Back to Chapter 13
Chapter 14 � A summons from the Grand Duchess
On
Friday morning at the end of the first week in September, Maria Elena
began her normal routine at home before reporting to the university for
language tutoring and yet more hedge-trimming. However, no sooner had
she reported to work and picked up the hedge trimmer, than her boss told
her that she had a call from her Spokeswoman. The news was that she and
her translator needed to report immediately to the Central Police
Station.
Although the man was speaking in Danubian, Maria Elena had learned
enough of the language that she could understand what he was telling
her. She knelt, was dismissed, and located Cecilia in her office. The
urgency of Kim's request worried both women, but they rushed to the
University trolley stop to catch the next trolley going downtown. As
usual, Maria Elena had to stand; her hands gripping the pole above her
head and her body totally exposed to the other passengers. However, she
had become used to the restriction and no longer really thought about
it. As much as she would have liked to take a seat, she knew that
seating on public transportation was off-limits to anyone wearing a
collar.
A few minutes later, Cecilia and Maria Elena got off the university line
transport, entered the Central Police Station, and ascended the steps to
the third floor. When they entered the Spokeswoman�s office, they
noticed two men wearing tunics with the Royal House emblem engraved on
their chests. Both men wore ceremonial swords on sword-belts and sported
ridiculous-looking hats with large feathers. Maria Elena knelt, trying
as best she could to not laugh at the two men�s silly clothing.
One of the men pointed at Maria Elena while speaking to Kim in Danubian:
�Spokeswoman, is this the foreign criminal who was assigned the number
101025 by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Danubia?�
�Yes, Lord. She is my client, Criminal # 101025.�
�Excellent, Spokeswoman. You and your translator will have the honor of
standing in the presence of the Grand Duchess of the Republic of Danubia
and performing a service for Her Graciousness. You are ordered to bring
your client to the Royal House and present her to Grand Duchess Anyia.�
Kim went pale, but managed to reply: �Yes, Lord. What time are we to
comply with the wishes of the Grand Duchess?�
�Now. You will bring this criminal to the main entrance of this
building, where one of the Royal transports will be awaiting the three
of you.�
�Lord, I will accept the honor the Grand Duchess has bestowed upon me. I
wish for one favor in return. I�d like 10 minutes, so I can do several
things, including calling my supervisor to tell him you�ve summoned me,
turning off my client�s collar transmitter, and dressing more
appropriately to be in her presence. Can you grant me that favor, Lord?�
�It is inappropriate to keep the Grand Duchess waiting, Spokeswoman. But
we will grant you that request.�
With that, Kim and Cecilia saluted and the two Lords saluted back. The
Spokeswoman left her client and her assistant kneeling in the front
office, while retreating with Cecilia into the back office. She shut the
door. As Kim dialed her supervisor, Cecilia whispered in English:
�What�s going on?�
�What do you think is going on? Anyia. Our �gracious� Grand Duchess.
That crazy bitch wants to �honor� us by having us go to her place, all
the way to Dagur�ckt-T�k, and see how �gracious� she is. We get the
privilege to escape from our own pathetic existence and see the true
splendor that��
Kim interrupted when her supervisor picked up. She quickly explained
that she was summoned to go to the Royal House with her Colombian client
and her translator and would not be able to make it an arraignment
hearing she had with a new client in the afternoon. She vaguely hoped
that the hearing would be too important and that Anyia would have to
wait. However, her supervisor told her to immediately go to the Royal
House and that he would call the committee to postpone her client�s
hearing. Kim hung up.
�How great. How fucking wonderful. Now Anyia even gets to mess with the
arraignment schedule of the Ministry of Justice! In other words, I�ve
got a client who�s sitting in a holding cell and he�s got to stay there
until I get back� whenever that is!�
Cecilia said nothing, noting that her friend was seething with anger.
The Spokeswoman opened her closet and began tearing off her clothes. She
grabbed a linen dress from her collection and tossed another to Cecilia.
There was no way the two women could wear everyday clothing if they were
going to visit the Royal Family. From experience Kim knew that she
needed to be prepared for suddenly having to change into fancier
clothing and kept her office closet well-stocked with outfits.
As soon as Kim and Cecilia were properly attired in fine linen dresses,
the Spokeswoman opened the door. Maria Elena was still on her knees with
her forehead pressed to the floor. She didn�t have a clue what was
happening.
