PASSION FOR TINNON (WIP Novel 120,000 words)
© Cupideros, October 21, 2006
CHAPTER 5: NINE POISON DOVES
© Cupideros, October 23, 2006
Queen Morah returned to her child's room. She always thought of it as a small room. In actually it was the size of a two master bedrooms. She lived in this room growing up, playing, fantasizing about what life would bring her until the stately duties of becoming queen interfered at age fourteen. She had an entire wall full of Antonia Romance Novel. The prolific writer of Romance amongst the Quoardians. The wall papered room was a gaudy lavender and pink motif with a series of Quoardian swans landing on lakes.
She stood and read the titles: "Love's Flame," "Dangerous Rogue Suitor," "A Passion Behind Closed Doors," "A Night To Remember." The titles made her laugh now. She could not even believe in them much after her eighteenth birthday. She knew guys were not malleable and adjustable. Better to marry someone who already desired the same style of romance and love and lifestyle as you. Guys especially those connected with thrones and secret positions didn't know how to change. Forced change may bring it about, but another force is just as likely to make them revert to their former selves.
Queen Morah knew she have to have children one day. She went to her small desk and pulled out her diary. She laughed. Where was the inkling of where she'd be today in this room, she thought? I should have studied war, chess, politics, history, how to trick the enemy into submission, bring peace by using lies, how to avoid a poison dove. Well that last item the romance novels did help with somewhat. The real problem with all romance novels was the happy ending. She opened the long front drawer and pulled out a golden rose with a green stem. She blew the dust off and the shine came back as good as new. Engraved on one of the leafs, From Madam Rose #204 Certified Flying Dove Member #138,048.
Queen Morah knew for a fact the Silth has sent at least sixteen poison doves. Her first one claimed to be madly in love with her. He pursue her and made all the right moves and curtseys, whatever the Courts required to seem acceptable. Then he suddenly vanishes after he'd thought her heart was won.
That was one variety of the Nine Poison Doves. Number One, he liked your body, romance you. Had sex with you and immediately dump you afterwards. Number Two type never had sex with you, only romanced your mind. Then he dumped you. Number Three, he was violent. He pushed you around physically. His entire goal was to get you to agree his violent behavior was your own fault. He didn't want your love only for you to give up your power. Number Four waited until after he'd dumped you to see if you were willing to give a arm, leg or throne to have him back. Then he'd let you be the power behind your own throne and life while he ruled and satisfied his every material desire; surprisingly wondering why you were stupid enough to let them do that? Number Five romanced you and stole secrets and gave them to your enemies. The more you opened up and trusted him, the more he betrayed you. If you confronted him, he'd deny everything forever. He'd try to make you seem crazy. Number Six romance you until your were pregnant, then he'd leave you with the burden and all the responsibility. Number Seven, simply hangs around you being depressed and sad. He'd always have something wrong in his life you can never cure or help them with. By the time he'd recover his happy self, you've been distracted from 90% of your own legitimate goals in life. Number Eight, simply hangs around and espouse the exact opposite of your long term goals and desires. If you like painting, he hated painting. If you want to do things outdoors, he'd want to do indoors. Number Nine, the hopeless flirt. He doesn't intend to get married but will give you great pleasure and make you feel like the centerpiece in a romantic novel.
Luckily Quoardian Secret Service tested me with all nine poison doves before my fifteenth birthday. They saved me a lot of grief. They simply come in and say, exercise closed and reveal which poison dove number it was. Although Témbor a engineer, turned correspondent, turned priest, turned racecar driver, turned socialite caused me more grief than any girl should be force to endure. Crying over planned heartbreaks is a lot easier than the real life heartbreakers sent by enemy secret agencies to befriend you and then distract, create distrust, or sadden or muddy your ideas and goals.
I always loved wide spaces and when my mom brought me into the palace ballroom, you could see the delight on my face. The sun shined through the west window, a peaceful normal sun. I remember the sounds of my mom's clicking heels and my own whispering flats. After a few minutes I heard more footsteps.
"Jaine!" I said and rushed to the center of the ballroom where Janine stood looking distraught and frightened. I hugged her and held her arms. "What's the matter?"
"You don't know?"
"Know what?"
Jaine's mom and my mom went over the makeshift little restaurant in the back of the ballroom and sat having tea.
"They're going to turn us into prostitutes!" and she sniffed.
"What! Why do you think that?" I questioned her gently.
She stopped sniffing and her yellow eyelidless brown eyes stared into mine. She wiped her face. "The Poison Dove Training."
"My mom mentioned it only briefly. She said this is where we learn to become grown women."
Janine began to whimper some more. "We'll have to sleep with nine men!" She stomped her foot. She wore a pretty oriental dress that came below her knees.
"Jaine," her mom said in a bored, exasperate voice, "Please stop with the hysterics."
I studied my mom's face as she went back to chatting with Janine's mom. She had a placid look, as if I was out on a picnic running about picking stray sunflower weeds from the well-manicured lawn. "Be quiet. What are you talking about? Poison Doves are men sent to befriend us and confuse us, muddle our ideas and goals. I should think you'd want to know how to avoid them."
"I'm not really into boys yet, I'll be honest. You know me. Horseback riding, history gosh I love history. I have this affinity for chess. You want to play."
"No chess is boring. I'll never use that skill."
