Princess Rescue Inc (111 page)

“Oh
this and that. Window shopping is fun. I like to do that from time to time.
Keeping up with the latest fashions isn't really my thing. I like to go to the
shooting range so sometimes I hit the gun shops to see their latest weapons
too.” She shrugged.

“Ah,”
the Princess nodded. She too enjoyed testing the latest weapons.

“Then
there's flying. I've got a glider back home. Wicked little thing. It's actually
my family's. Dad and Uncle Rich don't do much flying these days though so I'm
the one that uses it the most.” She shrugged.

“Glider?”
The princess asked.

“It's
a... well it's a long winged craft that can soar like a bird... or whatever
that is.” She waved to indicate the flock of pterosaurs on the nearby roof.

“Ah,
the Pestakani,” Deidra nodded.

“Yeah...okay,
whatever they are,” Ginger grimaced. “I also like to veg, you know, sit around
a fire with a good romance book, soft music, and paint my toe nails...” She
blushed suddenly.

Deidra
laughed. “I've done that with Sue, Charlie, and Wanda. I'll have to remember to
invite you next time.” She smiled.

“Hey
that'd be fun,” Ginger grinned.

“So
tell me more about this woman you mentioned, this Spears...”

Ginger's
face fell into a frown then she got an idea. The smile grew. “Well, if you've
got a moment, I could show you a couple of her music video's I've got...” She
pulled out her tablet and keyed through the files.

“Sure,”
the princess said smiling and leaning closer. Ginger played 'I'm not a girl,
not yet a woman', making Deidra smile. She didn't fully understand everything
the young woman said, but the meaning was clear. And her outfits! She tapped it
when it showed her on an outcrop of rock. “Pause it.”

Ginger
hit the pause key and looked up. “What's up?” she asked confused.

“Well...
I was just wondering if we could get the royal tailors to make something like
that. It would be very fetching to wear out of court,” Deidra said, just
imagining how many of the old goats she could scandalize with this. Many of the
lords were heading back to their homes to stay the winter. A few though were
planning to remain, trusting in the Queen's hospitality. It was vexing of
course but they needed their support.

“Yeah,
I'd say it would. Comfortable too.” Ginger glanced at some of the women below.
“You'd be setting a style and turning heads. Get a lot of tongues wagging all
over town,” she grinned, eyes twinkling with mischief.

“That's
my whole point exactly,” Deidra grinned back. “Though it's one head that I'd
like to... how do you say? Turn?”

Ginger
chuckled. “Okay, I'm in. Let me get my laptop... I'll check the printer; if no
one's around we can print a couple of screen grabs for the tailors...”

  <==={}------------>

“Having
fun dear?” Ryans asked watching Deidra work out in the courtyard the next
morning. She saluted her opponent then stood her wooden sword down and came
over. She pulled the wire mask up and shook her hair, then grimaced and pulled
the pony tail out. She was wearing white leather padding as armor to protect
herself. It covered her vitals and she had pads on her joints.

He
smiled and handed her a canteen. She took a sip then nodded. “Cold. I like it.”

He
chuckled. “I thought you would.” She took another sip.

“How
goes things?” Deidra asked, wiping at her mouth and then using a handkerchief
he handed her to wipe at her sweaty brow. He was amused to see she had a sweat
band on.

“Those
that wanted out are out; we've pared the royal army down to those who want to
stay in. We've got most of the army outfitted now; the infantry soldiers are
all armed with rifles. We're using the bolt action 1903 Springfield for now
since production is a problem. We've sent the older weapons with trainers to
the other passes and strategic locations. It'll be interesting to see the
raiders faces when they get a whiff of cordite and gunpowder.”

“Not
to mention grapeshot,” Deidra said nodding.

“Yeah
that too, we're getting questions about more of our Terran clothing, including
denim. One of the royal tailors was asking about it this morning,” he said
giving her a look.

She
gave a start and then covered it. “He was?”