After stopping on the ground floor to have the criminal�s collar
deactivated, the three women followed the two Lords to a waiting
minivan. In any other country a ride in a minivan would have been no big
deal, but in Danubia, where privately-owned vehicles were illegal, to
ride in a car was a luxury that few people had experienced. The Royal
Family was a major exception to the prohibition of cars, because the
Estate had several minivans at its disposal. Unlike nearly everyone
else, the Royals and their servants never rode on public transportation.
The two members of the nobility, who had introduced themselves as Lord
Horskti and Lord Vidmarkt, escorted the three women to a waiting van,
where the driver and a kneeling naked male servant were waiting. As soon
as everyone was on board, the vehicle pulled away and moved unimpeded
towards the western edge of Dan�bikt M�skt. The van passed Vladik
Dukov�s house and the yellow sign that ordinarily would have marked the
edge of Maria Elena�s world. It emerged into the Danubian countryside
and descended into a valley, passing several potato farms and fruit
orchards. The van approached the western entrance of a provincial town
called Dagur�ckt-T�k, but veered to the north and entered an estate at
the foot of a forested hill. The vehicle proceeded under an ornate gate
and continued along a tree-lined road that passed through a beautiful
park. Finally the van stopped at a pretentious 19th-Century brick
mansion that boasted a multitude of turrets, balconies, and towers.
A man dressed in a tunic blew a horn as the van pulled up to the front
entrance. Eight naked young men filed out the door carrying Royal
banners and lined up along a red carpet leading into the mansion. They
draped the banners over the carpet, but as the two Lords and their
guests approached each banner, it was lifted out of their way. Maria
Elena noticed two details about the young men. Like the female servants
she had seen at the Prime Minister�s house, all of them were handsome
and in excellent physical shape. Also, the men wore ornate collars
identical to the ones worn by Anyia�s personal escort.
Maria Elena and Cecilia still did not understand what was going on. Kim
suspected that she did know, and her expression reflected a combination
of anger and worry. She had noticed Anyia intensely studying her client
at the Prime Minister�s residence. That gave her a bad feeling, and the
call from the Royal Household in the morning confirmed her concern.
The two Lords and the three women were escorted into a reception area.
They stood at attention while Maria Elena knelt. The Lords were
perfectly silent, while Kim and Cecilia were too intimidated to move or
make any noise. The group remained still for several minutes, enough for
Maria Elena�s body to start cramping from staying immobilized in an
uncomfortable position for too long. Finally two of the female servants
Maria Elena had seen at the Prime Minster�s dinner appeared and opened
the doors to the main ceremonial chamber. As soon as the doors were open
the servants knelt and put their heads on the floor.
Bewildered and frightened, Maria Elena followed her Spokeswoman and her
translator to the main reception room. The room was the most attractive
place Maria Elena had yet seen in Danubia, made from finely-crafted wood
and decorated with amber, dimly lit by stained glass windows covered
with dark silk curtains. A red rug led to a throne in which the Grand
Duchess was seated. Her naked attendants were kneeling on both sides of
the red rug, absolutely still and expressionless. Their uncovered bodies
sharply contrasted with the rich colors of the room and Anyia�s
elaborate clothing.
Kim and Cecilia led their trembling companion before Dukov�s imperious
daughter. The Spokeswoman pointed at the carpet, indicating that Maria
Elena needed to kneel. Kim and Cecilia remained standing, but they had
to salute Anyia before she would speak to them.
The Grand Duchess held a finely crafted leather switch, which she used
to point and to threaten servants she felt were not performing to Royal
House standards. She used it to point at Maria Elena and addressed Kim
in Danubian:
�Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna, I am pleased that you have fulfilled your
duty by bringing me this criminal."
Kim saluted and replied: �Yes Grand Duchess.�
Anyia reached forward and tapped Maria Elena�s bare back with the tip of
her switch.
�I want to examine your client. Tell her to stand up and assume the
prisoner�s stance.�
�Yes, Grand Duchess.�
Cecilia translated, telling the criminal to stand and face the Grand
Duchess, then to spread her legs and put her hands behind her head.
Anyia�s eyes scanned her exposed body. For a Latin American woman she
was tall and light-skinned, but her jet black hair and dark eyes set her
apart from women in the Danubian Republic. Maria Elena could tell that
the obnoxious young noblewoman was fascinated with her. The Grand
Duchess explored her body with light touches of the switch, poking one
of her breasts, pressing her inner thigh, stroking her cheek, and
placing the tip of the switch under her chin to make her lift up her
head. With a quick tap Anyia instructed Maria Elena to turn sideways,
then with another tap instructed her to make another quarter turn to
display her backside.
