The Ruling Queen Read online

  The plan was simple, as were most of Vasilis’s best plans. One of the men, posing as a wealthy merchant, went up to the guards on duty, and asked how conditions were in the forest. While the guards were distracted, Vasilis and two other men would circle around to the back of the guardhouse. One man would keep watch, while Vasilis and the other climbed to a second story window. Having played among Achlysian guardhouses as a boy, Vasilis knew how to climb their walls, and how to reach certain rooms, without using the door.

  He reached the room he wanted, which was thankfully unoccupied, and then began carefully pulling up some of the floorboards. Most guardhouses had stone separating the floors, but some in Achlys didn’t. It was a failing Vasilis’s father had begun to fix, but hadn’t lived long enough to complete. Sadly, it was a contributing factor in Achlys’s fall. But it was a useful flaw now. Nikolos had to wait for the problem to be fixed, and Vasilis took advantage of it.

  Vasilis was soon down in the saferoom, and was lifting gold bars up to his associate. The gold was then passed to the man who was on watch. The operation went off without a hitch, and Vasilis even had time to put the floorboards back. The group then disappeared back into the woods. Their load was so small, they didn’t even need a wagon to carry it all. Yes, Vasilis knew he was capable of pulling something like this off. If only retaking Achlys and Oreias could be so easy.

  Chapter 25

  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

  ~ James 4:7

  Roxanna wasn’t as pleased to see Vasilis as he probably would have liked. In truth, she wasn’t happy to see him at all. The fact he had succeeded in stealing away the gold, without anyone noticing, proved to her he was capable of helping her regain her kingdom and Achlys. It was his unwillingness to pay better attention, that was the cause of his troubles. Therefore, when she saw the gold for herself, she glowered and slipped away without saying a word. She knew her ill humor would not be well received. Vasilis was too well liked for the Lystra Gang to do anything other than celebrate. Even her own people would be reluctant to give her observation its due. They too had fallen under the spell of his charming personality.

  Therefore, it was with growing anger that Roxanna went into the nearby forest. She didn’t go too far. She wasn’t crazy enough to abandon the shelter of the camp completely, for she could still see the tents through the trees. But she went far enough away that she was likely to be left alone. Unless someone was actively searching for her, she could brood in peace.

  But as it turned out, she wasn’t entirely alone. The noblewoman from before was there too, on the hunt for some berries that grew nearby. Roxanna was surprised to see her, since the gang had moved several times since they first met. The lady was wearing red again, but Roxanna didn’t miss the fact that her clothes were still of better quality than even Roxanna’s own. Roxanna wondered how she obtained such garments.

  “Oh, you did not want to participate in the celebration?” asked the lady.

  “What is there to celebrate?” remarked Roxanna, regretting how peevish she sounded, but unable to help it. “It proves he is capable of mounting a good offense, of retaking what is his and mine, but he chooses not to. His efforts today might have been put to better use, had he focused them in the right place.”

  The lady nodded sympathetically.

  “Yes, it is a pity that he is unwilling to do as he ought,” she said. “You are correct in believing that he is capable of retaking both Oreias and Achlys if he chose. Many people are not wise enough to see it, and sympathize with him instead.”

  “Yes, he gets by on charisma rather than study,” said Roxanna scornfully.

  Roxanna knew she wasn’t exactly charismatic. While well aware that she was gifted in the art of statecraft, she didn’t have the relaxed way of making people like her that Vasilis did. It irked her sometimes, for she felt she was the better leader of the two of them. But she had to wait for people to become fond of her. Vasilis was likeable immediately. What really angered Roxanna was that at times, she noticed that she too seemed to fall under his spell, but she would quickly shake it off. Her mind was too keen to fall for such trifles for long.

  “Indeed,” agreed the lady. “But as I told you before, there are other ways of regaining your kingdom, so that you do not have to rely on the lazybones. Have you given it much thought?”

  “I have,” replied Roxanna. “But I still do not see where this prince would come from. There are no other royals nearby who could help me. The Kalarian Empire has made sure of that. The only reason Oreias and Achlys remained free for as long as they did, was because of the wisdom of my father, and the military prowess of King Vasilis. Once that Vasilis’s son took over, the counties began falling like dominoes. Even if my father had lived longer, I doubt Oreias would have remained independent. Anyone who has studied my actions would see this.”

  “No, you did everything you could to protect your own, and for that, you should be praised,” said the lady. “Even Emperor Nikolos cannot fault you for the steps you took. It was Crown Prince Vasilis who caused all the problems.”

  Roxanna wondered at the woman’s strange tone when she mentioned King Vasilis’s oldest son. It was almost as if she was trying to sound bitter, when she really wasn’t.

  “Therefore, I do not see where this other prince would come from,” said Roxanna. “Unless there is another gang with a noble leader nearby, I don’t really have any other options at the moment. The best I can hope for is that either my own situation improves, or Nikolos grows easy as time passes. Either way, it will be some time before I can act, and I fear that the longer Oreias is in Nikolos’s clutches, the harder it will be to free it.”