“Yeah,
it seems you don't have cotton like Terra does, so he wanted to know if that
stuff off the Albia fuzz tree would work in its place,” he answered. “Gotta be
a weird looking tree.” He shook his head.

“They
are. They grow... high.” She waved to indicate the parapet above them. He
turned to look then whistled softly.

“That
high huh?”

She
nodded. “The farms that grow them can only get to the lower parts of the tree
to harvest the fuzz. The uppers either are taken by creatures for nesting
material or fly off in the wind.” She shrugged. “A few farmers have... she
pointed to a scaffold. “But it's only around large old trees. They can't build
them around each and every tree in the orchard.”

“Yeah,
that would be a lot of work for a couple of harvests,” Ryans grimaced. “Rakes?”

“Yes.
They use poles and rakes,” she smiled. “You figured that out? That quickly?”

“It
was logical. Extend the reach of the picker,” Ryans replied nodding as he
hugged her to his side. She smiled. Together they turned to watch Zara's
sparring match.

He
rumbled a soft chuckle as Zara tripped backwards and fell on her butt. Deidra
smiled but elbowed him. He ooffed politely.

“So
this denim...” she asked before he could get frisky. She knew she would need to
distract him or his hands would wander.

“It's
used to make jeans. It's a very hardy material. It lasts a long time, wears
well, is very comfortable, and can be treated to keep from burning or being
damaged in some ways.” Ryans explained.

“I
gathered that. Wanda told me a little when we talked about something called...
nylon I think she called it? We went off track,” she grimaced.

“Yeah,
I can gather. She can get a little scattered because of all the projects on her
mind. I'll see if I can get the formula off to what's his name later today.
Hopefully he can use some of it.”

“Thank
you,” she murmured.

“What
for?” he asked looking down at her.

“Oh,
nothing,” she said airily, with a slight smile to her lips. He frowned puzzled
but she didn't respond, just continued to watch the match.

  <==={}------------>

A
few days later the marines working on the hummer whistled. One whistled, and
then another looked up, gaped, and then wolf whistled in admiration. Soon the
others were looking and yipping or whistling.

“Hubba
hubba! Sexy lady!” Scooter said looking at the vision.

“What
the hell’s going on out here?” Max said irritable came out of the garage and
wiping grease off his hands. “What are you monkeys whistling about now?” He
looked over to the girl; jaw dropped then shook his head and turned on the men.
“You damn fool idjets! That's the princess!”

He
shook his head as she passed, turning slightly to smile at them. “Mornin'
princess,” he said politely. Her smile turned into a grin as she looked over
her shoulder then strutted on her way. Two guards followed in her wake. Both
men looked amused and a little dazed.

“Now
get back to work you jarheads. What's the matter with you? making eyes at the
boss' girl! Honestly!” Max waved to the men. Sheepishly they obeyed, but not
without lingering looks the way the princess went.

  <==={}------------>

Ginger
grinned as Deidra passed her. “Work it girl, work it!” she said watching Deidra
strut. Deidra looked over her shoulder and gave the pilot a saucy wink. “Go get
'em girl.”

  <==={}------------>

“Well
golly!” Perry said turning to see the princess approach. Ryans was watching the
men drilling and didn't turn at first. Perry closed his open mouth then poked
Ryans and cleared his throat. He nodded his chin to him but Ryans was
thoroughly distracted.

“What?”
Ryans demanded turning. Perry jerked his head to the princess. He caught sight
of her out of the corner of his eye and turned. His jaw opened as he took in
the sight of her.

“Now
that's a sight you don't see every day,” Perry murmured. It was true. The
princess had obviously seen a Britney video. He couldn't recall which one off
the top of his head, but she was drop dead gorgeous. She was dressed in jeans,
but the pant legs were split open into bell bottoms. The splits were filled
with silk lace cloth dyed a green to match her top.