�Spokeswoman, tell your client to face me and kneel.�
Once Maria Elena was kneeling, Anyia spoke again:
�Tell your client to kneel forward, then to get up and get a tray from
the kitchen. Tell her to pour me a glass of wine and to serve it to me.
Tell her that she will bring me the wine on a tray, upon returning she
will kneel without spilling the glass, and then she will hold out the
tray to present the wine.�
�Yes, Grand Duchess.�
Cecilia translated the command, adding: �Please don�t mess this up. The
trays are in the cabinet on the right side of the main kitchen door.
Just say �vin�kt� and the cook will get you a bottle and pour you a
glass.�
Still trembling, Maria Elena did as she was told. First she retrieved a
tray, then approached the head cook and said �vin�kt�, waited for him to
fill a glass, and returned to the Grand Duchess. She managed to kneel
without spilling the glass, in spite of being totally bewildered and
terrified. When Anyia took the wine she spoke to Kim again:
�Spokeswoman, has this Criminal gone on trial yet?�
�Yes, Grand Duchess, she was tried and convicted about a month ago.�
�What are the crimes of which she was convicted, Spokeswoman?�
�Drug trafficking, cocaine possession, and violating her body, Grand
Duchess.�
�Hmmm� so her sentence is��
�She was sentenced to 35 years, Grand Duchess.�
�Good, a nice long sentence. Then, I want her for the Royal Estate. You
will go to the judge who sentenced her and tell him that as of next
Monday, the Ministry of Justice is ordered to surrender custody of this
criminal to my representative. Next Monday morning you are ordered to
take her to the Central Courthouse and have her collar removed so she
can be fitted with a Royal House collar. You also will understand that
from this point, any official working for the Ministry of Justice is
prohibited from touching her. Do you understand me, Spokeswoman?�
Kim�s face went pale upon hearing the command, but she managed to
respond: �Yes, Grand Duchess.�
Kim and Cecilia exchanged nervous glances. Anyia snapped:
�Is there a problem, Spokeswoman?�
�Grand Duchess, I�m� concerned about one thing. My client still doesn�t
speak much Danubian. The only language she knows is Spanish. We�re
working on that, but right now she needs to have a translator and��
Anyia cracked her switch hard against the chair and stood up. She then
pointed the implement at Kim, as though she were threatening to punish
her:
�Listen, Spokeswoman� I don�t appreciate you arguing with me�
questioning a decision I�ve made on behalf of the Royal House! You�re
nothing but a low-level Public Servant and you need to remember that
when you talk to me! The Royal House has made its decision and it�s your
duty to do what you need to do to facilitate that decision!� She cracked
the switch on her chair a second time before touching it to Kim�s cheek
in a menacing manner. �Do you understand me, Spokeswoman?�
Kim�s eyes went wide with shock and anger. It was clear that both she
and Cecilia were taken aback by the Grand Duchess�s outburst, tone of
voice, and the fact she dared to physically threaten her. Maybe it was
true that she was the wife of the Grand Duke, but it was also true that
it was not the Middle Ages. Even if Anyia was Royalty, she had no
business speaking to a Public Employee in such a manner. However, Kim
remained calm. She took a deep breath and replied:
�Yes, Grand Duchess. I will do what I can to prepare my client for her
duties in the Royal House.�
�Very well, Spokeswoman. I will overlook your vile display of
disrespect. You are to inform your Ministry that this Criminal is now
property of the Royal Family. I am granting you the privilege of
temporary custody, pending her delivery to the Royal Estate.�
�Yes, Grand Duchess.�
�Good. Now you are dismissed. Make sure this criminal is properly cared
for. I want her in top physical condition when she is brought to the
Royal Residence.�
�Yes, Grand Duchess.�
Kim and Cecilia saluted the Grand Duchess before doing a crisp
about-face. Cecilia instructed Maria Elena to get off her knees and
follow them out of the room. The Colombian was totally bewildered,
because she had not understood much of the conversation between her
Spokeswoman and that weird queen, or whatever the hell she was. She knew
something unpleasant had happened in that room, but didn�t have a clue
what.
Lord Horskti and Lord Vidmarkt presented Kim with three sets of
documents printed on Royal House parchment and decorated with Royal
House seals. The Spokeswoman was ordered to present one set to the
Minister of Justice and the second set to the judge who had presided
over Criminal # 101025�s trial. The final set would be placed into Maria
Elena�s folder in Kim�s office. The documents officially transferred
custody of her to the Royal Household once she was convicted. A
representative of the Royal Family would show up next Monday at the
Courthouse to collar her and transport her to the Royal Estate.
