Jana, Episode 12: Stefan Returns

At that moment, the Horse-People were engaged in a huge battle.  The Royal Guards, closing in on the Duke’s lands had been stunned to discover an enormous militia, outnumbering the Guards by several hundred ---all thieves and mercenaries from diverse regions.  When the Horse People and the Queen had galloped up, they had been told of the impending showdown in the West.  Only Andromache had seen the contingent heading out in the direction of the cabin, had outridden them, and had of course died trying to warn Ianthe and Jana.  No one, outside the witnesses themselves, had an inkling of that incident yet.

The fighting at the Ducal Palace was fierce, and it was nearly midnight when the fortified Palace fell to the Horse-People and the Royal Guard.  The Queen, seething with fury, had joined the fight, despite all advice, and taken an arrow to the chest.  Her guards propped her up, while a healer bound her wound, and she watched the battle, fire in her eyes, but she never saw the end of it.

Meanwhile, with great difficulty, Ianthe had got Jana mounted, and led her horse all the way back to the Palace in Heliopolis, only to see her mother’s bier.

King Ahaz Hears the News

“Tell me everything,” said the King, firmly.  “And quickly; we must hurry!”
  The Captain of the King’s Own faced the King.

“The Queen is dead.”  The King’s face went blank.  “The Duke was attacked savagely, but he clings to life.  The boy arrived just as I left; he has aged much.  There is a girl, of about thirteen.”

“No uncles, aunts?  Older siblings?”

The man shook his head.  “He wanted to collect tolls on the road, and she refused.  Said that she maintained it, and it would be free.”  The King nodded.

He had loved and admired the woman who had ruled the land across the border.  She had fallen to greed and thuggery.  She could have easily avoided the battle!

“How did she die?”

“She had her bow with her, and began shooting.  They say that with twenty-four arrows, she took down twenty-four men!  But she wasn’t armored.  It was our fault!”
“No, no it wasn’t… she was reckless.  What a woman!”  The King wept.  “What a waste!”

Until the King dismissed him, the Captain must wait.  There was no one to see the King’s grief but him.  Having met the Queen Ione, the Captain was not surprised.  He could still see, in his mind’s eye, her extraordinary grey eyes.  He remembered being torn between kneeling before her, and kissing her soft lips.  How alive she had been, as she rode into the City, eyes flashing, cheeks burning!  He could easily imagine the vital young girl she must have been in her youth!

He watched the King in silence, as he wept.  The world mourned Ione, while the Duke wondered where he had failed.  He would never see the enormity of his crime.

“The girl Jana?” asked the King, hopefully.
The Captain heaved a heavy sigh.
“She’s lost her mind, my Lord.  There was a minor skirmish somewhere in the North, and for whatever reasons, the girl was shaken.”  He shrugged.  “The two children are shattered by Jana’s condition.  She had held them together for months, they told me--- poison, sniper attacks…”
“Go back, then.  I want to see for myself, but not until they’re ready.  Otherwise a visit from me will be seen as a threat.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Who is in charge?”
He shrugged.  “I suppose Nicodemus, the Captain of the Royal Guards.”
“Go, but not in uniform.  Help to secure the place.  Send Jana back here.”

Captain Nicodemus stood on the Palace steps and addressed the waiting crowd, reading from a scroll.  He confirmed that the Queen was dead, not from fire, but of an arrow wound.  The Royal heirs were both safe, and until the family announced a succession, the Royal Guard would keep the peace.  He urged them to go about their business, but that silence would be observed all the following day, in honor of the late Queen.

Stefan and Ianthe stood in the watery sunlight, dressed all in white, the color of mourning.  A line of citizens filed past the late Queen’s body, which had been dressed in Royal Blue, her face stern in death.  The line stretched as far as the eye could see.  Nina clung to Ianthe’s skirt, dressed in her customary little white robe, her hair in a white ribbon.  Sophie stood on Ianthe’s other side, also in white.  Jana was behind them, seated, staring straight ahead.  Thousands had pressed the hands of the prince and princess in condolence, and thousands had wept openly.

The children no longer reacted to anything.
Then, a slim, fair-haired young woman stepped forward to kiss each of them.
“Penelope!”
“Oh Ianthe!  I am so, so sorry!”
His eyes full of tears, again, Stefan gently pulled Penelope between them, and took the proffered hand of the next person.  Penny was family.

Late in the afternoon, the there was a military salute to the Queen, and the hundreds of dead guardsmen and Horse People.  Then Stefan, Ianthe, Penelope, Sophie and Nina had to bury the Queen in the family burial-ground just past the inner courtyard.  A marker would be erected in the City cemetery, and the people would lay flowers there.  But the body would lie in the Palace grounds.

“Jana!” cried Ianthe.  But there was no response.  The children threw earth into the grave.  If Jana were herself, she would have been such a help!  But Stefan did it all himself, with Ianthe’s encouragement, and a little help from Sophie.