  “Very true,” said the woman, “and there is no chance any of Nikolos’s own nobles would be willing to help you. Of that, you may be certain. He keeps them in line. But you still seem to be missing the obvious solution.”

  “And what might that be?’ asked Roxanna impatiently. She hated when people accused her of being dense.

  But the old lady shook her head and smiled.

  “You are a clever girl,” she said. “You can figure it out. Just consider the unconventional, what other people wouldn’t see as a choice.”

  Before Roxanna could say more, the lady disappeared into the woods again. Roxanna starred after her with a look that might have been considered a pout. But there was no bringing her back. Roxanna didn’t even know where the lady had come from in the first place.

  It was then that Roxanna noticed how dark the forest was growing. She hurried back to the camp, but sought the seclusion of her tent. She was still in no humor to see the joyous faces of Vasilis’s followers. The old lady had at least confirmed Roxanna’s opinion that they were being duped.

  Chapter 26

  The way of the slothful man is as an hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain.

  ~ Proverbs 15:19

  Vasilis didn’t know what to make of Roxanna’s behavior. Normally, everyone in the camp, especially the women, were happy when he came back from a successful raid. Whatever he obtained would provide for better living conditions. Even if he brought back very little by way of money, he always contrived to bring back extra food, cloth, or anything really, that would make life in the camp easier.

  But Roxanna seemed to be avoiding him. She stayed in her tent, only occasionally venturing out into the woods. He had to actually summon her, to see her in anything other than passing. He wanted her to decide how the gold should be spent, since her advice had proven valuable in such instances. She was better at maintaining a community than he was, when she wasn’t micromanaging that is. In this instance, some of her suggestions were good, but they showed she still wanted to control everything. Estella and Theodoros had to soften some of her ideas, so the Lystra Gang could remain in comfort.

  Surprisingly, Roxanna let the matter go without much fuss. Perhaps she had realized the error of her actions, and was willing to defer to o
thers. In truth, she still had plenty to contribute. While Theodoros and Estella were good at identifying the needs of different parts of the camp, Roxanna was better at making decisions for the whole. Not everything that was wanted could be had, since resources were limited. Theodoros and Estella focused on detail, while Roxanna saw the big picture.

  But no, it didn’t seem that Roxanna’s better nature was coming out. Instead, she seemed distracted. Whenever Vasilis watched her unobserved, she seemed deep in thought, as if trying to figure out an important mystery.

  Vasilis shook his head, when a sensible reason for her behavior finally occurred to him. She was still trying to figure out how to regain her kingdom. She still hadn’t accepted that once it had fallen into Nikolos’s hands, there was no way to get it back. Of course, it would be hard, even painful for her accept this inevitability. She was a proud woman after all, prouder than he had ever been. But she would have to come to accept reality eventually. Life was much easier when one came to accept its inevitabilities instead of fighting them. Vasilis doubted he would have fared so well in his current situation, had he not accepted that his loss of position and prestige, were a fact of life. While some might call him careless, and even lazy, they were miserable. Vasilis wasn’t. It was a positive trait in himself that he recognized. But Roxanna, in her unwillingness to give up, didn’t see things the same way.

  Vasilis considered with some comfort, that no matter what life threw at him, he would still be happier than most. But it wasn’t wise to dwell on such things during a scouting mission. He had moved camp again, and was looking for new targets to raid. He needed to be focusing on what was in front of him, watching for threats and opportunities. With the success of the last robbery, he was eager to gain more. Normally, he would have waited until more of the gold had been spent. But he felt the need to obtain more. He excused himself by saying with the addition of Roxanna and her retinue, extra funds were needed. But deep down, he sometimes wondered if he just trying to impress Roxanna.

  He brought Bedros along this time. He felt it was wise to include the Oreiasan soldier as often as possible. Bedros was Roxanna’s military advisor in addition to her bodyguard. Roxanna relied on his observations when she couldn’t see a situation for herself. By ensuring that Bedros’s information was up to date, Vasilis hoped to avoid the disaster of Roxanna and her party being captured again by the Kalarians. After that incident, Vasilis had noticed Roxanna placed more weight in Bedros’s opinion than she used to.

  They went to one of the local taverns, the one nearest the outskirts of the town. The news of valuable shipments was most likely to be fresh here, and the danger lowest. They then bought their drinks, and made small talk with the patrons, but chiefly listened to what was being said. There was no need to ask pointed questions. They usually only had to ask if there was any interesting news. Then several of the loudest customers, who liked to listen to the sound of their own voices, would launch into a narrative about what had happened since the gang had last visited. Though these men didn’t know who Vasilis was, they did recognize him, and took him to be travelling tradesmen of some sort. Those who did know the truth, would drop valuable information either through carefully worded hints, or through prudently concealed whispers. Vasilis learned a lot from these conversations, hearing not only about valuable Kalarian targets, but also how the Achlysian people were doing in general. He was glad that they seemed mostly happy, though he couldn’t escape the occasional mention of how Nikolos’s men mistreated them.