Maria Elena watched the proceedings with concern, every so often casting
a pleading glance at her translator for an explanation of what was going
on. Cecilia said nothing, because she was afraid to speak without being
given any instructions to do so. However, the Dominican�s expression
clearly indicated that something was not right.
Finally the Lords returned the three women to the minivan for transport
back to the Central Police Station. Kim held a folder containing the
Royal House documents as she took her seat. Maria Elena noticed there
were tears in her eyes and her hands were shaking. Cecilia�s eyes were
wide open and nervously looking around as the van quickly passed through
Dan�bikt M�skt on its way downtown. When the van stopped, Kim and
Cecilia saluted the two Lords while Maria Elena and the naked servant
responsible for opening the car doors knelt.
As soon as Lord Horskti and Lord Vidmarkt had returned to the van and
departed, Kim clenched her teeth and began trembling with rage. She
calmed down enough to speak to Cecilia in English:
�That fucking megalomaniac! See what I told you? See what I told you?
You didn�t think she was that bad, did you?�
Cecilia was at a loss for words: �I� didn�t� I mean� but how... I mean,
what happened to her?�
�How would I know? I don�t know what happened to her! I guess all that
nobility crap went to her head� It pisses me that the Grand Duke puts up
with it� It pisses me� because they�re State employees, just like me� I
mean, all that Royalty shit is just ceremonial� that�s all it is,
Cecilia� ceremonial� and they�re nothing but a bunch of spoiled actors�
She doesn�t realize��
�So, what are you gonna do?�
�With Maria Elena?�
�Yeah��
�I�ve got to turn her over. I don�t have any choice��
�Do you think she�s gonna be OK?�
Kim thought for a moment.
�I don�t know. To be honest, I don�t think she�ll be OK at all. The
Royal House isn't where she ought to be. I wanted her to have a normal
life, and she�s not going to get that from our little �Marie
Antoinette�.�
�Can�t you talk to anyone?�
�To
who, Cecilia? Who am I gonna talk to? The Prime Minster? He�s got his
hands too full as it is and right now can�t afford a fight with the
Grand Duke. To my supervisor at the Ministry? No� �cause he�ll support
Anyia. It�s a tradition the Royals get the pick of any criminals they
want� it�s a privilege that goes back eight centuries. I�m not going to
be able to argue over who�s getting custody of Criminal # 101025, �cause
no one�s gonna support me. Everyone will say she�s better off with the
Royals �cause it�s tradition and they�ll treat her nice� and they�ll say
that because they don�t know what a crazy bitch Anyia�s turned into!�
�What about talking to Anyia, or the Grand Duke?�
Kim shook her head.
�Talk to Anyia? Anyia is worried about one thing in life, and that is,
what�s the latest thing that can make her happy. The Grand Duke is
worried about one thing in life, and that is, what�s the latest thing
that can make Anyia happy. Everyone else on that estate is worried about
just one thing in life, and that is, what�s the latest thing that can
make the Grand Duchess happy. It�s all about keeping �Marie Antoinette�
happy.�
Kim calmed down enough to talk in a normal tone of voice and stop
trembling from anger. She reflected:
�The tragic part of all this is that the Royals are still popular. Not
much of Anyia�s behavior has leaked out to the public� yet. Once the
truth gets out and the people become disillusioned with her� I don�t
know what�ll happen. It�ll hurt the Prime Minister, I can tell you that,
because she's his daughter� and the reputation of the Royal Family��
�Then you need to talk him. You�re not doing any good by telling me all
of this. You need to tell it to Anyia�s father.�
�Yes, I suppose you�re right. I ought to talk to Prime Minister Dukov
about Anyia. At least I can try to warn him. I can tell you though; this
is not something he wants to deal with right now.�
�So� what about Maria Elena?�
�We�ve got to tell her. We don�t have the right to keep it from her.
