Amazon Maidens 4: Katarina's Choice
By Littlesilverstar, silverstar222b@yahoo.com
Princess Katarina faces battle, political intrigue, and a decision


The two Amazon princesses, daughters of the great Queen, sat alone in the
large command tent in the middle of the Amazon war camp. Livia, the older
sister, the fiery woman with long straight auburn hair who was heiress to the
throne, moved some figurines of army women across a map. Take three brigades
and attack the enemy on the other side of the island. Ill take these five
brigades here and attack that Katarina, that woman who fights for those men,
and bring her down once and for all.

Jenova, the calmer and more patient younger sister, ran a finger through her
curly, shoulder-length jet black hair. Only three? Lets divide them evenly,
four and four. The armies each of us will face are the same size.

You have the easy job, said Livia. All you have to do is defeat an army led by
a man. I have to defeat a female commander. Now get your girls moving. Youve
got a long march ahead of you.

Yes, sister, sighed Jenova reluctantly, departing the tent.

Livia watched her go, then ran her fingers over the map, knocking over the
male figurines that represented the enemy. From the reports her scouts had
brought her, Livia knew she would be facing perhaps 6000, or 6500 at the most,
Royalist soldiers. Her force of 5000 Amazons should be able to defeat them
easily. She had won facing worse odds many times before.

* * *

Princess Katarina, daughter of King Frederick IX and commander of the Royalist
Army that had been sent to this island to defeat the Amazons, tossed and
turned in her tent, unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she kept
seeing those words from that letter from her father:

I am naming your younger brother heir to the throne.

Frederick Junior. Little F. Little Fuck-up. Her younger brother was far too
incompetent to ever make a good king. But because of her fathers reasoning
that he feared she would be assassinated by power-hungry nobles who preferred
the easy-to-manipulate Little F as ruler if she was named queen the stupid
young Little Fuck-up was being given this undeserved chance.

Despite his misguided decision, she loved her father. She would never betray
him. As long as he was in charge, she would fight for king and country. But
when Little F ascended to the throne&that would be a different story. Her two
choices when that happened obeying her idiotic little brothers orders or
committing treason seemed equally repulsive. Luckily, it was a decision she
would hopefully not have to make for many years. Her father was getting on in
age, but was still strong and in good health.

She yawned. Running her fingers through her long silky black hair, she turned
over and went to sleep.

* * *

General Norton sat on his horse, frowning as he surveyed his army. The general
had been sent to lead this half of the Royalist relief force while Katarina
led the other half. The army had marched out strong, 6000 infantry and 1000
cavalry, the same size as Katarinas force. He wondered how she was doing, on
the other side of the island. He was a capable officer she wouldnt have chosen
him to lead if he had not been but no man in the Kings army could match the
Princesss intelligence, leadership, or fighting skills.

His army was not so strong now, he thought worriedly. The small bands of
Amazon troops had fallen back before the advance of his large force. But as
they marched further inland, Amazon archers had begun nailing the fringes of
his army with lethally accurate arrows, targeting officers first and always
getting away before the Royalists could mount an effective response. Although
the casualties they had taken were relatively light about two hundred men dead
the disproportionate loss of officers and the fact that the Royalists had been
unable to retaliate was crippling to morale. The biggest losses had come from
desertion. Over a thousand men had deserted, some from simple cowardice and
some tempted by greedy slick talkers who promised them riches and women if
they became bandits roaming the countryside. Norton had ordered captured
deserters beheaded to make examples of them, but still the desertions
continued.

* * *

The band of 30 thuggish-looking deserters, hidden in the trees, smirked as
they looked down at the three Amazon wagons passing by on the road below, each
driven by a single teenage girl. After abandoning the Royalist army, they had
raped and pillaged their way across the countryside, attacking their own
citizens. Now, they would attack these girls. They didnt care who they killed.
They had lost all honor, if they had had any in the first place. The men aimed
their muskets, waiting for the signal to fire.

