“Have you seen him?”
“Yes, sir, close, just like I see you now. And I didn't have the slightest doubt.”
“How is he?”
“Still the same. He hasn't changed at all. He is fearless, very fast, fights on the front line, takes risks,” the red warrior paused, “ he is a professional,” he added, “no red can do that, he combines the mind of the highest race of red and the animal sense of black savages. He’s in charge. There are many black and unclean ones with him. All are fighting together and all are with him and for him. There is always a girl near him, fighting nearby, his fighting girlfriend. She is also very fast and fights on a par with men. She often insures him, literally throws herself with her chest, like a mad woman, shields him, a bold black savage. I'm sure this is his woman, as soon as we stopped attacking or were forced to retreat, he immediately hugged her.”
“How does she look?!”
“I can't say for sure, she was covered, there was a scarf on her face, I saw only her eyes, and at one of the moments we clashed with her, her eyes… it's impossible to forget them! Bright, beautiful, bestial, like cat’s eyes. She literally burn you out when looking at you. She is thin, graceful, but at the same time she perfectly works by a sword, controls it like a feather. She is very strong and hardy. As long as he was on the wall, so was she. And as soon as he gave them a break, she clung to him. Even in battle, they often, repelling the attack, immediately approached each other, he pressed her to him, and she was literally ready to climb on him right there.”
“Beautiful cat eyes?!”
“Yes. My warriors called her that – Sigmer’s wild cat.”
“This is she, it can only be she.”
“Do you guess who I'm talking about?”
“This is Karina!”
“Yes! You're right! I remembered! He shouted to her several times: “Karin”.”
“He's with her again! He found her and returned!”
“Frankly, I understand him. I myself, having met her gaze only once, will now never forget her. I will recognize her from a thousand, despite the fact that I have not seen her face.”
“He returned her to himself,” whispered the red one named Igmer, “this black savage who killed him. He returned her, managed to survive among the blacks and rise. He gathered an army,” tears appeared in his eyes.
“Sir, did you come this way to find out the details?”
“Yes. I've heard rumors that Sigmer is back. But I couldn't believe it. Now I believe that it really is him.”
“And you left the Upper World for this?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me, how is lady Ethel?”
“All is well. She is a good mother and devotes a lot of time to her son.”
“Oh, sir Igmer, your grandson is probably already very big?”
“Yes,” Igmer smiled.
“You replaced his father.”
“It was not difficult, he is a reasonable and calm boy.”
“Sigmer doesn’t execute prisoners, he needs warriors. My man remained in his army. Soon there will be the first reports left at the appointed place. I will decipher them and pass them on to you.”
“Does he have many soldiers?”
“A lot, sir, and they all fight like the last time. I saw Zagpeace Gezaria. I saw Scavenger. They defended Crimson Rock with teeth and claws. They have gunpowder and have learned how to use it. More soldiers from the Black City came to their aid. We were defeated, and many reds again stood under the banner of Sigmer, they remember him and want to fight in his army. Their next target is the Ore town, there is no doubt about it.”
“It’s too risky.”
“And what does the mayor intend to do?”
“Kudmer clearly underestimates the threat. He believes that the fortress walls of Ore town are indestructible, and even a few thousand blacks cannot take them.”
“Has he sent to other cities and the capital for help?”
“No. And I think this is his big mistake. He is too presumptuous. He poorly imagines the strength of the black army.”
“But this is what you want? Isn't it, sir?”
Igmer was silent, thinking, finally he looked up:
“You are free,” he said. “Rest, you are wounded. I'll call you later, I need to think.”
“Thank you sir, I also think that Kudmer underestimates the enemy. They need to take the most radical measures to protect Ore town, this is a real threat.”
“Yes,” said Igmer.
And when the warrior left, he, left alone, squeezed his temples with his hands:
“You have managed to do it,” he whispered, “you're back. You have done it! You have done it! But how?!”
The Limit
Our morning is like night, and the night is for me…
Chapter two
Lis handed her a formless pile of black rags:
“Put it on.”
“Cape? No, please…”
“When we get back to the Fort, you'll wear it. And now you will put it on. Get used to it.”
“No, please…”
“Put it on! Chastity belt and cape, and don't leave the room without my permission.”
Karina slowly put on the shapeless bag that covered her from head to toe. The wide sleeves almost reaching the floor were sewn.
“I don't see anything, this fabric is too thick. I can't breathe!”
“Get used to it!”
It was impossible to move normally, breathe and see in the cape. Karina became scared, panic seized her:
“I can’t see anything! I can't see your face!”
“It's not a problem.”
“I can't move in it.”
“Learn!”
“I'm not a slave!”
“You are mine! You are my wife, my property and my slave.”
“Yes, I'm yours, but why are you doing this to me?!”
“There is nothing bad in it. You are a woman, and red women behave modestly and wear a cape.”
“No.”
“Yes! And they obey their husbands without question! The red ones say: “A woman’s paradise is under the foot of her husband.” And you know this very well, and you know that many red women have their tongues cut off since childhood, and they never leave their rooms at all.”
Karina cried, suffocating in this cocoon of total slavery and humiliation.
“I don’t want to cut off your tongue, but you must learn to show me respect: wear traditional clothes, speak only when I allow. You will only learn to do what I say. Otherwise,” Lis raised the whip, “I will teach you. You promised to obey me and respect me. It seemed to me that you began to improve, and now it starts again. While we're stuck here, train, get used to it. Walk around the room. The eyes will get used to it, you will become better oriented.”
“Walk around the room from corner to corner?”
And Lis whipped her so hard on the back that even the dense fabric of the cape didn’t save her from the burning pain. Karina shrank, fell to the floor, hoping he would not continue. But he hit her several more times with a quick draw, and she couldn’t resist, screamed out loud and sobbed.
“I warned you,” he said very calmly. “I will punish you for the slightest disobedience. I will beat you. You will be the perfect wife and thank me.”
Karina continued to cry, choking and gasping, sitting in her cape on the floor like a shapeless sack. She became hysterical.
But Lis was ruthless:
“I repeat once again, tears won’t help. I'm doing the best for you. Time will pass, you will be grateful to me for this. And you will wear what I say.”
She froze in a stupor.
He walked over and pulled off the top of the cape over her:
“Wipe your face,” he handed her a towel, sat down next to her, “why are you resisting? Why can't you understand that I want the best? Why do other women want to be unique and beautiful only for their beloved man, but not you? Your fucking nature doesn’t let you be good? If you say that you love me, and sometimes it seems to me that you are not lying, then why? Why don't you want to be only mine if you see that it pleases me? Why show yourself to others? What for? Explain to me?”