Chapter 44

Nasari opened her eyes and looked around the tiny, sparsely furnished room that had been her home for the past five years. Five years, had it really been that long since the old King's death? Five years that she had lived in this palace, this prison; forced to bow to the person that was responsible for the King's death, as well as other tragedies. More importantly, it had been five years since she was separated from her children. By now, Leorin, her little kitten had reached his adolescent years and Risha? Why she was a fully grown woman by now, no doubt turning heads wherever she went.
Closing her eyes, Nasari tried to conjure up an image of her children, not as they had looked when she last saw them, but as she imagined that they looked now.

My darling children, Nasari thought. Will I ever see you again?

As the tears began to roll down her eyes, Nasari longed for someone to comfort her, but who? She was all alone in the room; Miranda having spent yet another night in the dragon's lair. What about Jeraddin? Sadly, while her husband was frequently summoned to the palace, the last time Nasari had been able to spend any time alone with him had been during the feast celebrating the victory over and subjugation of Frigonia. A feast that Nasari, being the wife of the guest of honor, had been allowed to attend.

She could still remember that day vividly: After he had managed to get away from his horde of admirers, she and Jeraddin had wandered through the palace-garden, reminiscing about happier times. Eventually, they had ended up making love, in this very room. An act which had culminated with Nasari whispering something in Jeraddin's ear.

"You are sure?" He had asked, surprise in his voice. "Last time I wanted to try it, you refused."

"That was ten years ago, dear" Nasari had replied. "This time, I am willing."

She positioned herself on all four, tail raised.

"Just promise me that you'll be gentle."

"Of course" Jeraddin assured her. "When have I ever not been?"

Despite Jeraddin going in as gently as he could, the pain, at first had been almost unbearable. Nasari recalled how her claws had dug into the pillow and a sound, the off-spring of a scream and a moan had erupted from her throat as her husband took her the way one man takes another.

Gradually, however, the pain had subsided and was replaced with feelings of pleasure, as was always the case when she felt her beloved lynx inside her.
Afterwards, the two of them had cuddled and Nasari had fallen asleep with her head resting on her husband's broad chest.

Nasari's reminiscing awoke deep-seated desires in her.She reached down between her legs with her right paw, while its sister massaged her breast. She was on the verge of climax, when there was a knock on the door and a female voice cried out from the other side:

"Nasari, the Queen just woke up. She wants you to bring her her breakfast."

It was with great reluctance that Nasari got out of bed.

*****

The Sound of singing combined with splashing water reached Nasari's ears as she entered the Royal apartments. Apparently, the Queen was in her bath, was Miranda with her? Shaking of that unpleasant thought, Nasari put the silver-tray with the Queen's breakfast down on a nearby table. As an act of rebellion, she spat into a jug containing cream. A small act to be sure, but nonetheless it brought Nasari some satisfaction.

Enjoy your breakfast, Your Majesty, she thought with a bitter smile on her face.

"Good morning" a voice chirped behind her.

Nasari, who had not been prepared, almost jumped out of her skin.

"Damn it Miranda!" She swore, her heart pounding. "You really gave me a start. Don't go sneak up on people like that!"

"Sorry" Miranda apologized. "So, did you sleep well?"

"Well enough, I suppose" Nasari replied, her shoulders moving up towards her whiskers. "You?"

"What little sleep I got" Miranda yawned. "Tonight, Her Nibs was quite insa..."

"Spare me" Nasari interrupted brusquely. "I really don't want to know."

"Someone's being a real grumpy cat this morning" Miranda remarked teasingly poking Nasari's cheek with her index finger. "Cheer up, maybe this evening, the Queen will chose someone else to share her bed and then, I'll be all yours."

"She hasn't for the past five evenings" Nasari sulked, crossing her arms and glaring at the bathroom door.

"Well, you should know the Queen's ways by now: Every once in a while, she only wants to eat one particular type of food. Don't worry, it won't be long before she starts craving some variety in her diet."

"I suppose..."

"Besides" Miranda continued, wrapping her arms around Nasari's waist. "Being with the Queen is just one of my duties. Being with you is a pleasure."

Nasari could feel her cheeks heat up. She reached down and caressed Miranda's butt. The Two of them were just about to kiss, when they heard the sound of the Queen getting out of the bath.

