Ingdom of Minatorie Ch Three

KINGDOM OF MINATORIE CH THREE

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES

The next morning, as I got ready to leave my chambers, Minatorie and the servants met me with their hands full. "Master, I have brought you the clothes of my late husband, the clothes of a King. You must appear regal, and I have his armor."

The servants assisted me in getting dressed. I haven't worn clothes since I arrived here, and it took a few minutes to get comfortable in these clothes. I had to admit, they were soft and regal.

They had armor on the table. "Master, do you want to wear the armor?"

I stood there, thinking for a minute. I don't need armor now, but it would set the tone for the subjects I need to impress. "Yes, assist me in putting it on."

Minatorie and the servants hurried to help me until I stood fully armored. Minatorie came running back. "Master, here is his sword. It is your sword now." She handed me a glittering, golden handled sword. It was heavy. I put it in the sheath with the thought that I would need to practice with it.

When I arrived in the throne room, Thunder was waiting for me. "Good morning, Thunder. How did you sleep?"

"The beds are too soft."

"How's the company?" The old captain had told me about the stud bulls they had in the quarters.

She looked confused for a second, but then she laughed. "I got rid of them. I need to find a warrior bull whenever they are released."

"That is a good idea, Thunder. Go to the jail and find the proper bull warrior we can add to our team. Pick one you like."

She nodded without smiling and left. I called for Astoria, and she knelt in front of me upon entering. "Astoria, I want you to get the entire council together and go to the prison. You must bring their husbands here to me. But, before that, you must bring all your stud bulls from the council here to me. You understand?"

"Yes, sire, immediately, sire." She hurried away.

I called for the female that had overseen running the government since Minatorie had become Queen.

She was kneeling before me within a few minutes. "What is your name?"

Without looking up, she said. "My name is Pausia, your highness."

"What became of your mate?"

"He was imprisoned by the Queen, sire."

"You are to go and bring him here to me."

"Yes, sire." She jumped up and left.

Astoria returned within the hour with ten stud bulls in tow. They had no collars or leashes now. She was smarter than that. They just walked obediently in a single file into the room.

"That'll do, Astoria. You may take your council to the prison and liberate your husbands."

Yes, sire." She headed off, leaving the stud bulls with me.

The ten waited, kneeling in front of me. I sent for Thunder. When she arrived, she had a huge, old bull with him. He had battle scars over his body, and a scar over one of his eyes. This male had been in battle. He kneeled, but I asked him to stand and tell me his name.

"My name is Mousius, sire."

"One moment, Muisius. Thunder, please take these ten and find them quarters here for now." She led them away and I turned back to Mousius.

"Mousius, please tell me your story."

"Sire, I was commander of the army until the bitch, excuse me, sire, the queen imprisoned me and my commanders. I fought with the King in many battles. He was my friend." He knelt again. "I offer my sword to you. I will be as loyal to you as I was to him."

"Please stand, Mousius." He did so. I got up and went to him and put out my hand. He looked at me for a second and then took it. We shook hands. "I will be honored if you would stand with me against our enemies." I turned to Thunder. "Thunder, please send for my General and her staff immediately." She left.

"Mousius, please take Tai" I pointed to the female guard standing beside me "with you to the prison. Bring every one of your men you can find here. It is time to put our army back together."

He bowed, and the two of them headed out. We have begun.

Before noon, Astoria returned with her council and their husbands. I commanded each to sit at my large table and I took the head seat. When we were all settled, I spoke. "I want each of you to tell me your names and who is married to who." They did so. "I want the husband and wife each to write down your responsibilities, both then and now. Do you understand?"

They all nodded, and my servants brought them pens and paper.

It was quiet while they worked. Within thirty minutes, I had a list of what each department was and who had run it, both the male and the female. It appears the wife just replaced the male in the same office. That would make it simpler.