But suddenly, all three wagon covers were ripped away, revealing half a dozen
Amazon archers hidden in each wagon. With blinding speed and deadly accuracy,
they released their arrows. Eighteen shots. Eighteen men dropped dead. At the
same time, each of the girls driving the wagons drew hidden knives and threw
them. Three more males dropped, blades driven straight into their hearts.

The survivors screamed in fear, panic, and shock. Some began running away,
while others fired off their muskets, none of the bullets finding their mark.
The Amazons reloaded and fired a second volley.

* * *

My Princess Jenova. I bring you a gift, said the slender, pretty teenage girl.
She motioned with her slim wrist, bracelets sliding as she raised her arm, and
two equally petite girls shoved forward two male captives, each wounded with
an arrow right in their buttocks. The girls savagely kicked their victims,
then yanked them up by their hair. Show your faces to the Princess.

And what have we here? asked Jenova.

Deserters from the Royalist army, milady. Theyve been raping and pillaging
their way across the countryside, attacking friend and foe alike. They thought
they could ambush one of our caravans. Of course we outsmarted them. There
were thirty of them. These are the only survivors.

Jenova calmly walked up to the first prisoner. You will tell me everything you
know about the strength and position of the Royalist army.

Like hell I will, bitch, he spat at her. Despite having deserted from the army
and having no loyalty to it, he didnt want to talk because he was a sexist pig
who hated the idea of obeying a woman.

The Amazon princess, in one fluid motion, drew her sword and cut off his head.
Ignoring the blood splattering all over her dress, she turned to the second
captive and said, You will tell me&

Yes, yes, of course! Ill tell you everything! He was shrieking, sobbing,
begging for his life to be spared.

Squeeze all you can out of him, then use him for target practice, Jenova
whispered to the teenage girl next to her. The girl nodded and smirked. Jenova
crossed her slender but muscular arms in front of her as she watched. She
wasnt a sadist like her sister, but cowardly deserters who raped and pillaged
even their own people deserved no mercy.

* * *

The Amazons are coming! The Amazons are coming! shouted the scout. General
Norton, the Amazons are charging! Cavalry coming up on us very fast! Infantry
behind them!

The general looked off into the distance in alarm. 500 Amazon heavy cavalry
were charging the front part of his long column of marching soldiers, their
lances already lowered. Further back, he could see a thousand female archers,
accompanied by a thousand swordswomen, jogging towards the scene of the coming
battle, their fit bodies showing no sign of getting tired. In the rear,
Princess Jenova, in command, sat on her horse, calling out orders.

The Royalists were in panic mode, despite the attacking Amazon force being
only half their size. Some fired their muskets wildly, but the ragged shots
had no chance of stopping the powerful charge of the horsewomen. As they
frantically tried to reload their muskets, they froze in fear as it became
clear that the Amazons would crash into them before they could fire their
second shots. Some of the men dropped their weapons and raised their hands in
surrender. It did them no good. The sexy warrior maidens, showing no mercy,
rode into them, impaling male soldiers with their lances or simply trampling
them to death. Other men tried to run away, but they were swiftly ridden down
by the girls or slain with well-aimed axe throws to their retreating backs.

FORM SQUARES, YOU FOOLS! roared General Norton. FORM SQUARES! The Royalist
soldiers finally began forming up. It was too late for many of them, who were
slaughtered by the Amazon riders before they could get into formation, but the
surviving infantry managed to group themselves into four large squares of a
thousand men each, with the commanding officers clustered in the center of
each one. A thousand infantrymen already lay dead on the field.

General Norton and his staff officers, on a small hill to the rear of his
army, barked more orders as he continued observing the scene. Artillerymen,
get those cannons set up, and start blasting the enemy! Cavalry, hold but be
prepared to charge at a moments notice!

The Royalist force was well-equipped with 20 cannons, but the slow, clumsy
weapons took time to set up. Meanwhile, Jenova, recognizing the danger the
squares would pose to her cavalry despite never having seen those tactics
before, uttered a sharp command and through a rapid relay of signals, her
horsewomen retreated under orders and regrouped in the rear.

