner he had treated her before. However, Protector Buláshckt seemed completely different, addressing her with courtesy and speaking to her in a normal manner. She told him what she needed and what the items were for. He sent for a couple of horses and told her she’d be leaving the castle with him. While they waited, the concubine and the Protector discussed medicine at length, including emergency field operations. He was impressed with her knowledge upon hearing about some of the operations she performed during the summer of 1752. He was even more impressed to learn she had been a Follower of the Ancients. She was not the ignorant peasant girl that he imagined when she was taken into custody. He did something no one had ever done in her life: he apologized, asking her pardon for calling her an “idiot” and a “dumb peasant girl” the previous year. She was surprised, because no one ever apologized to her about anything. When the horses were ready, one of the castle matrons brought a red scarf and wrapped Silvítya’s hair. Although concubines were not allowed to braid their hair, it would not be acceptable to have one of the Grand Duke’s women wandering outside the castle with her hair loose. The red scarf also protected her by identifying her as a concubine and therefore as property of the Grand Duke. The matron also handed over a pair of red shoes to protect her feet. Silvítya would go out with her head covered and her feet protected, but otherwise would remain naked. The day was overcast and chilly, but to a young woman who was used to being naked, the temperature was bearable. She ignored the chill, happy to have the chance to see something besides the interior of the castle. She followed her escort to the main city market and to several alchemy shops to search for potion ingredients and other medical supplies, such as metal instruments and wood for splints. She selected several small pigs that would be used for live practices. Protector Buláshckt paid the seller to take them to the castle. Everywhere she went in the city, Silvítya had to endure the stares of everyone around her. She was not in any physical danger, but her red scarf and uncovered body subjected her to curious glances from the women and lustful stares from the men and boys. Her escort took the shortest routes possible and tried to move quickly to minimize the time she had to spend outside, but several thousand residents saw the naked concubine as she rode through the narrow streets and walked around the marketplaces. It seemed that every one of her spectators had to stare at her. She never imagined she’d actually be glad to return to the castle, but after being gawked at all day she was really looking forward to getting back. The final stop was at the Temple of the Ancients, where she would have to go to obtain cadavers. Purchasing the bodies would not be difficult: there were plenty of destitute refugee families living outside the capitol who were unable to give their dead relatives proper burials. Many desperate families would be happy to release their relatives’ corpses in exchange for having money to buy food for several weeks. Silvítya approached a Priest, who told her to kneel and wait until an Apprentice could deal with her request. After several minutes of kneeling with her face to the ground and being forced to completely expose herself to Protector Buláshckt, a pair of female Temple Apprentices dressed in ragged black seminary robes approached to take her request. By very unfortunate coincidence one of the women had been one of her fellow initiates during her year in Babáckt Yaga’s settlement. Silvítya’s former companion was totally shocked to see her in the capitol and wearing, of all things, a concubine’s scarf. The former Followers badly wanted to catch up on each other’s news, but Silvítya’s embarrassing predicament prevented them from having any meaningful conversation. Silvítya explained about purchasing cadavers and having them delivered to the castle. The Apprentice wrote down the request. They were about to part ways when she commented: “Follower Danka…I need to ask…what…I mean…what happened to you? How did you enter His Majesty’s service…as a concubine?” Tears welled up in Silvítya’s eyes, but she forced herself to respond: “Hubris, Apprentice. My soul was full of hubris and the Ancients chose to punish me. Things like this happen when hubris makes a person stupid and that person acts on her stupidity. I was a fool, with my head full of pride and foolish thoughts. If you knew what I was thinking at the time my Path in Life crossed with that of His Majesty, you would agree the punishment the Ancients gave me was just.” ---------- Silvítya set up a make-shift medical school in an empty Royal Guard barracks located in the city at the base of the hill where the castle was located. The location forced the concubines to leave the castle each day. The classes started at the beginning of April. Fortunately, spring that year had come early to the Duchy, so the weather was warm enough for the women to walk down the hill in relative comfort. They put on their red scarves and shoes and, under the escort of Protector Buláshckt and one of his squad members, cheerfully made the trek. Although their days no longer were spent in idle relaxation, they enjoyed the walks and the chance to get away from the confines of the castle. It was nice to have the chance to exercise and see the East Danube River and a portion of the city. The Grand Duke originally had planned for the concubines to conduct their medical training inside