"Husbands, I restore you to your previous office. However, you will keep your wives with you as you transition back to control. You will listen to what they have to say. You will not punish them or treat them harshly for what the Queen did to you. Wives, you will submit to your husbands and try to make this transition go as smoothly as possible. Does everyone understand?"

They nodded carefully. I could see the hidden smiles on the husbands' faces and the terror in the wives. I will watch out for any problems. They were dismissed.

Toy arrived after lunch. She usually takes the night shift watching over me and Tai takes the day shift. I smiled at Toy as she took up her post behind me. "Good afternoon, Toy. Did you sleep well?"

She stared straight ahead as she said, "It was lonely, but restful. Thank you, sire." I had to smile at that. She can get away with it.

Tai and Mousius returned from the prison in the early afternoon. They had seven older warriors like Mousius with them.

They knelt and I told them to stand. "Welcome, warriors. I regret what happened to you, but you will be restored to your former rank. Now that we have a large, female army, and few males, we will have to find a way to work together. Tai, please find these warriors lodging until we can work out the details." She saluted and led them away. "Mousius, please stay until the female General gets here. I want to speak to both of you together." He saluted and Toy took him to the kitchen to get some good food while he waited.

While waiting for the General, I read through the summaries each had given of what they did. I found the government recorder, the person who kept track of the records of government. I called for both husband and wife to come to me.

They were there in a few minutes. "I need the two of you to take a census of our people. I need to know the total number of males and females. I also need to know their station now. Do you understand what I'm looking for?"

The wife nodded, then looked at her husband with fear. He looked at her, then at me. "No. There will be no fear here. You are to work together. If that is a problem, I can resolve it permanently. Am I clear?"

They both nodded vigorously and left. I have enough problems without having to deal with their marital problems too.

The female General arrived that afternoon, and I sent for Mousius. When he arrived, I watched the General's reaction to see what it would be. She was cool. I sat both down and looked them in the eye. "We will need to find a way to work together. We will build a male army, but it will take time because of how decimated the male population is now. We will need to lean on your troops, General. I am going to tell you my plan. I want your honest assessment."

I waited for some acknowledgement, but both were silent. "I intend to keep the female army intact. I hope to build at least a battalion of male warriors at first. I am going to depend on the two of you to be willing to work together for our kingdom. Can you do that?"

They looked at each other and then nodded. "I need to know the background between the two of you. Tell me now. I don't want to find any surprises later."

The General cleared her throat. "Mousius and I know each other. In fact, we were lovers during the last campaigns of our former king. I was ordered by the Queen to imprison him and his entire staff by the Queen. It is to my shame that I didn't stand up to them and refuse."

Mousius finally spoke up. "Anastasia, if you had, you'd be dead now. This way, maybe we can rebuild what we had before." I didn't even know her name until then. Anastasia was a nice name for a General.

I smiled at each. "I think there is a pathway to co-operation between the two of you. I'll leave it to you two to work out a plan. Our plan will be to begin building at least one battalion of males and have Mousius command it. For now, we will leave the overall command to me until we decide how to move forward." They started to leave when I held up my hand. "Just so the two of you are aware, the wizard is concerned about conflict in the future. Please be aware of that as you work together. I will leave how closely you work together up to you."

As they left, I did everything but tell him to take her right on the table now. I have a feeling I won't have any interdepartmental squabbles there.

One week later, the bureaucrat husband and wife team reported their census report.

Total females 12,500. Total males 1,952

Females Males

Army 10,205 Military 1,342

Civilian 2,249 Civilian 610

That bitch really did try to wipe out all males. I asked for the facts behind the numbers.

The male smiled at his wife and nodded to her. That was better.

"The male military personnel have been released to Mousius and are stationed in an old base near the city. They are beginning the process of re-opening it. Most of the civilian males are stud bulls, scattered around the kingdom."

I dismissed them and thanked them for the report. I sent for the two military leaders.

Mousius and Anastasia came in together. Their tone and demeanor were much more relaxed this time. I smiled at them. "I see the two of you have worked out your problems." Anastasia blushed. "I am happy for the two of you. It will make this transition better."