The
green top was cut daringly low for a woman of this culture, and trimmed with
matching lace. Her belly was completely exposed. Her hair flowed behind her as
the wind started to blow. “Well?” she asked smiling. “What do you think?” she
asked, hands on her hips. She even had understated Terran makeup on.

Perry
glanced at Ryans and then elbowed him again. “Stunning, literally,” he said
jerking his thumb to Ryans. She gave a soft throaty laugh as Ryans recovered
and closed his open mouth. She caught the coveted gleam in his eye as he came
forward and swept her into his arms. Her smile of approval was dazzling.

“You’re
just full of surprises aren't you?” he asked smiling down at her.

She
wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her lips. “You better
believe it,” she murmured to him as they kissed.

  <==={}------------>

“So,
I take it that's why the royal tailor was asking about denim?” he teased as
they lay in bed later that night. She smiled in the dark, tracing circles on
his chest with her fingertips and nails.

“A
girl does have to have some secrets,” she chuckled. “Besides, now that we've
got the formula and the diagonal pattern worked out we can employ the textile
mills and tailors in town. Soon everyone will want their own. It'll be fun
seeing the old biddies pitching fits over new fashion. Wait until you see what
I'm wearing tomorrow,” she said with a Cheshire grin in the darkness.

He
thought about it. Most of the factories would be shutting down and winterizing
soon. They had about two and a half more months, about twenty more weeks of
production time and not a whole lot to set things up in. Most likely only a
handful of people would get the new outfits before winter. Not that they'd wear
them in ten feet of snow! “And you just had to be first,” he chuckled softly
then yelped as she pinched his nipple. “Hey!” he said trying to retaliate. She
giggled and fought him off for a moment. When he caught her wrists she kissed
his neck, and then nipped it.

“You
are a naughty little minx tonight!” he said as her eyes gleamed a wicked
challenge at him in the dark. She grinned then snapped her teeth at him.
“Little wild cat huh?” he teased as he pinned her arms to her sides then behind
her. She froze for a moment as wild terror flashed through her. She could see
her attacker and she thrashed for a moment, back in that awful time. Until that
is he caught both of her wrists with one hand then used the other to tickle
her. The flashback of fear evaporated as suddenly as it began.

Sudden
feelings of terror ebbed as the merciless fingers dug into her ribs. She squirmed
and giggled, then laughed. She flopped around, ending up on his chest. When she
pinned his hand under her he tried to pull it out then bent and licked her
exposed breast. She squirmed and then purred as he nipped it and then suckled.

“Now
that's more like it,” he murmured.

  <==={}------------>

“What's
wrong?” he asked softly, feeling the tears on his shoulder. It had been a wild
but exciting love making session. One for the record books. She was awfully
quiet now that it was over though and he felt something hovering over her like
a cloud.

“Nothing
just hold me,” she sobbed softly. He sighed, holding her. Eventually her
breathing eased into a regular rhythm of rest. He felt a pang of remorse as he
realized he must have done something wrong. It took him a few moments to go
over the nights events and figure it out. He tried to relax as well but a
sudden burning guilt kept him awake for a long time.

“Had
a flashback?” he asked from the window. She looked at him, mind waking slowly.
She nodded. “The rape?” he asked softly, shoulders hunched. She sat up, brought
her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around the silk coverings. “Bad?”
he asked. Her eyes sparkled before she looked down. She nodded. Tears dripped down
onto the silk sheets.

“I'm
sorry love,” he murmured as she cried again. He sighed. “My hard as nails
princess,” he said. He came over and gently rubbed her shoulders. She felt the
bed move as he climbed in beside and behind her then felt his hands massaging
her hunched shoulders.

She
turned with a wordless cry and hugged him fiercely. He stroked her face, moving
her bangs gently aside as she looked up to him. He kissed her forehead. “I
screwed up. I'm sorry. I pushed the envelope and blew it,” he said, with dark
self loathing in his voice. She saw his own sorrow and burrowed deeper into his
arms.