Jana Episode 15

In Heliopolis, Stefan is left holding the fort, with Penelope, and Penelope's mother, and of course Sofia and little Nina.  (Penelope's mother had been brought in for questioning, after Penelope had revealed that she had overheard plotting against the Queen.  Over time, Penelope's mother had become less defiant, and was now supportive of the beleaguered little royal family.)

The Duke, of course, was in the dungeon, and the Duke's son, a hothead, was on house arrest, from where there was daily news of agitation, propaganda against Stefan, and lots of rabble-rousing.  Basically, the Duke and his son were separately seeking a confrontation with Stefan, seeing him as the only one obstructing their right to the throne.

Stefan had gotten a message from the Duke in the dungeon, demanding the right to trial by combat.  At that time, this right could not be denied, and Stefan decided that he would grant it, and that he would face the challenger himself.  (As far as the Duke and the people knew, Stefan was no warrior.  Rumors that he had been tutored in arms by a girl, Jana, had been dismissed with laughter.)

Penelope was completely against the idea of a fight.  But her mother, having learned that Stefan was not completely helpless, reluctantly agreed to support the young prince, a mere boy of fifteen.  The Duke, predictably, was represented by his champion, his son.  When all parties assembled at the field of arms, they were amazed to see that not only was Stefan able to hold his own, but he was the significantly better swordsman.  Unfortunately, when he was delivering the death blow, at the last second the Duke's son was able to get in a slice to the prince's abdomen. The two opponents lay in the dust, one dead, and the other unable to breathe.

Penelope ran screaming down to the arena, and ripping her garment free, bundled it to stanch the prince's wound.  Only then did the people run down to aid the stricken prince. Penelope screamed for medical assistance, and made the surgeons crudely sew up the slashed abdomen, and presently he was lying in a chamber, surrounded by attendants, but Penelope sat by his side, watching the physicians, questioning them, urging them to greater efforts, holding Stefan down when they attempted bolder means for saving the boys, and controlling the spread of poison from the wound.  (At that time, the existence of bacteria was unknown, and the word poison was used to describe all that which had to be controlled, to prevent the spread of the damage that had been caused, and clear the path to recovery.)

Over the weeks, as Stefan lay unconscious, as his temperature returned to normal, signaling the defeat of the spread of poison, it was Penelope who remained faithfully at his side, dressing his wounds, feeding him food and drink, cleaning him off as needed, and hers was the face he saw when he opened his eyes.

Meanwhile, Jana, after a brief period of rest with her parents, was given a squad of her own, and presently became well known for great success in controlling bandit raids from the southeast.  The people of those parts were grateful for the help in securing their herds of horses, and Jana's fame grew.  Few knew that she was a woman; dressed in leather armor, she appeared to be a handsome young man.  As the army recruited younger men, the newcomers of Jana's own squadron were unaware that they were being led by a woman, since she was seldom addressed by name.

Kay