the castle, but Silvítya reminded him about the cadavers and pigs. She persuaded him to move the teaching venue when she asked: “You humble serving girl wishes to know of Your Majesty truly wants dead bodies and screaming pigs inside the Royal Household. Perhaps Your Majesty would prefer a different location?” The concubines already had received some medical training from their spokeswoman, but it was mostly related to women’s healthcare, potion-making, and disease prevention. The women now would receive training that would be totally different: treating injuries. On the first day Silvítya started the lesson by killing and dissecting a pig. The cadavers had not yet arrived, and the spokeswoman figured it would be less traumatic for her class to be used to looking at dead animals before having to deal with looking at dead humans. Silvítya wondered about the castle doctors. The Royal Household did have several doctors, but none of them had come to the class to assist with the teaching or monitor what was going on. It turned out the Grand Duke had sent the rest of his medical staff to be with his troops while they were training. There was another reason no castle doctors were present: the Grand Duke wanted the women trained according to the practices of the Followers of the Ancients, with no interference from his staff, whose training had been very different. On the second day of class, the concubines were joined by six wives of Royal Guards. The six newcomers totally ruined the day for the instructor by assuming they were superior to their naked instructor and ten naked classmates. No…that would not do. Silvítya would have to remove them from the class or force them to behave if she were to teach. The sovereign’s solution was simple: the wives would have to strip before leaving the castle and accompany the concubines as they walked in the nude down the hill. The wives would spend the entire day as naked as their classmates. The Grand Duke added two more rules to make sure there was no more friction among the students. Any student, whether she was a concubine or castle wife, would have to kneel when talking to the instructor. Also, the instructor would carry a leather switch and had the Grand Duke’s explicit authority to use it on any student causing trouble or failing to perform. The six wives were aghast the next morning when Protector Buláshckt ordered them to undress, while Silvítya tapped the switch in her hand. Their pride and arrogance vanished immediately. They huddled together and walked very slowly down the hill. Silvítya realized she had the chance to exercise her authority by demanding they uncover themselves and walk normally. After several warnings, she ordered the worst offender to place her hands on a fence. When the woman desperately looked at Protector Buláshckt, he responded: “You heard His Majesty’s orders, just as well as I did. You are commanded to obey your instructor. Disobedience merits the switch. What part of that can’t you comprehend? Now, you will place your hands on the fence and accept punishment. If you don’t, I will report your disobedience to His Majesty and he will deal with you directly.” The woman started to cry, but she reluctantly placed her hands on the fence and stuck out her bottom. Silvítya struck a hard blow across both sides. The woman shrieked and pulled away, holding her injured backside with her hands. Protector Buláshckt pulled out his sword. “Hands on the fence, bottom out. Quit dishonoring yourself with your cowardice.” Silvítya delivered four additional hard strokes. The wife shrieked and pulled away with each new welt, only to face the Royal Guard’s sword and a warning to resume her position. After the fifth stroke, Silvítya ordered all six wives to kneel and concluded with: “Now, you’ve heard your orders and you will comply with them. You will continue walking, at a normal pace, with a normal posture, and with your hands at your sides. You might as well pretend you’re concubines, because as long as you are with me, you are no better than any of your classmates. Remember, if you had just treated us with respect yesterday, none of this would be happening to you.” Silvítya could tell that Protector Buláshckt and his squad member were thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. They knew the arrogant wives and relished the sight of them being humbled by, of all people, a concubine. ---------- Silvítya realized that she had a gift for explaining things such as complicated medical procedures and operations. Her peasant background assisted her, because she felt much more comfortable demonstrating with her hands instead of just talking and pointing to pictures in her medical texts. Every lesson revolved around hands-on practice with cadavers or injured pigs; from the very first day the women were expected to get their hands dirty. The instructor had proven her willingness to use the switch with the Guards’ wives. Knowing that they would have no recourse if they misbehaved, none of the visiting women dared test their instructor again. They were afraid of Silvítya, but all they had to do was follow her instructions to the best of their ability and nothing would happen to them. Oddly, the next woman in the group to face the switch was Antonia. Silvítya’s lover did not understand that when she was instructing, the personal relationship they shared was irrelevant. Antonia had to learn field surgery just as much as any other student, but Silvítya could tell that she was taking the class for granted and not paying attention to the