Conflict of Interest: Part 5 By ZuiderZee (zuiderzee@hotmail.com) Women in power for the wrong reasons I said stop reading that rubbish, it's time for your training to begin!" Brehn had a different look in his eye; he meant deadly serious business. Perhaps it was merely the twilight of predawn and the odd arrangement of shadows on his face. Sun-up was less than an hour away thank to the alps, but already there was a strange silvery sheen in the sky. Ustreed closed her book of geometry and tucked it away in her rucksack. There was trouble in the air. Naturally, they did not have Danning Castle to themselves and no-one was going to overhear two of Bruellen's trusted appointees arguing. At the table, while Brehn gorged on his usual diet of everything in great amounts, Ustreed struggled with the array of unappetizing fare. "Let me make it clear, Ustreed. There is no selection when you sit down to eat with me. You don't get to pick and choose..." So saying, Brehn took Ustreed's plate from her, heaped the flat disc of pewter high with coarse breads, slices of boned trout, sweetmeats, tubers, sprouts and greens and set it back down in front of her with a solid thud. "Eat!" It was an unfair contest. Brehn was a bottomless pit, capable of consuming enormous amounts of food with equal gusto from the first bite to the last. It was the herzog's order that Ustreed gain weight. Fighting weight, he deemed it, but to her it was nothing but repulsive bulk. She cringed at the idea of lurching about like Brehn with immense thighs covered with livid stretchmarks. But there was no way around gaining weight. Summoning strength, Ustreed took up her knife and fork in a death grip and dug in, clearing her mind of the consequences. The breads were the worst, so coarse and thick they tired out her jaw. All the rest was mostly succulent. Brehn angrily told her to eat the rinds, pits and typically discarded portions of the fruits and vegetables. Sweat moistened her forehead and long before she was finished, her heart began to pound from the sheer effort. "You'll get used to the large amounts you eat," Brehn said. "The stomach will stretch and your innards will grow accustomed to five meals a day. Hearty feasting, not just eating. Good food and plenty of it, the herzog was specific. You'll need the sustenance to carry you through the training. We have to start with a stronger body this time...and we'll push it and drive it and force it straight uphill if we have to. In my opinion, you were always too skinny." "Yes, but--" "No buts! How are you going to intimidate your opponent if you look like an emaciated ragdoll he can simply knock aside? You're not going to grow any taller at your age...there's only one direction to grow and that's plain and simply outward!" Brehn snatched up a thick slice of vollkorn bread chewed expertly at it, swallowing the big mouthful in record time and without the slightest hint of a struggle. Some people insisted vollkorn could be used as floormats because it was do damned tough, but to a veteran eater like Brehn, it was like the softest cheese. "If you're worried about getting fat, don't be. You won't have time to get fat. Eat up, eat up!" Ustreed sighed through her mouthful and wiped the sweat from her face. "My jaw is tired." "Eating is a good exercise. The jaws have muscles in them, good muscles. I've bitten any number of opponents in wrestling matches. Drawn blood too, the teeth can be most effective weapons--" "I happen to know that!" Ustreed held up her maimed hand. "How thoughtful of you to remind me." At this, Brehn blushed. "I didn't mean for that to hurt you. You get along so well, sometimes I forget about...you know. As soldiers we have to shut out our pains. I'm very proud to supervise your training. Whatever the hardship or the reward I hope you'll still trust me. There are always greater risks, no matter what you've suffered in the past. My object is to turn out a soldier so strong and capable that she won't be hurt by little things. The herzog expects it, I expect it, you do as well." "And the Pfalzgrafin?" Brehn continued to feed his face, ignoring the question until he couldn't stand Ustreed's imploring stare any longer. "The Pfalzgrafin is outside what we're trying to accomplish. She isn't strong, she was never a soldier. She was elected the leader of the empire. Crenholtz is not the center of her empire anyway. The Pfalzgrafin was never my leader. I follow the herzog for what he's done. My loyalty to him could not be bought or bartered. The Pfalzgrafin comes from a twisted order of rites, masks and vain symbols. Avoid her, Ustreed. She doesn't have our best interests at heart. Bruellen doesn't trust her, I don't trust her. I think she has bent desires where you are concerned. When you are presented to her, I hope you will remember you are a Crenish solider first and a woman second. The sisterhood to which the empress belongs is not about heroism or worth, not about anything I would feel proud teaching you." For a long time, Ustreed and Brehn exchanged grim looks, each one wondering if they could trust the other. "I am already a soldier, Brehn. What are you afraid of--what are you afraid I'll do?" "I'm afraid you'll make us look weak." Brehn answered quickly. "The other states have their eyes on us. This can be a tremendous period for this nation if we remain strong and reliant on ourselves. Now let's stop talking about this and get back to eating. We must trust each other. Lives are at stake." Forcing herself to eat, Ustreed ate until she was dizzy and sickened. * * * The following days were only slightly better. Frequent weigh-ins showed Ustreed was gaining weight slowly, but surely. There was no more talk about the Pfalzgrafin, but during her brief respites, Ustreed always felt Brehn's eyes on her. Within a month and a half, Ustreed's wardrobe with the exception on her footwear, hats and cloaks, did not fit anymore. True to Brehn's promise, it was not fat, but muscle. The overall shapes of the muscles were not easy to make out, but appearances aside, all familiar objects felt different in her hands. There were many months yet to go before she was presented to the Pfalzgrafin, yet Brehn did not seem to have the patience. It was clear he did not trust either her or himself. He pushed harder and harder, shouted more and became less tolerant of her inadequacy. Regardless of their long hours together, the man became more and more of a stranger. With her growing body grew a nagging sense of isolation. The future and all its outcomes was rushing at her with unbelieveable fury, daring her to meet it. Day after day, Brehn continued to lose his humanity, forcing Ustreed to grow selfish and concerned with her physique alone. The results were plain and the road to excellence was lonely and agonizing. The striving to lift more, run farther, dive deeper and to erase all her previous records came with a genuine loss of personality. Her iron-bound word as a soldier came before any ties to family and the isolation simply made her more hollow inside. The empty space screamed to be filled with something. Brehn could see that void and with equal focus on his duties, filled it in with more and more exertion. Only after she weighed in at two hundred pounds did he begin to redirect their energy into combat. The challenge of having to move a heavier, bulkier body in a fight was not an obstacle to Brehn. It was here that his efforts came to naught. End of part 5. To be continued.