Lomara walked into the ballroom escorted by her mom. She ran up to us while her mom join our moms at that little restaurant table. We three hugged and smiled briefly, before Jaine begin to tear up again.
"Oh, a big baby," said Lomara and she pushed Jaine's head up so she could better see her teary almond eyes.
"We're going to be ruined whores before the year is done. Waaaahhhh!"
Jaine's mom rushed over. Lomara and I heard the fast clicking heels, but Jaine was all into her emotions.
SMACK! SMACK!
Jaine's mom cuffed with two sharp slaps. "Stop crying this instant. Or you'll never ride another horse again."
With that Jaine found the emotional control and stopped.
We looked back to the front when we heard the door opening behind us. It was none other than Madam Rose #204. Her redhair was coiffure up much like all of our hair. She was dressed in her finest long red dress and she wore the most beautiful black open toe heels. She carried one of those wooden pointers with the rubber tip used at the blackboard for math or science equations.
Our moms came up and stood behind us and we all faced Madam Rose #204. She stopped.
"I'm sure you girls are wondering what's a madam doing in the Royal Household. Girls I can assure everything has been arranged."
Janine began to sniffle again. Her mom cuffed her coiffeur black hair again.
Madam Rose looked at us one by one from the far distance. "You are all fourteen years of age." She began to pace back and forth. "Your bodies are changing and you don't know what to do with them. Your minds are childish but your bodies look like those of a grown woman. I am here to help your minds balance body's appearance. You're young, naive about life and have probably consumed more than your share of romance novels. One of you may even be addicted to horseback riding. One of you may even be glad you're here. No matter what your personal flaws--Before this year," and Madam Rose stomped her foot smartly, "SLAP." The sound dashed through empty ballroom. Startled, Jaine, Lomara and I jumped.
"Before this year is over, you will become experienced young women in the ways of the men and the world."
The light from the window gave an impression Madam Rose was on stage. I found that fascinating. She turned her pointer on each one of us. "You will learn what you neglected up until this day. One, the nine types of Poison Dove's in the world. No doubt there are more types, but they all ascend from these nine. Much like the thirteen royal families that fled earth. Oh, by the way, if you wondering why Czech women always run the Madam Rose Brothel or how Czech people got to Tinion when only thirteen secret service families were chosen. I'll tell you." She walked closer. "Those thirteen families realized if they wanted to create a population, again. They'd need more than just thirteen women." Closer she came, her heels clicking softly. "So sixteen women from different lands were chosen to become the prostitutes ala breeders to help out." She was nearly on top us, a pointer's length away. She swished her pointer into the center of us, right in front of Jaine, "SWISH" Jaine jumped back. "Don't for a second think we are beneath the thirteen families. We are in every position of authority now. Well nearly. For example, Dr. Filad is Czech by the way."
The three of us looked at one another. We had no clue whom Dr. Filad was. We shrugged our shoulders. Madam Rose returned to her sunlit stage.
"Now that we've gotten that out of the way," and her heavy bosom went up and down with her sigh of relief, "we can go on with the training. As I was saying, One, you will learn the nine types of Poison Doves in the world. Two, you will learn the three golden rules of history. History should be cherished. The victors write history. History is full of lies." She tapped her pointer on the floor thinking. Ah, yes. Professor Isénd from the Royal Quoardian University is on sabbatical this year. Just . . . To . . .Train . . . You!" Madam Rose was back on top of us again. We were positively in awe and somewhat afraid of her now.
"Lastly, three you will learn how to negotiate while you walk down the wedding aisle."
Jaine stood up straight and her eyes brightened. I was horror struck; marriage was the last thing I wanted. Lomara just swayed her hips back and forth until her mom grasped her hips stopping the motion.
I raised my timid hand, "Madam Rose, isn't the marriage a little late for doing negotiations on married life."
She walked really close to me. I could smell the soft scent of Ksum perfume, sweet and airy. "My Dear, Morah, men do not listen to women unless," and she raised her pointer straight up into the air beside her face, "they are doing something together. An activity, a sport, something say betting on horses or at a wine tasting, golf." She turned to walk back to the light. Then turned around before she got there, "That's when men listen to women. Otherwise, they don't listen to us at all. But I assure you ladies, there is a proper way to handle each poison dove to your advantage!"
Queen Morah chuckled still holding the golden rose. We were so scared back then. Madam Rose taught us how to dance, curtsey, how to eat properly, make full use of our feminine charms, the wonders of being a woman and dragging around all those dreadful long gowns, dresses, wearing short skirts and tight blouses and loving how beautiful those clothes made us feel. The program had very little to do with men at all. It was instructions on how to love ourselves as women. And Madam Rose was right; men don't listen to women unless they are engaged in some activity together. Negotiating during the wedding has produced solid marriages and made life easier for women in Quoardian Society. Of course history is full of lies because it is written by the victors one; but even the victors feel an obsession to rewrite the past history in a light to tackled future problems or future enemies. As for the nine Poison Doves, there was no better skill and experience to pick up about men. Lomara was very disappointed as we only slept with one Poison Dove of our choice. Jaine was elated that she didn't have to sleep with all nine. I, on the other hand, was still in amor with the Poison Dove I slept and enjoyed Tembor.
As Queen Morah left her little room, she said, "Lord Tweezer's going to be surprise how immune I am to any Poison Dove games."
end chapter 5