careful calculations needed to administer anesthesia. When it was her turn to anesthetize and operate on a pig that had been shot with two arrows and had a broken leg, Antonia totally botched the assignment. The pig died from an overdose because Antonia had improperly prepared the formulas for both the general anesthesia and the local pain-killer. Silvítya was furious, partly because a pig had been wasted and partly because by slacking off, Antonia was inadvertently challenging her authority. She ordered her student to bend over the instruction table. At first Antonia was bewildered by the command; not yet realizing the instructor was dead serious. “If that pig had been a Royal Guard, what would have happened, Sister Antonia? What would have happened?” “Well…uh…Sister…I would have been more careful…but it was just a pig…” “It was practice for reality! It was not ‘just a pig’! I can tolerate mistakes…those happen! But I will not tolerate a person who dishonors herself through negligence! That I will not tolerate! You will suffer the consequences of your negligence, you will learn from your dishonor, you will try the operation again, and the next time you will succeed! And now, you will suffer the consequences! Bend over the table, with your bottom facing the class. Hold the edge with your hands…” “Sister Silvítya…seriously…you can’t…” “Oh…you think I can’t? I believe I can, because His Majesty clearly gave me the authority to discipline you. And so…what makes you special, Sister Antonia?” Antonia’s expression reflected total shock and hurt at the instructor’s last comment. Her eyes met Silvítya’s, silently begging to be let off. You know what makes me special, she plead with her look. I love you. Doesn’t that matter? Silvítya tapped the table with her switch. No, it does not matter, she silently replied with her unyielding expression. You love me at night. You are my student during the day. You’re no different than anyone else. “You’re already facing 15 strokes for incompetence, inattention, and disobedience, Sister Antonia. If I need to tie you, I will make it 25. Do as I say. Bend over and hold the edge.” Silvítya banged the table with her switch. Tears welled up in Antonia’s eyes. She couldn’t believe the person she most loved could do this to her. Trembling, she bent over the table, with her face towards the wall and her bottom in clear view of 15 classmates and two Royal Guards. Silvítya faced her task with very conflicted thoughts. She was furious about the wasted pig, but even more angry that Antonia had placed her in such a difficult situation. Everyone knew that Antonia was the person closest to Silvítya. Therefore, the students, especially the six military wives, were carefully watching to see how their instructor would handle her. Silvítya knew she would have to be harsh with her lover if she wanted the others to take her seriously. It was an opportunity to make everyone, including Antonia, understand she was not about to show any favoritism. Silvítya also knew her relationship with Antonia would be forever changed. Until that moment, there had been nothing but tenderness between the two women. Silvítya knew that Antonia would be devastated for days, and that it was very possible the relationship would end. Silvítya did not want to lose her lover, but she couldn’t jeopardize her standing with the Grand Duke or her class. Silvítya felt something else as she rubbed the switch over her lover’s trembling bottom. She was aroused. She very surprised and felt guilty about it, but she realized she was becoming wet between her legs. Silvítya struck hard with a severe blow that was even more severe than the first stroke she gave to the guard’s wife. Antonia cried out from the shock of the blow. Her hands immediately covered her injured bottom. Silvítya shouted: “Lie down, Sister Antonia, and do not try covering yourself again! If you dare disobey me a second time, I will hit you 25 times. Now, is that what you want?” Antonia sobbed: “No Sister.” “The lie down. Face forward, hands on the table, feet on the floor, legs spread. DO IT!” Shaking with fear, hurt, and humiliation, Antonia complied. She sobbed throughout the rest of the punishment, but did not dare move. Silvítya struck, waited for each welt to rise so she could clearly see it and avoid crossing it, and struck again. Although she was not used to wielding the switch, she had witnessed enough punishments in Sebérnekt Ris to know how they needed to be carried out. After finishing with the 15th stroke, the instructor ordered Antonia to stand in front of the class, with her hands on the wall and her back arched to display the darkening welts on her punished bottom. The girl’s body shook with sobs. Fortunately, she did not have to stay in that position for very long, because the day was almost over. Silvítya ordered the other students to clean the room and carve up the dead pig so the meat could be delivered to the castle’s main kitchen. As they went about their duties, the students constantly glanced at Antonia’s trembling bottom, watching as the welts grew darker. Antonia’s face was still streaked with tears as the group trudged up the hill towards the castle. When the concubines bathed for the night, Antonia sat silently in the water, soaking her injured bottom. Silvítya did not approach her, but some of the other women tried to comfort her. Silvítya slept alone that night. Antonia slept in her own bed. Antonia did not speak to Silvítya for three days. During that time she practiced preparing anesthesia and making sure the measurements