Jana sat on the steps, expressionless.  Ianthe had had to dress her as if she were a corpse---wash her hair, wipe her dry, tie her breech-clout, pull on her singlet and her tunic, her girdle and her sandals, braid her hair.  She looked a doll, all pretty and neat.  Her muscles were all soft.  Her eyes were vacant.  Ianthe could not love her.  Jana was gone.

In the inner courtyard of the children, Stefan sat next to Jana, held her hand and caressed it, tears pouring down his cheeks.  Penelope looked at Stefan with great sad eyes.
“They’ve sent food, Princess!”
“No.”
“There’s enough for a stew in the larder, my Lady!”
“That’s better.  Come on, Nina.”
“I can’t stand to see Jana, my lady!”  Ianthe only shook her head.  Stefan’s carrying-on disgusted her.  If he would only open his eyes and look at poor Penelope!
She cut the onions viciously.  She knew Jana was inside there, but she wondered what would heal her.

The previous night, having made Jana move her bowels and empty her bladder, Ianthe had cleaned her up and put her to bed.  With little Nina and Sophie by her, she had put her arms round Jana and told her how much she loved her, over and over again.  At times it had seemed as if a cloud crossed her eyes.  But that was all.

They forced Stefan to eat a little of the stew, and they all felt better.
“She’s a beautiful girl,” said Penelope softly.
“Who?” asked Stefan.
“Jana,” replied Penelope.  “Not just her appearance; she was sweet-natured and loving.”
“She isn’t dead, Penny,” Stefan said, a slight edge to his voice.
Penny looked at him.  “I loved her too, Stefan.  We’re all trying to figure it out, each in our own way, that’s all.”  She spoke gently, but firmly.  It was as if Stefan saw her for the first time.
“Why---when did she shut down like this?” Penny asked Ianthe.
“When…when she saw Andromache hacked to death!”

There was a stunned silence, while Ianthe cursed herself silently.  That was the difference between them: Ianthe’s bitterness came out in her speech; Jana kept it bottled inside, and it seared her mind.
“It must have been violent,” Penelope murmured with a shudder.
“Violence?  Rubbish; she taught me to fight, dammit.  Hack, hack, hack; she was plenty violent herself!  Violence was nothing to her!”
“It was the brutality, then; fighters are not brutal, necessarily.  Brutality is a kind of cowardliness.”

Ianthe stared at Penelope.  She couldn’t believe her ears.
Penelope saw her, and turned red.  “I want to help,” she said softly.  “One of you has to be King or Queen, but both of you have to do it together.  You have to think, plan, be as good as adults!  Jana would have helped you, but she can’t!  But the three of us, together, we might be able to do it!”

Ianthe was amazed at her forthrightness.  She was realizing what a staunch friend Penelope had always been, especially during the poisoning period.
“I didn’t mean to be rude, Penny.  I believed your were more intelligent than you liked to appear!”
Penelope laughed, then she sobered.  “If I had learned to shoot with a bow…I could have come to the cabin with you… things might have been different…”
“No,” disagreed Ianthe at once.  “No…I can see it still … Jana was all tensed, horrified… one hand held her bow, and with the other she was pushing me back, into the trees!  She would never have let you be seen… Oh dear gods!  Oh, how bitter it is!”  Ianthe held her head and laid it on the table, and wept bitterly once more, pounding her head in misery.  Stefan watched her, flabbergasted.  Sophie was softly crying, her eyes huge in the lamplight.  Stefan looked at Penelope, confused.  Then a tear rolled down Jana’s cheek, just as they heard a soft knock on the kitchen door.

Captain Vila introduced himself and sat down.  Sophie brought him a bowl of stew.  Jana wept quietly, her face in her hands.

“The King asked about all of you, but was upset about Jana.  She’s crying… it is a good sign, a very good sign,” he said kindly.  “What were you saying that broke through?”

“It’s my belief that she couldn’t keep Ianthe hidden and go to help Andromache at the same time,” said Stefan, and to their surprise, Jana got up, and ran weeping out into the dark courtyard.  Ianthe stood, but Stefan was quicker.  He was out with Jana holding her tenderly.

“Don’t cry, love!  Oh, I can’t bear it!”

“I am a coward, a coward, a coward!  A thousand times a coward!” she sobbed, in utter self-loathing.  Suddenly she stopped.  “I am not worthy of her,” she said, barely in a whisper.

“Of whom?”

“Ianthe.”

“What about me?” demanded Ianthe, hurrying up.

“I …I…I let you down!”

“No, you didn’t” said Ianthe, realizing the awkwardness of the situation.

They were in the dark, Stefan staring jealously at Jana and Ianthe, Ianthe longing to ask Jana some intimate questions, and Jana wondering how to tell Stefan that she could never love him like she loved Ianthe.  And Penelope watched the three of them, while the Captain kept talking to her.

“You’ve grown taller,” said Jana to Stefan through lowered lashes.  Ianthe was surprised, it was so uncharacteristic.  She’s flattering him, not flirting, she told herself.

It worked.

“Really?  It’s possible, I suppose!”