In their place, the female archers marched up and began firing into the
squares with their powerful longbows. Despite being outnumbered four to one,
the longbow-women were able to dominate the field with their long-range
weapons, which could kill at 300 yards, while the Royalists muskets had an
effective range of only 100 yards. Slowly but steadily, male bodies began
dropping with arrows impaled in them, while the musket balls they fired back
at the enemy fell short into the ground.

Finally, the cannons, set up in four rows of five each, were ready. They began
blasting the girl-archers with grapeshot and canister. The longbow-womens
arrows couldnt reach the cannons, but they continued firing into the
musketeers, who still couldnt hit back with the shorter range of their
weapons. Infantry into line formation. Prepare to advance, ordered General
Norton.

Jenova scowled as she watched the scene. Livia had refused to allow her to
take any of the cannons the Amazons had captured with her army, saying they
had to march quickly across the island and the artillery would slow them down
too much. Now she would have to make do with what she had.

She knew she had to act fast. As the blue-coated Royalists shifted from one
formation to another, she gave a signal with her fist. Immediately, the
thousand Amazon swordswomen charged straight at the male infantry with
spine-chilling warrior cries. As soon as they got within a hundred yards, they
threw their athletic female bodies into cartwheels followed by back
handsprings, elegantly backflipping at incredible speed towards their targets.

The male soldiers were not yet properly formed into lines, and their musket
fire was ragged and ineffective, only scoring a few lucky hits. The cannons
fired into the charging swordswomen, but the Amazons were charging in a loose
formation instead of being densely packed, limiting the effectiveness of the
artillery. In less than twenty seconds, the rapidly flick-flacking girls
crashed into the male soldiers, forcing the cannoneers to stop firing so they
wouldnt hit their own men. The swordswomen, each wielding a blade in each
hand, easily sliced and diced their way through their male victims, the
Royalists bayonets being no match for them. Slowly but steadily, they began
chewing up the much larger male army.

Then a war horn sounded. The Amazon heavy cavalry were charging again. General
Norton barked more orders. Cavalry, intercept the enemy riders! Artillery,
soften up the horsewomen, then switch to the archers when our boys ride into
them!

At first, it seemed to be working, although the cannons werent able to do much
damage to the Amazon cavalry because of the speed of their charge. But the
Royalist cavalry attacked their female counterparts, seemingly pinning them
between the infantry and themselves&

Suddenly, 500 light horsewomen charged out of the nearby woods where they had
been hiding. Jenova had kept them in reserve, waiting for a situation just
like this. Now, the Amazon light cavalry attacked with arrows and thrown
spears and axes from the other side, making it the Royalist cavalrys turn to
be facing a double-sided attack. Panicking, the surviving male riders urged
their horses away in a rapid retreat until they were under the covering fire
of the cannons.

Now freed, the Amazon heavy cavalry rode straight into the mass of male
infantry, lancing and trampling everything in their path and splitting the
Royalist force in two. They, along with the swordswomen, completely surrounded
the far half of the male army, while horse archers and longbow-women fired
over their comrades heads and into the trapped men. Meanwhile, Jenova detached
part of the female infantry from the main Amazon army and personally charged
forward to lead the small force of swordswomen and archers to attack the other
half of the Royalist army.

Retreat! shouted General Norton. First line of cannons, keep firing! Cover the
retreat and hold off the enemy for as long as possible! Get the rest of the
cannons hitched up to the horses and get them out of here!

My lord, said one of his staff officers. What about the men on the far side?

The general shook his head. Theyre lost. All we can do now is save the other
half of the army.

And the front line of cannons?

Better to lose five cannons than twenty.

The staff officer gulped and nodded, glad that he was not one of the
expendables.

Men, horses, and cannons hurried away from the battlefield as fast as they
could. When they had passed, the soldiers manning the front line of five
cannons that had been ordered to cover the retreat were left alone on a ridge,
firing desperately at the screaming, charging Amazons led by sexy Jenova.