were correct. When Silvítya felt she was ready for another hands-on test, she managed to sedate and successfully operate on the injured pig. The second animal survived its ordeal. That night, Antonia shyly returned to Silvítya’s bedchamber. She didn’t say anything, but she allowed Silvítya to take her in her arms and comfort her in bed. Silvítya sat on her bed and pulled Antonia over her thighs so she could gently caress the bruises and massage her still-tender backside. Antonia greatly enjoyed lying across her lover’s lap with her hand gently caressing her bottom. The submissive position became part of their nightly routine: Antonia lying across Silvítya’s lap and enjoying having her bottom gently traced with her lover’s fingertips and massaged. Silvítya enjoyed the new routine as well. As much as punishing Antonia had excited her, she hoped she’d never have to mark those lovely bottom-cheeks a second time. The two women never spoke about the discipline incident. On the surface it appeared their relationship had returned to normal. However, Antonia’s personality changed: she became quieter and even more submissive than she had been before. During their remaining time together, she was careful to obey Silvítya and comply with anything she wanted. Silvítya realized she could have converted Antonia into her personal servant had she so desired. She wanted to talk to her lover about the switching, but that conversation never happened. ---------- Throughout the late spring, the Grand Duke kept Silvítya in his bed chamber to share his bath, after he had satisfied himself with his other concubines and she had finished her medical instruction for the day. He spent countless hours with his favorite servant, talking about the Duchy’s military dilemma and possible options. He really was not talking to her at all: he was just thinking out loud and needed another person in the room; one who was presumably harmless, to allow his mind to work through the thinking process. It indeed was true that she would never do anything to counter his plans or betray him. She was his subject after-all but, more importantly, she was a Danubian who wanted her nation and her people to survive. It sounded like the Lord of the Red Moon was a very frightening enemy. It was unlikely anyone in the castle, not even the concubines, would be spared if the Army of the Moon took over Danúbikt Móskt. She would do whatever she could to assist her ruler. As flawed a man as he might be, the Grand Duke was the Duchy’s only hope for surviving the looming crisis. About two weeks after she punished Antonia, Silvítya spent a normal evening with the Grand Duke, first satisfying him sexually in the company of two other concubines, and then sitting alone with him in his bath. She massaged his back and legs. He became hard and ordered her to bend over the side of the bath so he could take her from behind. Then she dried him off and he took her to his bed so she could give him a final massage for the night. The ruler was not able to relax. He suddenly sat up and turned to his servant: “I have a question and you will answer. When you fled from the mountains and went to Sebérnekt Ris, what exactly happened to the Followers’ settlement? I understand that it exploded, at a great cost to the True Believers I believe, but I need to know the details of how that happened. How exactly did the settlement explode? How did your Elders prepare for it?” Silvítya told her master what she knew, which was frustratingly little. She believed there must have been a series of tubes connecting holes in the ground with hollowed-out spaces in the buildings that contained musket powder. The Grand Duke countered that musket powder could not have made such violent explosions: it had to be something else, or at least special musket powder that had somehow been altered to produce an enhanced detonation. “I am commanding you to figure out how those explosions were created. I have settled on a plan to defend the Duchy, but that plan depends on you finding out how your Elders managed to create those blasts. I will give you free access to the papers I’ve taken from the Cult and anything else you need, but you absolutely have to find that formula and replicate it. And the fuses as well. I need to know how those fuses were created. Your life depends on it. The Duchy’s life depends on it. And if you need further convincing, you might consider what the Lord of the Red Moon would do to Servant Antonia, if he ever gets his hands on her.” Silvítya felt sick to her stomach. So, the Grand Duke did know about her relationship with Antonia. However, that didn’t matter. What mattered was he had touched on the one person Silvítya would do anything to protect. He couldn’t have chosen a better way to motivate her to figure out the mystery of the Followers’ explosive powder and how to replicate it. “Yes, Your Majesty. To hear is to obey.” Silvítya spent an entire afternoon of frantic searching in the secret annex of the Royal Library. She suspected the formula would be written in archaic Danubian in Babáckt Yaga’s coded script, which narrowed her quest considerably. Sure enough, after sunset she found what she was looking for, a diagram of the settlement with coded images of the fuse lines. A few minutes later she found the formula for making the fuses and waterproofing them. She later found several versions of the explosives recipe, all written in archaic Danubian. She realized the variations were designed to focus blasts depending on where they were located and what needed to be