“Penny is watching you!”

Stefan laughed.  “She’s quite a kid!”

Jana picked at her clothes.  “Someone has dressed me beautifully,” she said softly.

“It was me,” said Ianthe.

“You brought me home, and …looked after me.  I remember it like a dream.  Stefan,” she said softly, addressing him, “could you give us a few moments together?”

It was some time later.
“Jana, the King will be relieved, and I am so relieved, we need a new word for how I feel!” said Villa.  They laughed, but it was plainly true.  “Under the circumstances, the King says it is better that he should stay away until there is a new ruler here,” he continued, addressing the young people in general, looking each of them in the eye.  “A good ruler must earn the respect of his or her subjects; a friend to all neighboring lands, and a puppet of none.  You understand?”  They all nodded.  At last, help had arrived.  “Both children of the late Queen are qualified.  And you are both blessed, because neither of you is ambitious, and there are no ambitious older men or women, seeking to influence you!”
“There are, Captain,” said Penelope, in a low voice. “The Duke was my uncle, and there is his son…there may be trouble in the offing.”
“No member of the Duke’s near family can hold power here,” said the Captain with a gentle smile.  “The fox is out of his lair, and has been put out of business.  The fox cubs must be dealt with fairly, and then the matter will be over.  We must wait and see.”  Penny nodded, reluctantly.
“Officer Jana: the King has summoned you.  But your friends here may need your strength; I shall explain to the King.”
“No, Captain; I will go.”
“Jana!” cried Ianthe and Stefan, together.
“I will go,” repeated Jana, in almost a whisper, her head hanging.
“Will you return here, once you have visited your family?”
Jana shrugged.  Then softly she said, “Perhaps.”
“Then I will come with you,” declared Ianthe.  “I have been trapped here so long, and seen only fear and death!  My brother has traveled and studied; now I am free, and I shall visit his Majesty, and Jana’s family!”
“But you have a duty!” said Penelope, aghast.  “Stefan is a scholar, you must help him, or you must rule!”
“The people will be safe for a while,” insisted Ianthe.  “I am not turning my back on them.  And I have faith in Stefan, and Penelope, who is a cautious girl.”
“Yes,” the Captain agreed, looking thoughtful.  “There seems no outcry for a quick succession.  It is a good sign.”

Stefan drew Jana into the privacy of the Queen’s sanctum, a quiet courtyard where none ventured but Sophie.  Ianthe saw, but said nothing.
“There is no one to deny us now---will you come to my bed, Jana?”
“It is still early,” said Jana sitting on a wide bench, making space for Stefan.  “Come, we must talk,”  Stefan sat.  How he has changed, she thought!  He is not a sweet, biddable boy, nor is he the angry, stubborn one I escorted to the school; but he is still young, and blind.
“Stefan, …do you remember that morning, when I saw you, naked and beautiful, full of shame for your arousal, and I desired you ...”
“Yes…how could I forget?”
“I was only a silly girl, dear, full of the lust of a woman, and the wisdom of a puppy.  When I lay on you that day, it was lust, yes, and…”
“You felt protective of me!”
“Indeed.  You see that now?”
“I knew it from the first, my Jana!  But we are more equals now; we have been together as a man and a woman… don’t you desire that?”
“That was also…only the slaking of lust, for both of us.  You may have imagined it to be love!  But I … Stefan, I know what love is!”
He stared at her horrified.  And she saw in his eyes that he knew the truth.
“It is only a childish fancy!”
“Perhaps!  Perhaps so.  These are all childish fancies, Stefan.  I hope to end them all, by returning home.”

He turned to her, his eyes wet with tears.
“This is your home!” he cried.  Then he came to kneel at her feet.  Taking her hands in his, he stammered, “Jana… in my heart, you are my home!  Without you, this place is nothing!  I am homeless!”
Curse the boy!  She had brought him into manhood, and he clung to her still.
“Refuse to take her with you, then!” Stefan insisted.
Jana sighed.  How could she refuse to conduct the Princess safely to King Ahaz?  Was it not her right?  Her face revealed her doubts to him.

He rose, and began to pace.  “You … and my sister… lovers… I cannot imagine her a creature of lust!”  Jana regarded him gravely, biting down on her amusement.  “Do you awaken lust in everyone you meet, Jana?”  There was too much truth in his accusation for comfort: even the Queen herself, and Lady Penelope, had looked at Jana with some lust in their eyes.
“Go to bed now,” she urged.  “Sleep alone.  If  you need comfort … I will comfort you, but I will sleep here, in the courtyard!”
“No,” said he, disgusted by the idea.  “You are not a servant!  Good night, then.”

In the morning, the Captain placed his men in Jana’s charge; and having saluted the Captain and Prince Stefan, they wheeled smartly, and with the Princess in the middle of their company, headed off to the south.  The Princess made a pretty picture, in a brief riding dress, mounted astride her big black gelding, her cares and her lover all forgotten in the pleasure of riding her horse.  He loved his rider, and pranced beneath her, eager to run.