They sat down and waited. "Anastasia, I have a few tough questions, but I need the truth." She nodded. "How many stud bulls are in the army?"

"I don't know for sure, but I believe it is around 300. I have moved them to a different base where they are safe. I am waiting for your decision on what to do with them."

"Thank you. I want you to give them to Mousius. Mousius, please determine how many of them would make warriors. I don't want you to push them. I can find uses for them in civilian life, so if you have any doubts about one, send him to me." He nodded. "Thanks, both of you. I'm sure this will work out."

I called for Astoria and her husband. When they arrived, I asked the husband a question. "Could you do without Astoria for a while?" He nodded. "Fine. I need her to head up a program for the stud bulls. We are returning them to society, and I need someone to watch over it. If you are okay with running your department, just as you did all those years before, then I will take her for this job. Thank you for your help in these trying times."

He got up to leave and I asked Astoria to stay. When he was gone, I asked her to tell me the truth about her husband. "You know you cannot lie to me. Tell me the truth about him."

She started to cry. "I can't. He is dangerous. I lived in fear of him the entire time I was married to him until he was imprisoned. That is why I jumped at the chance to work for the Queen. It was better for me, personally. It was only later that I discovered how awful she was to the males."

"You are to move out of the house. Tell him you are going to work at one of the military bases for a while. I will send one of my guards to assist you until you are settled."

She nodded. I called Thunder and told her to assign one of our guards to Astoria until further notice.

Let's see him say anything to one of my warriors.

Now came the problem of population. We need a large influx of people in our kingdom, especially males. How do I increase our rate of babies?

I had one idea, but it was radical. I privately went to the priest of Zeus to discuss my idea. After some discussion, he agreed to not object to my emergency plan. Good.

I ordered a proclamation be sent out to the Minotaur inhabitants.

The following was sent out.

My fellow citizens, we are faced with an emergency of immense proportions. Our population has been decimated, especially in the male population. We can't wait for the normal growth of our families to rectify the situation. Drastic measures are required.

Therefore, it is ordered that each male, in addition to his mate, will take in two females to serve as concubines for the next two years. The male will produce two offspring with each. At the end of the two years, we will assess the progress of the program to decide if it continues further.

There are rules involved. No female will be forced to be with any single male. If she chooses not to be with that male, another will need to be selected. It is not only the male's choice.

This new order must be in place by the "Festival of Life".

Raymond the First

This caused an uproar because most of the civilian males were now stud bulls. The former female leadership came to plead with me. "Please, sire, how can we do this?"

"You killed most of the males and that has put us in this situation. Each of you now have your husband back. He will find and bring into you homes two unattached females that he can breed with to produce at least two offspring. I have asked Astoria to run this program. She will be issuing clarification of the details as they become necessary."

I called Astoria. When she came in, she was angry. "Sire, I'm supposed to get females for my husband, and every other husband in the kingdom? I can't do that."

I smiled at her. She knew she had no power to resist me. "I know it's hard, but if we don't replace as much of our male population as we can, we may have difficulties with our neighboring kingdoms. I see no other way to increase our babies than by forcing the issue."

She sat down and shrugged. "I know you're right. But..."

"You can start by cataloging the stud bulls to see what we have there. How many of them could now head a household. How many of them are just breeding bulls now. I need to know where we are."

Now she knew why she had a bodyguard.

That evening, I asked Thunder to assemble my Royal Guard. There are now twenty of them. The problem with them was the wizard's potion. They are still attached to me, and nothing I say would change that.

The other problem was Minotaur's mating method. Minotaurs only breed one day a year, during the "Festival of Life." It is a very special holiday for Minotaurs. It is the day when couples decide to have a baby. It is the only day a female Minotaur can get pregnant. Because they are a warring species, they have adapted to this very specific way of having children while surviving in a hostile environment. They breed the same day, have their children at the same time, and stay quiet until the child is old enough to defend himself. Until then, the warriors protect the young and their mothers. Their entire mating season is one day. It will be necessary for the male to breed his wife and two concubines on the same night. Fortunately, the bulls have the stamina and production to be able to do so.