An explosion of canister blew several Amazons in the front rank to pieces and
splattered Jenova with blood. Some of the younger girls began to hesitate, but
the Amazon princess, with a shrill shriek, drew back her bow and fired a
perfectly aimed shot right into the heart of a man just before he could light
the fuse to another cannon. With cheers, the Amazons, now in archery range,
fired a devastating volley into the cannoneers. The survivors turned and ran,
but were all shot down by a second volley.

General Norton took one last, sad look at the scene below him before turning
his horse away. In the distance, the surrounded men were screaming, begging,
pleading, their horrified cries audible even at the great distance. He shook
his head. It was them or the whole army.

Secure these cannons! Jenova ordered. Drag them back to our lines. Archers,
cover them and drive off anyone who tries to take the cannons back, but do not
pursue. With that, she rode back to the main force of Amazons.

In the middle of the deadly trap, there were only a few hundred men left
alive, surrounded by piles of male corpses. The highest-ranking Royalist left,
a colonel, raised a white flag of surrender.

What say you, milady? the commander of the archers asked Jenova. Do we take
prisoners or slaughter them all?

Ill handle this, said the Princess. Cease fire! she ordered. The girl-archers
looked at her, most of them wanting to continue the massacre, but obeyed their
Princesss order.

Drop your weapons! Jenova ordered the men. Form one line, facing me! Officers,
stand in a separate group over there!

The terrified males quickly obeyed her command. Because the Amazons were
wearing their traditional leather uniforms of short shorts, tank tops, and
knee-high boots, showing off their tanned, muscular bodies, many of the men
had hard-ons despite their fear. Some of the men who were badly wounded
remained on the ground, moaning. Even some of the wounded males had erections.

Jenova, smirking to herself at the men standing at attention, addressed the
line of enlisted men. Starting from this end, every third man step forward!

Again they obeyed. The Amazon Princess raised her arm, then lowered it. A
perfectly aimed volley of arrows slammed into the soldiers who had been
ordered forward, each arrow striking its target right between the eyes. A
hundred men fell dead in complete unison. The males still standing quivered in
terror. Some wet their pants.

Jenova addressed the survivors coldly. I am capable of showing mercy. I will
never show weakness. That demonstration was to assure you that what I am
showing now is the former and not the latter. You are now the property of the
Amazon Nation. Accept your fate, and you will live. Resist, and you will die.

Unarmed, she walked fearlessly up to the line of men, most of whom were taller
than her and all of whom were heavier than the slender girl. She strolled in
front of them, looking straight into the frightened eyes of each captive she
passed, and stopped in front of one. What are you?

I am a soldier of the Royalist army, loyal servant of His Majesty, King Fred&

With lightning speed, Jenova performed a standing backflip, kicking the
speaker in the underside of his jaw. Her backflip kick was so powerful that it
broke his neck instantly with a sickening CRACK. The odd angle of his neck as
he fell to the dirt left no doubt that he was now a corpse.

The Princesss face remained expressionless as she landed perfectly on her
booted feet. She turned to the next man. What are y&

I am a humble male slave, the property of the Amazon Nation! he cried in
panic. She smirked. Looking at the other men, her gaze was met with submissive
lowerings of heads. She nodded in satisfaction, then, with a series of elegant
standing back handsprings, made her way back to her officers.

Shackle the men and march them off with the other spoils of battle, she
ordered. Keep the officers separate, Im going to interrogate them later. Any
man who is wounded too badly to walk&put him out of his misery.

* * *

Princess Katarinas army marched through the green, rolling hills towards
Amazon territory. Like she had earlier, Katarina rode up and down the column,
checking in with each of her high-ranking officers, making sure that
everything was all right and keeping a sharp eye out for any Amazon ambushes.

Suddenly, there was a commotion from the rear. A messenger! came a shout. A
haggard-looking soldier rode up and handed the Princess a sealed envelope.

For your eyes only, my Lady.

Thank you. She found a private spot to the side of the column, then opened the
letter. She cursed as she read it.

Katarina rode over to her chief of staff. Norton suffered a bad defeat. He
lost half his army and five of his cannons. The survivors have retreated to
our fortifications at San Sebastian, licking their wounds.

