Of Crowns, Thorns, and Concubines

The two girls pad north toward the Outer Gate of the Royal Enclosure. Six Royal Guards are stationed outside, commanded by the irascible Captain Nar’ga. Corelya scowls as the gruff warrior steps forward to accost them. “I require the day’s password, my Lady!” Gor’ya gapes at the brute. “I beg your pardon, Captain Nar’ga? I passed through a while ago. You saw me leave?” Nar’ga shrugged apologetically. “This isn’t about you, my Lady. I have orders from Commander Zar’cha. There has been too much informality of late” Nar’ga seemed affronted by such scandalous dereliction. He glanced at the blonde girl, then back at Gor’ya. “We can’t permit all manner of strays to slink through these gates!” Gor’ya gasped. Corelya’s eyes gleam with hatred. “I am surprised they let a flea-bag like you through the piquet-line? You poxed little monkey!” she hissed. “Corelya!” Gor’ya remonstrated. Nar’ga’s eyes blaze with fury. His hand moves to the sword at his left side. “Care to repeat that, whore?” Corelya’s left hand hovers at the hilt of her own sword, fastened at her right. “Don’t use words you can’t even spell!” she snorted derisively. “Stop this!” Gor’ya bridled. “Queen Illir’ya has commanded Corelya to attend her. That should be enough for you, Captain Nar’ga” she clipped icily. “Get out of my way!” Nar’ga smiles tightly and steps to one side. “Of course, my Lady” he replied woodenly. “Open the gates!” The gates open and Gor’ya steps past without a further glance at Nar’ga. Corelya entreats the skulking brute to a mocking smile and follows Gor’ya through. As she passes Nar’ga, he turns to her and whispers malevolently. “You’ll be polishing peckers with that mouth before the end of the thaw!” “I wouldn’t want to make you a pauper, would I?” Corelya sneered. The rest of the Guards laugh raucously. Gor’ya turns and eyes the pair distastefully. “Pack this in! The pair of you!” ****** Queen Illir’ya reaches for a flagon and pours two goblets of Hellenic red. Corelya sits on a cushioned chair, directly opposite Her Majesty, with her obligatory goblet of plum wodki. Gor’ya sits to her right. Illir’ya appears tired and perturbed. She nods to the blonde child. “Polydarias was an especially vile little scrote. I suspect there are few who will mourn him” Corelya noted irreverently. “You had established his ties to the two brothers, Galaxanthes and Iscaeris?” Illir’ya probed. “He appears to have financed the entire misadventure. Polydarias has significant interests in the apothecary trade in Chersonesus” Corelya replied. “Not to mention wine and women?” Illir’ya ventured. “His interests in the sex trade are limited, at least in Chersonesus. There is a rumour he had plans for a string of Pleasure Gardens in Olbia.” “Which brings us to the Gor’ba?” Illir’ya raised an eyebrow. “As all things must” Gor’ya quipped. Illir’ya sighed despondently and sipped her wine. She reclined in her chair and gazed reflectively at the two girls sat opposite. “I once believed that mercantile endeavour might liberate the soul above the beast?” “It is a noble enough principle, Your Majesty” Gor’ya ventured. “I was young and naïve. It is all too clear the beast can never be tamed” Illir’ya sighed sadly. “The beast has insatiable desires. There are always those who will rise to serve them” Corelya stated evenly. Illir’ya eyed the blonde child searchingly. “You consider the Gor’ba to be the most likely perpetrators of both outrages?” “We cannot ignore these witness statements. The same girl appears to be involved in the slayings of Daecoris and Polydarias.” “I want her found and ended. Do we understand one another?” Corelya blinks. She reaches for her goblet and sips her wodki. “We don’t even know where to begin searching for her. I think it likely she has already fled Chersonesus.” “Fled back to Olbia?” Illir’ya ventured. “That would be a safe presumption. She would be a fool not to go to ground, now she is a fugitive from justice in two jurisdictions.” Illir’ya scowls. She drains her goblet and replenishes it. Gor’ya has barely touched her wine. She eyes the young Queen closely, almost as if she were trying to read her thoughts before offering Counsel. “Chersonesus may still be the most sensible place to commence our search?” Gor’ya proposed. Corelya glanced quickly at the ground. Gor’ya blinked. Illir’ya scowled. “Spit it out, Corelya?” “If the Gor’ba were responsible for both killings, there is little to be gained from snooping around Chersonesus. I doubt we would make much progress in Olbia, either?” Illir’ya’s pale blue eyes flash with anger. “We simply wait for her to re-surface? That is not a course I am happy to countenance.” Corelya rubs her eyes tiredly. It has been a long day. “I understand, Your Majesty. And yet, for the present, the Gor’ba has the upper hand.” “You think we have seen the last of her?” Gor’ya did not seem convinced. “The Gor’ba has procured an effective lethal asset. She is far too valuable to be allowed to lay idle” Corelya stated firmly. “She will strike again, and soon!” “That is not a comforting thought” Gor’ya sighed sadly. “There must surely be something we can do?” “I have contacts in the east that may know something of our mysterious child?” Corelya ventured. “Seek them out! That is my command” the Queen said coldly.