blown up. Although she already had what she needed, she continued searching to see if there was anything else that could be useful to the Royal Army. She was rewarded by finding the recipe for making the Followers’ explosive goose eggs. Silvítya spent the next several days in the Grand Duke’s study, dictating Babáckt Yaga’s coded script into modern Danubian while he wrote down the formulas in his own hand. Unknowingly, she was providing him with yet more inventions he would eventually claim credit for. Upon assuring himself the formulas were accurate and would provide the explosions he needed, he would burn Babáckt Yaga’s texts and retain only what was in his handwriting. Even in an hour of grave danger, the ruler’s thoughts never strayed from shameless plagiarism. ---------- The Royal Army of the Grand Duchy of Upper Danubia was at full strength by the middle of May. The Austrian muskets had arrived, so the men spent countless hours practicing with their new weapons. The cavalry units rode around the countryside to the east of the capitol practicing maneuvers and leading enemy horsemen into ambushes and traps. Meanwhile, traditional archers with crossbows practiced around the buildings of the capitol, which was something the men thought was very strange. Wouldn’t it make more sense to go into the forest and practice there, since that was the place from which the Duchy had always been defended? The Grand Duke vanished for a couple of days with several alchemists and explosives experts. There were a series of very loud explosions that terrorized local villagers and could be heard as muffled booms in the capitol. The ruler returned, satisfied that his experimental new explosives and ingenious fuses had worked exactly as he had hoped. His chemists immediately set to work creating wagons-full of the new explosives, countless fathoms of fuse line, and large containers shaped like bowls. The mood of the troops improved when rumors spread that the Grand Duke had invented a secret weapon and was planning to use it in the upcoming campaign. One of the Grand Duke’s final tasks before starting the campaign was to pick his most trusted medical team. Yes, he had the castle medics and field doctors, but now he also had 17 women with knowledge of the practices of the Followers of the Ancients. He decided to split the women. The majority of the concubines would stay behind in the castle to take care of any needs arising in the Royal Household, while four military wives and three concubines would accompany the Royal Army. His favorite concubine would lead the group. Fortunately for Silvítya’s peace of mind, Antonia was among those remaining behind at the castle. ---------- The Grand Duke and his top generals received blessings from the Grand Prophet of the Danubian Church in the Great Temple of the Ancients on the final day of May in 1754. Silvítya and her two fellow concubines were among the Royal entourage, dressed in lavender dresses and wearing the red headscarves that marked them as the Grand Duke’s women. It felt strange to be wearing clothing again after having spent nearly a year in the nude. It was also strange to watch the Grand Duke kneeling to receive a benediction. She knew he was not the least bit religious, but he had to put on a performance to satisfy his soldiers and the people of the capitol. Immediately after the blessing, the Duke’s men would start their journey south. Many of the men, perhaps most of them, perhaps all of them, would never see the capitol again. The Grand Duke had received information the Lord of the Red Moon had assembled his army and was preparing to move northward. The enemy had received assurances from other European countries that no one would send aid to the Duchy. Throughout the rest of Europe, rulers and advisors had written-off the Grand Duchy of Upper Danubia. Within a few weeks the country would cease to exist and the rest of Europe could move forward with grand international plans to attack the Ottoman Empire. The Duchy was looked upon as a stone in the road that needed to be kicked aside. The Grand Duke had to give a speech: everyone expected that from him. However, he did not want the world to remember him for bombastic words of victory, should that victory elude him. He gave a very short statement: “Today we march: tomorrow we will discover where our Paths in Life will lead us, and how much longer our Paths will continue. I do not know our fate, anymore than any other soul in this city would know our fate. We will either lose and die by our enemy’s hand, or we will win and return. The Creator and the Ancients will make that decision.” The Grand Duke looked around at his subjects and concluded: “I will not see any of you again if we are not victorious. My Path in Life is the same as the Duchy’s Path in Life. Without the Duchy and the men who are defending it, I am nothing. I will show my face to this city only when I think the Duchy’s fate is secure. So…for those of you who remain behind, I ask that you pray for us, and you pray that I, and the men standing with me, will once again see our fair land. When that moment comes, it will be a happy one for all of us.” There was no cheering, because the Duchy’s citizens knew how serious their situation had become. Instead, as the Grand Duke and his entourage departed, the entire city sang an ancient ballad of farewell. It was the same song the residents of the capitol sang in 1531, when King Vladik the Defender left the city for the last time in his life, to fight his final battle against the invading Ottomans.