Quick as lightning, the raccoon and the cat pulled away from each other and stood with their paws crossed demurely over their knees and their eyes aimed at the carpet.
The Door to the bathroom opened and Vinoli's monarch appeared, wearing a dark-blue bathrobe.

A chorus of "Good Morning Your Majesty" greeted Argath as she made her way across the floor. The Queen did not return the greeting in words, but gave a small nod to show that she acknowledged it. She then sat down by the table, the chair groaning slightly under her weight.

Shifting slightly in her seat, Argath motioned to Nasari that she could uncover the plates lined up on the table. Nasari did and as the aroma from the dishes filled her nostrils, she became acutely aware that she had not had breakfast yet and would not have until the Queen had finished hers. Not that Nasari would even consider begging Argath for a morsel. No, she'd rather go hungry.

Her tongue sweeping across her lips, the Queen began to dig into her breakfast, washing it down with mugs of hot tea, which Miranda stood by ready to refill at a moment's notice. Having finished the final dumpling, Argath was just about to pour cream over a plate of strawberries when there was a knock on the door.
The Queen put the jug down and stared at the door in surprise. Then, she nodded to Nasari to open it.

"What is it, Chamberlain?" She asked, addressing the figure bowing to her in the doorway. "You know that We do not appreciate being disturbed during Our meals."

"A thousand apologies, Your Majesty" said the chamberlain while wiping his brow with a lace handkerchief. "There's a foreigner here who demands a private audience."

"Tell them to make an appointment with Our secretary like everybody else" Argath replied. She waved her hand dismissively while turning her attention back to the strawberries.

In that moment a voice cried out for her to wait and to the surprise of everyone, another person pushed past the Chamberlain.

Three pair of eyes stared in astonishment at the stranger before them: He was wearing a dusty brown cloak with a hood which partially concealed his features. Argath was the first to regain her senses:

Guards!" She called out.

Immediately, as though they had been summoned by a magic, two rhinoceros guards appeared and seized the stranger by his shoulders.

"Take this wretch who has disturbed Us outside and whip the fur of his back", the Queen commanded.

"Your Majesty, wait!" The Stranger implored. "I know that I committed grievous offence, intruding upon you like this. However, there are matters I must discuss with you and every second counts."

The Stranger's words succeeded in arousing Argath's curiosity. She ordered the guards to stand down.

"Very well" she said. "Tell us your story, but first; remove that hood so we may see your face clearly."

The Stranger pulled down his hood, revealing himself to be a fennec, with youthful and quite handsome features.

"Your Majesty" he said. "I know my appearance at the moment makes what I am about to tell you next seem fantastic, but I am as a matter of fact a colleague of yours. You see before you the King of Guanaca."

Chapter 43

Three years had gone by since the death of King Sharan and the ascendance of his daughter to the Vinolian throne. A lot of things had changed in how the country was run and by now, it had been abundantly clear to the people of Vinoli that the new boss was not, in fact, the same as the old boss:

Following their decisive victory against their old rival Frigonia, the nation as a whole was riding high on a wave of what was either patriotism, or jingoism, depending on who you asked. Naturally, the recently crowned Queen was not slow at taking advantage of this.
Soon, posters began to appear all over the capital and later in every village and hamlet in the Kingdom. They were skillfully drawn posters of propaganda, depicting a tall, broad-shouldered figure wearing a shining armor with a golden V emblazoned on it and wielding a sword gainst a horde of grotesque, evil-looking creatures, some of which could be recognized by their clothing as being representative of certain other nations. Towering above all this was the Queen herself, gazing sternly at the horde,while placing a motherly hand on the figure's shoulder.

Other posters with similar motives followed suit, but the new propaganda machine did not stop there. Soon, every piece of art made in the kingdom, every poem, play and song that was written and performed, seemed to share the same goal: To prove Vinoli's superiority over all other nations and praise the benevolence and wisdom of its sovereign.
It must be said that this campaign worked extremely well: Many of the citizens of Vinoli had always held the opinion that theirs was a chosen nation, destined to rule the World and enthusiastically threw themselves behind the new regime's policies.

Not everyone was in agreement though; there were those who still honored the words of the old King, words by which their nation had lived for centuries. Namely, that every country had the right to self-government and that while their kingdom would stand against oppression where ever it could be found, it should never seek to impose its will on any sovereign nation.

Those who held on to this belief, were referred to as Sharanists and they clashed frequently with their rivals, referred to as either the Royalists or Argathanians. It should be mentioned that both sides called themselves the True Vinolians.