The male officer shook his head. Perhaps if I had been in command of that
force&

She gave him a hard stare. Most likely, your army would have suffered the same
fate. It appears that it takes a woman to stand up to the might of these
Amazons. I hope you are not questioning my decisions on who to appoint as my
division commanders.

Of c&course not, my Princess. Im sorry.

Thats what I thought. Now, back to business. If we can defeat the enemy on
this side of the island, we can secure the northern flank of our territory,
then march south again and intercept any enemy that might be coming to attack.
She raised her arm, bracelets sliding down her slender wrist. Messenger!

The haggard rider hurried over. Yes, milady?

Get a message to my father. I want two full divisions of reinforcements from
the mainland. And one more message, this one for the Colonial Capital. She
whispered into his ear and he nodded.

Yes, my Princess. He swiftly rode off into the distance.

Katarina turned back to her chief of staff. Until we get those reinforcements,
with Nortons losses we simply dont have the manpower for large-scale offensive
operations. After this battle well have to confine ourselves to defending the
part of the island between San Sebastian in the south and Fort Osweiler in the
north until fresh troops arrive. Keep Nortons defeat secret, I dont want the
mens morale to drop into the toilet. Im going up ahead to talk with the
scouts.

Katarina rode up to the scout commander. What have you to report, Captain?

This open country continues for a little while longer, my Lady. However,
sometime tomorrow the main route would take us into a narrow canyon. It would
be&you know.

She nodded. Way too easy for the Amazons to ambush us there. Well have to come
up with an alternate plan. She looked at the sun, low in the western sky. Keep
on for another hour, then well make camp for the night.

* * *

Princess Katarina sat in her tent, trying to think of a strategy for the next
days march. Suddenly, her dark brown eyes lit up as she got an idea. She
hurried out of the tent and called out to one of her aides. I want all the
company-level commanders to gather for a meeting with me.

Just the company-level commanders? Not the senior officers?

Thats right.

Yes, milady. He hurried off to spread the word.

When the officers had been gathered, Katarina led them to an isolated part of
the camp where the others couldnt hear them. Gentlemen, I have called you here
for a very important and secret reason. I want each of you to make a list of
six or seven men from your companies that are troublemakers, malcontents, or
other dead weight.

The officers looked at one another, not quite sure what was going on, but
obeyed her order. When she had all the lists of names, she thanked the
officers and dismissed them. She then made her way across the camp, heading
for one man in particular.

She found him sitting alone glumly by a campfire, staring off into space with
a blank expression on his dull face. He was the fat ex-colonel (remember him?)
whom she had demoted to private for his sexist attitude, lack of command
skill, and general asshole personality. She tapped him on the shoulder and
motioned for him to follow her away from the fire. Puzzled, he obeyed.

Listen, she whispered, putting on her best fake smile. I want to apologize for
insulting and demoting you earlier. I am a hot-tempered woman, and sometimes
my anger gets the best of me. I have created a new battalion to take the
position of honor in the front of the army tomorrow, and as a way of making it
up to you, I want you to command it. By the power vested in me by His Majesty,
I hereby re-promote you to lieutenant colonel.

The fat, dim-witted man broke into a wide smile, falling for her act hook,
line, and sinker. Thank you, my Princess. I am very happy to accept.

Excellent. Here are the lists of the men you will be commanding.

Thank you, my Lady. I wont let you down.

You sure wont, she thought to herself, a smirk appearing on her elegant face
as soon as he turned away.

* * *

The next day, the battalion of malcontents, four hundred men, with the fat
colonel in command, formed up in the vanguard of the army and led the march
out as they broke camp. None of the fools in the battalion had the brains to
realize what was going to happen. In their arrogant, delusional minds, they
thought they were the best soldiers in the Royalist army and were being given
a position of honor.

Soon, they approached the mouth of the narrow canyon. The fat colonel and his
battalion of deadweight happily and stupidly marched right in. It was only
when they had marched several hundred yards in that one of the soldiers in the
rear turned around. Hey, the rest of them arent following us!