  “Had a soldier push me in the street for no reason, other than I happened to be in his path,” said one. “He could have gone around me with no trouble. It wasn’t like he was marching in procession or anything. He just wanted to bully me, just as they always do.”

  Vasilis knew this last statement was a bit of an exaggeration. Nikolos kept a firm hand on his soldiers, not allowing them to loot and pillage as they might have otherwise done. But there was no escaping that the Kalarians looked down on anyone who was not of their people, and especially those they had conquered.

  On the way back to the camp, Vasilis and Theodoros decided to scout out one of the more promising targets they had learned of. As they did, Vasilis noticed the large, strong castle, overlooking the town. The sight drew a frown from his usually smiling face.

  “You know, we could have it again,” said Theodoros, who had obviously noticed his look. “It just requires better planning.”

  “No, we can’t,” said Vasilis glumly. “We both know I’m incapable of such sophisticated preparation. I’m only good at raids and small-scale attacks. I can’t do better.”

  “I think you can, and Roxanna thinks so too,” said Theodoros.

  Vasilis shook his head. He didn’t like his brother bringing Roxanna into the conversation. It felt like a low blow. But it didn’t matter. Vasilis knew he was right, and no amount of pestering would change it.

  Chapter 27

  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

  ~ James 1:4

  The raid, that resulted from this scouting mission, was a brilliant success. The Lystra Gang was able to cart away not only the gold and jewels housed in a small outpost, but also the spare weapons, armor, and even the food. The secret to Vasilis’s success? He and his men had ambushed a group of Nikolos’s soldiers, who were coming to resupply and relieve those at the target outpost. Their uniforms were then used to disguise Vasilis and his men. The Kalarians at the fort, having been harassed for days by other members of the gang, were quite happy to leave without asking too many questions. Even their commander wasn’t suspicious.

  Once the Kalarians were gone, Vasilis and his men were free to take whatever they wished, without much worry about being discovered. They filled their wagon transports, leaving the outpost empty. They then returned to the camp, which they had stayed in for several days, to enjoy the spoils of their work.

  Roxanna was in charge of dividing up what was brought, though Theodoros was often there to override her most thrifty decisions. She didn’t miss this limitation placed on her power. Vasilis didn’t like eating poor cuts of boiled meat, drinking watered down zomos, or sleeping under itchy blankets, in a tent made from the patchy remains of two others. Roxanna didn’t like it either, but she was willing to forgo her comfort if it meant getting her kingdom back. Vasilis was not.

  So, Vasilis’s success continued to put her in a bad mood. She saw how Vasilis’s gains could have been easily put toward retaking Oreias. He could have tried to hang onto the outpost. With the original soldiers gone, it would have been an easy matter to move in and live in it.

  “Our deception would have been found out eventually,” said Vasilis when she mentioned this to him.

  “But you could have continued wearing the imperial uniforms to throw off suspicion,” she pointed out. “By the time the new relief party came, you might have been in a position to hold the outpost.”

  “But the relief party we robbed would have told of our work, and probably already has,” said Vasilis. “It wouldn’t have taken long for Nikolos, or one of his commanders, to figure out what was going on. Then we would have faced a larger force than we could hope to be effective against. Nikolos doesn’t take kindly to losses, and would have done everything in his power to dislodge us.”

  “But if you had made the relief party prisoners, you could have had time to prepare for Nikolos’s retaliation,” she said. “One fortification isn’t worth sending an entire army for.”

  “It is if it will lead to more outposts being lost,” said Vasilis. “Besides, Nikolos has the men and resources to send an entire army after us if he so chooses. I don’t have the same luxury. He would do it now, except its rather hard to attack an enemy, when you don’t know where he is. That is why we have only had to deal with scouts and small companies.”

  “You still could have held the prisoners to cover you tracks,” she pointed out. “Then you could have had time to prepare for what
ever Nikolos tried to throw at you.”

  “But one of them probably would have escaped and revealed the location our camp. Then we would have been in worse trouble,” he said.

  Vasilis seemed to think that was the end of the matter, but Roxanna only saw his words as a cowardly excuse. She didn’t think holding a dozen men and their captain would be so difficult. One of them wasn’t as likely to escape as Vasilis seemed to think. His own people were more competent than that, and hers would make up for any deficiency his had. Besides, the prisoners didn’t need to stay in the same camp as everyone else. They could form another one that was a safe distance away from the main one, until the outpost was taken over. The outpost had cells for prisoners, she knew. Certainly, the women and children would be more comfortable in the fortification than where they were now.

  It only proved to Roxanna that Vasilis was too scared and lazy to make any attempt to regain Achlys. To refuse even something so easy and simple as holding a small military instillation, of letting such an opportunity slide away with no effort to capitalize on it, infuriated her. She was glad to see that Theodoros noticed this fault in his brother too. She saw the two men were having a disagreement. It wasn’t that they were actively fighting, but there was enough friction between them to suggest that Theodoros wished to try to regain what they had lost, rather than remaining out in the forest like a bunch of outlaws.