This rivalry came to an abrupt and violent end one day, on the second year of the new Queen's reign. It came in the form of a bomb, which exploded in an apartment block, killing over a hundred people and wounding another sixty.

This catastrophe shook the people of Vinoli to their core: Never had something like this occurred in their country. True, last year the oldest parts of the capital had mysteriously burned down, but that had been ruled an accident. This was different though; there could be no talk of accidents in this case: Whoever had put the bomb in the building had done so deliberately.

The Queen put Lorenzo in charge of the investigation and gave him carte blanche to use whatever means necessary in order to bring the perpetrators to justice. It did not take long for the fox to find an important lead; it turned out that among the people living in the building was a schnauzer named Merken. This Merken was an outspoken Royalist and he could often be seen in the taverns, or the square, denouncing the Sharanists with passionate and venomous speeches, that fanned the flames of hatred and had lead to increased violence between the two groups.

Using the means at his disposal, Lorenzo set about rounding up the most vocal Sharanists and had them brought to the city jail for interrogation. No-one knows what happened during the interrogation, but after two days, one of the suspects broke and confessed that he and two others had made the bomb, but that they had never intended to cause such a blood bath.

"The Person who gave us the instructions for how to build the bomb assured us that it would only take out Merken and whoever was with him at the time", one of them said.

"Oh? And who gave you these instructions?" Lorenzo asked, staring at them with his one eye.

All three replied that they did not know; the person in question had approached them wearing a hood that concealed their face and gloves, so it was impossible for them to tell what species they belonged to.
The trial went by quickly. Despite the best efforts of their attorney, the three terrorists were sentenced
to be executed in the town square the next day. On the day of the execution, the square was packed with people and as the wagon with the condemned men passed by, the crowd pelted them with insults, stones and rotten fruit.
Pale and covered in dirt and bruises, the three men were led up the scaffold and were made to kneel.

"Any last words?" The Executioner asked, his voice came muffled through his black hood.

The Three looked out at the crowd and shook their heads; what could they possibly say? That they were sorry? That they had not meant for so many to die? Somehow, it seemed unlikely that the crowd would care.
The Signal was given, the executioner raised his ax and brought it down again. He repeated this action two more times and then, it was over.

****

Two nights after the execution, a lone figure could be seen entering the harbor. The Figure, a marten, glanced around furtively, then reached into his coat-pocket and took out a small flask.
He then proceeded to uncork the flask and pour its contents down his throat.
"Aren't you going to offer me any?" A high-pitched voice asked.

Immediately, the marten turned around and found himself face to face with a female rat, dressed in black and wearing her hair in a bun. Her name was Rachel and she was one of the three leaders of the most powerful criminal gang in the city, if not the whole country.

"I upheld my end of our deal" said the marten, tossing the empty flask aside. "Time for you to uphold yours."

"I see that the liquor has made you bold", Rachel said. She smiled,  her front-teeth gleaming in the moonlight. Reaching down her modest cleavage, she took out a rolled-up parchment.

"Here you go" she said, tossing the parchment at the ground, in front of the marten's feet . "Your debts are now cancelled. Oh, and here's a bonus for your hard work:"

As the marten bent down to pick up the parchment, a pouch landed near it.

"Enough money for you to start a new life; the person I've been representing wanted you to have it"

"What about a ship?" The Marten asked, letting the pouch disappear into his coat pocket. "Did you find a ship that can get me out of here?"

"Indeed and its captained by someone for whom discretion is a byword. Ah, here he is now:"

Once again, the marten turned around and this time, found himself looking up at a tiger, sporting a captain's uniform.

"Well met, young fellow" the tiger said jovially. "My name is Captain Cerewan. The Lady here has explained everything, my ship is at your disposal.."

"Very well, Captain" said the marten. "Let us go, I am anxious to get aboard your ship immediately."

"Of course, the passenger's word is law. This way."

Well, Rachel thought, as she watched the two men leave. That's that, time to meet up with Lorenzo and tell him that everything has been taken care of.

With that, the female crime lord turned around and walked away, disappearing into the night.

A few days after, the citizens of Vinoli woke up to find that a new law had been declared in their country. From now on, any criticism of the Vinolian Government, or its Sovereign, no matter what form it was expressed in, would be considered an act of treason and dealt with accordingly.