Anyhow, I�ll have to tell her to learn as much Danubian as she can over
the next couple of days. I�ll try to put a positive spin on it, tell her
she�ll be living in a nice place, that she won�t have to deal with the
scheduled switchings, that she probably won�t even have to do anything
that will get her hands dirty. It�s best that she go into the Royal
Household with a positive attitude��
�That�s not gonna happen, Kim� the positive attitude, I mean. She�s not
gonna want to go there.�
�Like that matters? It isn�t what I want either, but I�m holding three
sets of papers telling me that what I want, what I think is best for my
client, isn�t worth shit.�
----------
Kim�s plans to sit down with her client and calmly explain what was
going to happen to her went awry the moment the three women entered the
Spokeswoman�s office. It turned out that Tiffany had gone into labor and
it was unlikely she could be safely moved to a hospital. Fortunately the
Central Police Station had a staff of doctors and nurses, so medical
help was just two flights of stairs away. As a doctor and several
assistants came into the front office, Kim and Cecilia moved a recovery
table into the center of the room and tossed a sheet over it. The
medical staff quickly took over and lifted the naked criminal onto the
table. The Prime Minister�s second grandson was destined to be born on
the third floor of the Central Police Station, in the office where he
had worked when he was a Spokesman himself.
Kim called Vladik to let him know that his wife was giving birth in her
office, then turned to Cecilia and Maria Elena to dismiss them. There
wasn�t any point in having them stay because the room was barely large
enough for the medical staff, let alone any witnesses. Cecilia was not
too concerned about Tiffany�s safety; after all, the child was her
second and the medical staff helping her was comparable to what she
would have had in the hospital. She would stay out of the way and
congratulate her the next day. Kim would remain in the office and
comfort her, because Vladik was too far away to make it time to actually
see the baby being born.
----------
It was late afternoon when Cecilia and Maria Elena exited the Central
Police Station onto the Central Plaza. With Kim occupied with her
assistant, it was up to Cecilia to break the news about the Colombian�s
pending transfer of custody. She decided that it would be best if they
walked back to the university so they could talk. They would be walking
for about an hour, which would give her enough time to fully explain
what Maria Elena could expect.
Cecilia was not a subtle or tactful person, so she simply told Maria
Elena what was going to happen the following week. At first Maria Elena
simply thought that she no longer would be working at the university,
but Cecilia corrected her:
�No. You�re not just changing your job. Your custodianship is being
changed. The Ministry of Justice won�t have any control over you at all.
Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna won�t be your custodian anymore because she can
only be the custodian of a criminal who�s assigned to the Ministry.
You�re going to be handed over to the Royal Family. They�ll be your new
owners, so my guess is that your custodian is gonna be the Grand
Duchess.�
�But I thought that� my Spokeswoman said� the Danubian government owns
me.�
�They do, but if the Royals want a criminal, it�s a custom that the
Ministry of Justice hands �em over. They have a special arrangement
that�s a tradition. If they want you, they can take ownership of you at
any time.�
�But� I don�t want to go there� to that house��
�So? Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna doesn�t want you to go there either. She�s
upset, but right now there�s nothing she can do about it.�
----------
Tiffany's second son was born after a brief labor, which confirmed the
decision of the doctor to have her deliver in Kim's office instead of
transporting her to a hospital. However, as soon as it was clear that
she and the baby were in good health, the medical staff moved both of
them to the infirmary, for subsequent transportation to a nearby clinic.
Vladik arrived on the scene, which allowed Kim to excuse herself and
deal with her newest problem, the pending transfer of Criminal # 101025
to the Royal Family.
Kim did not see how she could prevent the transfer from happening, given
that she had such short notice. It already was Friday afternoon and the
transfer would take place on Monday morning. However, the Spokeswoman
decided to file an official petition to have the transfer reversed,
which would work its way up through her supervisor to the Minister of
Justice. It was possible that the Prime Minister himself would get
involved, given that the Grand Duchess was his daughter and Criminal #
101025 was the lover of his brother.
Kim cringed at the thought of involving the Prime Minister in a dispute
between his brother and his daughter over the custody of a criminal,
because the prospects of the affair blowing up into a public scandal
were daunting. To file a petition was a grave decision for her own
future as well. There was a possibility that officially confronting the
wishes of the Royal Family would cost her career. However, she felt that
she had no choice, because she had taken an oath to pursue the interests
of her clients to the best of her ability. If she failed to uphold her
oath, she would be dishonored, and to be dishonored was much worse than
to be unemployed. She felt that it was clear that it was in Maria
Elena's best interest to remain with Victor Dukov and continue her life
working at the university.
Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna would do everything she could to have custody
of Criminal # 101025 returned to the Ministry of Justice. She was
determined that her stay with the Royal Family would be as brief as
possible. She had heard stories about some improper behavior going on at
the Royal Residence... and knowing Anyia, she suspected that the stories
were true.