When the guard was assembled, I stood up. "As you are aware, we need more males. To accomplish this, I have instructed the males in our society to take two additional females and mate with them for the next two seasons. Since you are all bound to me, I can't ask you to mate with another male. Therefore, I have decided to mate with some of you. There are twenty of you. I need three or four of you to volunteer to get pregnant for us. I want you to consider what the cost will be. You will be here, but not on duty until the child is old enough to take care of itself. I will do this for each of the next two seasons. Consider if you are willing to do this and speak to Thunder."

I left them talking among themselves.

Two days later, Mousius came to see me. "Sire, I have tested the males Anastasia brought me from the army. Half of them is too addled in the brain to be anything other than a breeding bull. One hundred and fifty of them can be reclaimed as bulls. I am taking them and adding them to our battalion. What do you wish me to do with the others?"

"For now, give them back to Anastasia. Tell her to use them as recreation for her troops. Have Anastasia send their names to Astoria so she can log them in. If any of her troops wish to have a baby, have them breed that night. They can then do simple work in the army until their baby is born."

He agreed and left.

Late that afternoon, Thunder came to me to discuss her guard. "Sire, they have all volunteered to have a baby with you. I'm afraid you must choose."

"If I told you to choose four you could do without, which four would that be?"

She named four guards. "Send them to me." She smiled as she left.

The four arrived at my chambers later that night. Toy came and announced their presence. I told her to put them in one of the spare rooms until I was ready for them.

After I told Manatorie what I was planning, I called the four in. "You four have volunteered to have a baby sired by me?" They all nodded. I recognized these as the four I had taken during the raid on the palace. Thunder doesn't know these females and was happy to get rid of them.

"Ok, we will mate during the festival of life. Return to your unit until that night. You will come here late on that day."

They all returned to the guard chambers.

I asked Thunder where the ten stud bulls had gone. She smiled and hesitated. "Okay, what did you do with them?"

"Well, a couple of the females decided to play with a couple of them, and one thing led to another until we have been using them all on our down time."

"I see." She looked nervous. "Okay. I need you to take them to Mousius and test them. Any of her rejects you can bring back with you."

Thunder nodded and hurried out of the room.

I called a council meeting. The wives were still coming with the husbands, but they didn't speak any longer. When we were assembled, I asked how many husbands had found their two concubines. Most had. Astoria's husband didn't raise his hand. I asked him to remain behind.

When everyone else was gone, I asked if he would be ready."

He shook his head. "Why not?"

"Sire, if my wife doesn't return in time, I may not be able to produce three children."

I looked at him for a few seconds. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Yes, sire."

"Do you want her to return?"

He looked uncomfortable and hesitated. "Tell me the truth. Are you happier with the two concubines you have found?"

"Truth be told, ever since I have returned, Astoria is distant. It is like she is looking off in the distance and I'm not ever there. I don't understand what is going on with her."

I knew what was wrong with her, but I certainly couldn't tell him that. "If you were able, would you remove her as your wife?"

"Yes, sire, I'm afraid I would. I am busy now, and I need a wife that is fully there, not distracted all the time."

"If I gave you a decree of divorce, would you take it?"

He hung his head as he said. "Yes, I believe I would."

I called my clerk and asked him to write the document. I signed it and gave it to him. "Now you can find someone else to have your baby with."

I sent for Astoria, and she came the next morning.

She bowed. "Sire."

"Sit down, Astoria."

She sat at the large table. I asked Toy to step away for a moment. When we were alone, I showed Astoria the paper and she started crying. I was afraid she was upset he had divorced her, but that was not the problem. "Thank you, sire, thank you. I have dreamed of this ever since he returned. Thank you." She knelt and tried to kiss my hand.