What the& The fat colonel whirled. Is this some sort of&AAAAAHHHHH! He
suddenly fell to the ground, writhing in agony. An arrow had pierced him right
in the groin.

Then the sky was filled with arrows. Hundreds of men dropped, killed or
maimed. The survivors fired their muskets uselessly up towards the sides of
the canyon at an enemy they could neither see nor hit.

Its no use! Retreat! shouted a lieutenant. The men who still could began
running, but suddenly there came two quick bursts of cannon fire. Cannonballs
slammed into the canyon walls, triggering a rockslide that blocked off the
escape route. Arrows were still falling like rain, steadily reducing the
number of moving male bodies. Trapped and helpless, the men could do nothing
but wait for an arrow to find them.

Amazon Princess Livia, watching from high up on the canyon rim, laughed as the
slaughter of the battalion was completed. Most of her officers were smirking
and giggling at the killing right along with her, but two of them were several
yards behind the others, whispering.

We should have waited until more of them entered the canyon to spring the
trap. This is but one battalion of their army, and an undersized one at that,
said one Amazon quietly.

When they stopped coming, Livia got impatient and gave the order to fire. So
impetuous, that one, the other girl whispered back.

This might even be a trap on that Katarinas part.

Perhaps, but I cant see her sacrificing a battalion of her own men. Unless&

Unless what?

Shh! Here she comes!

Livia approached them. Now lets get our cannons repositioned to&

BOOM! A Royalist burst of grapeshot exploded among a group of Amazon archers,
blowing several of them to bits. Then the massed fire of an entire artillery
line began firing into the Amazon army. Screams from wounded and dying women
came from all directions.

TAKE COVER! GET THOSE CANNONS FIRING BACK! FAST! Livia roared. As the girls
ducked, the two who had been whispering earlier gave each other looks of We
told them so.

Livia, though cocky and arrogant, was still an intelligent tactician. Knowing
that even when her cannons were up and firing, she would still have fewer of
them than the enemy, she ordered her archers to advance.

Here they come! shouted a Royalist officer. Amazon archers, advancing en
masse!

Concentrate all artillery fire on the archers! ordered Katarina. Kill as many
as you can before they get into range! Infantry, advance!

What? said her chief of staff. My Lady, the infantry will&

Suffer many casualties from the arrows, yes. But theyll get in range with
their muskets faster. We have the advantage at long range with our cannons and
at short range with our muskets, but at medium range the Amazon archers rule
the battlefield. We must make sure that advantage lasts for as little time as
possible. In this way, we will suffer fewer casualties in the long run.

Yes, my Princess.

Just like Katarina had predicted, the next phase of the battle started out
well for the Royalists. Their cannon fire blew many of the Amazon archers to
bits. But then, the Amazon cannons began firing and started blowing up male
infantrymen. Still, the Royalists held the advantage, with thirty cannons to
the Amazons fifteen, until the surviving archers got into range. With howls of
vengeance, the girls fired devastating volleys of arrows into the advancing
but still out of range Royalist musketeers, the archers rapid rate of fire
enabling them to inflict far more carnage than artillery ever could.

Katarina winced as she watched many of her men fall. But the army, purged of
malcontents and cowards, bravely charged forward until they were in musket
range and the survivors could fire back.

Livia watched the scene from the rear of the Amazons side of the battlefield.
This is the great Katarinas plan? Send her musketeers against my archers, who
can fire four shots for every one they fire?

But their musketeers outnumber our archers four to one, said one of Livias
officers.

And theres still an artillery duel going on, and they have more cannons than
we do, another girl added.

Still, its not like the enemy to fight a battle of attrition like this,
murmured Livia. They are soft, they dont have the balls to fight like that.
That girl has something else up her sleeve, I just know it. She suddenly
whistled for her horse. Cavalry, prepare to charge!

