Chapter 15 – The Priestess
Spokeswoman Lee-Dolkivna decided that, before anything, she needed to talk to Victor and let him know what was about to happen to Criminal # 101025. She called to make sure he would wait at his office, before turning her attention to the detainee who was supposed to appear before the arraignment committee that afternoon. Fortunately it turned out the three committee members were still in the building, so Kim's newest client could be arraigned after all. Kim noted that the committee members were furious about the delay and an explanation that she had been summoned to talk to the Grand Duchess calmed them only slightly. Kim sighed, because the delay had not been her fault and it seemed things were only going to get worse for her.
Once the arraignment was finished and her client was fitted with a temporary collar and released for the weekend, Kim went to Victor's office. She explained what his niece was planning to do with Criminal # 101025. Before Victor had the chance to react, Kim added that she was going to formally petition to have formal custody of Maria Elena transferred back to the Ministry of Justice. Fortunately she did have a good justification: the Colombian only spoke Spanish and would need a translator until she could learn Danubian. In truth Kim was not particularly worried about her client's lack of language. She was much more worried about what Anyia might do to her. She also was worried that Maria Elena's mental health was rather fragile and that it was important that her life be as normal as possible. Victor offered the hope of a normal life in a fairly normal household, and the university offered the hope of a normal life through a routine job. The Royal Household offered nothing that could be considered normal.
Kim could tell that Victor was very distressed upon hearing what had happened that afternoon at the Royal Residence, but outwardly he did his best to appear stoic. He was more pessimistic that Kim's efforts would accomplish anything other than get her in trouble. There was also his brother to consider: Victor was concerned about doing anything that would reflect badly on Vladim Dukov's government. To that Kim replied:
"Cecilia pointed something out to me today. I told her that I am very worried about what's going to happen when Anyia's behavior becomes a public scandal, which at some point it will. She said 'what good is it gonna do to tell that to me? You need to tell it to the Prime Minister.' I realized she's right. Anyia's behavior is only going to get worse until someone brings her under control. And besides, I took an oath to defend my clients' interests to the best of my ability. I do not believe that Criminal # 101025 should be moved to the Royal House. It is my duty to try to get her transferred back. I realized that if I get fired, I get fired, but I cannot allow myself to be dishonored. And if I get fired, then I will know that the Creator wants me to pursue a different Path in Life. I suppose I could always go back to singing."
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As they walked back towards Victor Dukov's house, Cecilia told Maria Elena what was going to happen on Monday; that she would have to report to the Central Courthouse to have her Ministry of Justice collar removed and instead be collared with a Royal House collar. Then Maria Elena’s trial judge would sign the documents officially transferring custody from Ministry of Justice Spokeswoman Kimberly Lee-Dolkivna to the Grand Duchess. Criminal #101025 would officially become property of the Royal Family. The Royal Representative would shackle her and she would be taken to the Royal Residence. Upon entering the Residence, she would receive training to become a Royal Servant.
Cecilia explained that Royal Servants had lives that were very different from criminals that belonged to the Ministry of Justice. They ate extremely well and each had a private room with a bathroom. At night they were allowed to cover themselves with a sheet or a blanket. They were expected to be extremely clean; to bathe in the morning and in the evening, and also any time before they performed an official duty for a member of the Royal Family. Royal Servants also had excellent medical and dental care and were forced to exercise on a daily basis to keep their bodies fit and attractive. They were highly trained and took pride in their positions in the Royal Household.
Traditionally to be a Royal Servant was considered an honor among criminals. Unlike ordinary criminals, who often performed menial or dirty tasks, Royal Servants served the Royal Family during meals and tea time, and participated in ceremonial functions such as carrying banners and unrolling carpets. When not performing official duties they practiced and trained, so that every movement was perfectly choreographed. Part of their training consisted of staying perfectly still for long periods of time, even if forced to stand or kneel in an uncomfortable position. Cecilia warned Maria Elena that much of her training during the first week would consist of learning to stay immobile.
There were other differences between ordinary criminals and Royal Servants that were not so pleasant. Ordinary criminals were considered property of the Ministry of Justice, and thus belonged to an institution, not an individual. Apart from adhering to protocol, staying within their collar zone, and performing adequately at their assigned job, criminals assigned to the Ministry did not face many restrictions on their daily behavior. They were free to talk, move about within their designated area, buy and eat what they wanted, have relationships, make love, and even marry and have children. Royal Servants did not enjoy any of those freedoms, because their status was totally different. Their lives were very restricted and they did not have any free time. When they were not working, they were exercising or training. Talking was not allowed unless responding to a superior and correspondence with the outside world was prohibited. There was no such thing as having a personal relationship, because the Royal Servant's Path in Life was to provide undivided loyalty to the member of the Royal Family holding custody.
Although in theory he or she belonged to the Royal Household, in practice a Royal Servant always was assigned to an individual member of the Royal Family, usually the person who demanded the transfer. In Maria Elena's case that meant she would be the personal servant of Grand Duchess Anyia. Cecilia explained that, from what she understood, Anyia would be more than Maria Elena's custodian; she would become her owner. She commented:
"For some criminals it's not that bad of a life; there are some people do well under total control. But to keep servants under those conditions, the members of the Royal Family have to respect them and not be abusive. Traditionally that's not been much of a problem because of Royal protocol, but things have changed under Anyia. For one thing, she's got a lot more servants than the previous Grand Duchess had. The old Grand Duchess only kept five servants, and she had the same ones for decades. Anyia's already got at least 20, after being on the throne for just a couple of years. Another problem is that she's not nice at all. She keeps that switch in her hand all the time, because she's constantly using it on her servants. And I hate to say this, but you can expect her to be using it on you."
"But...why? Why does she punish them? What do they do?"
"In most cases, nothing...the servants don't do anything wrong, or at least nothing major. However, the Grand Duchess feels that, because she's wearing this country's crown, the world owes her treating her like a goddess. If she thinks a servant is disrespecting her, she'll punish that person immediately. She's got a real violent temper, and the least little thing can set her off. The least little thing, and there's no one to control her."
Maria Elena said nothing for a long time, as she walked in horrified silence with her translator. What else could she say? She had just become accustomed to her routine as a criminal and was looking forward to living a fairly normal life, but it turned out that the productive life she had expected wasn't going to happen after-all. Instead she was destined to become the personal slave of that maniacal young queen. Cecilia didn't know what to say either, because she felt horrible for her companion. Whatever her faults, she certainly did not deserve the grim life that she faced under Anyia.
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When Cecilia and Maria Elena returned to the university, they ran into Cecilia's fiancé. Jason had just finished his classes for the day and was about to go in the opposite direction of the two women, downtown to the Temple of the Ancients. As a condition of his Public Penance, most Friday nights he had to report to the Priestess who held custody over him to receive the Church taskings that he had to perform over the following week. The taskings normally entailed manual labor for the upkeep of buildings, or assisting in moving food and other supplies for Church charity work. Increasingly, however, he was being called upon to provide counseling for recent converts and for people who had just started performing Public Penance.
Jason could tell that both his fiancé and the Colombian were miserable from dealing with some very bad news. Cecilia told him what had happened that afternoon at the Royal Residence. She didn't expect him to have much to say about the matter. However, without any hesitation he responded:
"Did you go to the Temple and discuss this with anyone?"
"No, we didn't. What does the Church have to do with it?"