But suddenly, sure enough, the Royalist cavalry, a thousand men and horses,
led by Princess Katarina herself, burst out of the forest and charged straight
for the Amazon archers. The Amazons, though taken completely by surprise,
reacted coolly and without fear. Half of them turned and began firing on the
charging horsemen, while the other half kept pressure on the musketeers.

A cavalry charge against Amazon archers without the element of surprise,
without a second force supporting them, or without Princess Katarina would
have ended in slaughter for the charging force. But luckily for the Royalists,
they had all three of those things. Though fully one-fifth of the cavalrymen
were shot down by the girl-archers, the 800 male survivors did what few ever
had by reaching the Amazon line, lowering their lances. Katarina, her shield
now with three arrows stuck in it, armed with her trusty sword and trusty
double-barreled pistol, fired twice, killing two Amazons whose fancy
headdresses indicated they were women of high rank, then drew her blade.

The Royalist cavalry crashed into the archers, trampling and lancing them.
Katarina cut off several Amazons heads with her sword. The musketeers on the
other side let out a loud cheer, preparing to advance and finish the trap&

Suddenly, an Amazon war horn sounded and several dozen musketeers fell dead
with arrows in their bodies. Arrows fired from much further away. Amazon light
cavalrywomen were in the distance, firing with deadly accuracy into the male
infantry, who were far out of range with their muskets for shooting back. At
the same time, the Amazon heavy cavalry, led by Princess Livia herself,
charged the male horsemen. Katarina, knowing she couldnt leave her riders
vulnerable, ordered them to re-form to face the new threat. The surviving
Amazon archers swiftly retreated.

The two forces of heavy cavalry charged one another. Katarina, leading her
men, and Livia, leading her women, looked at each other as the distance
between them shrank, both knowing what they had to do. As the two forces
collided, Katarina and Livia drew their swords.

The two female commanders blades clashed for the briefest of moments as they
rode by each other. Each woman would have easily killed a normal opponent with
her swing as she rode by, but both ladies were as good on defense as they were
on offense. Livia received a minor wound to her left shoulder and Katarina a
small cut on her left forearm, but both girls were otherwise unhurt.

Livia brutally slaughtered every man she passed by as she made her way through
the male riders to turn around and charge Katarina again. The sadistic Amazon
preferred gut slicing, ripping open mens stomachs and sending their intestines
spilling onto the dirt. Katarina, making her way in turn through the Amazons,
made her kills cleanly by cutting off her opponents heads or stabbing them
through their hearts.

Now facing off once more, Katarina and Livia stared across but twenty yards of
space at each other&

Suddenly, a Royalist war horn sounded. From over a ridge, 500 more of
Katarinas horsemen appeared&

Wait a minute, thought soldiers from both sides as they looked at the
newcomers. They werent horsemen, they were horsewomen! Female citizens of
Fredericks kingdom, they wore a modified version of the blue and white
Royalist uniform, consisting of black knee-high riding boots, black leather
gloves, low-cut white pants, and blue and white blouses with three-quarter
length sleeves and midriff ties, showing off their toned six-pack abs and
slender but muscular forearms.

The new Royalist female light cavalry charged their Amazon counterparts,
firing carbines and pistols as the Amazons shot arrows back at them. Another
fierce battle erupted as the two forces of light horsewomen crashed into each
other, swords and axes clanging.

Livia saw that her army was now being pressed hard on all fronts. Not wanting
to lose her cannons, she quickly rode back to her lines, slicing and dicing
several male cavalrymen to death along her way, and ordered a general retreat
while they could still do so in an orderly fashion. The Amazon archers and
light cavalry covered the retreat with their bows. Katarina, looking at them,
ordered, Let them go.

Congratulations on your victory, my Lady, said one of her cavalry officers.

The Princess looked around the battlefield, surveying the heaps of her dead
soldiers, including many high-ranking officers, and shook her head. One more
victory like this, and we are ruined, she responded grimly.

* * *

The fat colonel (remember him?) groaned as he crawled along the canyon,
leaving a trail of blood behind him. He was alive. Everyone around him was
dead, but he was still alive. His right testicle had been pierced and
destroyed by the arrow, but he still had his left. He still had his life. And
he still had his desire for vengeance. The fat, stupid man had finally
realized that Katarina had set him up. He would survive. He would make it
back. He would get his revenge&

There was a whizzing sound, like the buzz of a bee, followed by a horrific
pain in his chest. The colonel looked down and saw that he had been shot with
another arrow. He took a few last gasping, wheezing breaths before expiring.

Livia, high up on the canyon rim, smirked as she lowered her crossbow. It was
she who had first shot him in the groin with an expertly aimed arrow. Now, she
had finished the job and salvaged some pride from this defeat at the hands of
Katarina. The Amazon warrior spat down into the canyon before turning away.

* * *

1600 men dead. One-quarter of our army, reported Katarinas chief of staff.

Although only 1200 of those are real losses, said a colonel. Those 400 who
died in the Battalion of Knuckleheads were just dead weight anyway. Murmurs
and nods came from the assembled officers. Nobody had liked those
troublemakers, and none of them had any problem with Katarinas decision to
sacrifice them.

How about the enemy? asked the Princess.

The Amazons suffered about 1400 dead. Thats more than a quarter of their
force, said her chief of staff.

But they can bring up reinforcements almost immediately, while we have to wait
weeks for ours to be brought from across the sea, she responded. In addition,
General Nortons bad defeat on the other side of the island has put us in a
severe position of weakness. We will have to retreat to our interior line of
forts despite the casualties we inflicted on the enemy today. Only when we
receive full reinforcements can we go on the offensive again.

I have to admit, those female riders provided that extra push we needed, said
a general. They came just in time.

Katarina allowed herself a smile. After seeing how well those girls performed
in drills, I thought it was time to test them in battle. With their petite
weight and fast riding speed, theyll make an ideal light cavalry counterpart
to our male heavy cavalry. All right, meeting adjourned. Weve had a rough day
and its time to get some rest.

* * *

ROYAL AMAZON PALACE, AMAZON CAPITAL

Fourteen hundred Amazons dead? By the Mother Goddess, Livia, what have you
done? Amazon Princess Jenova said to her sister. We have not seen slaughter of
that magnitude among our people since the days of the civil wars.

Princess Livia glared at her younger sister. I killed more of them than they
killed ours! And we can get reinforcements a lot easier than they can!

War of attrition is not the Amazon way! The Amazon way is to strike fast and
hard, hammer the enemy while they dont know whats hitting them, and retreat
before we get into a situation where well take many losses!

You won an easy victory over a MALE commander, while I had to fight a WOMAN,
and you think that makes you better than me?! You think defeating a mere MAN
makes you a great warrior?

Girls, ENOUGH! shouted their mother, the Amazon Queen. There will be NO MORE
ARGUING! Now, lets move on to more important matters. Jenova, I understand you
have some prisoners?

Yes, Mother. About two hundred males, including about twenty officers. I was
planning to interrogate the officers as soon as I had the time. The grunts can
be inspected, with the strong ones to become breeder slaves and the rest to
become slaves in the fields.

Let me handle the interrogations, said Livia, a cruel look appearing in her
eyes.

Mother, please dont& began Jenova.

The Queen looked at her daughters. Quiet, both of you. Just remember, Livia,
that the purpose of torture in interrogation is to extract information, not to
satisfy a desire for revenge after a battle gone wrong. Do you understand?

Yes, Mother, Livia pouted.

Good. Now since you said there are about twenty officers, I see no reason why
both of you cant work on questioning them. As for me, I will inspect the
grunts and personally select those I feel suitable for status as breeders.

* * *

FORT OSWEILER, ROYALIST COLONY

A letter from the King, my Lady, said the messenger, handing Katarina a sealed
envelope.

Thank you. She opened the letter and began to shake as she read it:

My dearest sister,

I am deeply saddened to report that our beloved father has died of a heart
attack. As you know, he has named me heir to the throne. I am recalling you to
the Imperial Capital immediately. Your silly island adventure has gone on long
enough. A ship is waiting for you at the Colonial Capital.

Katarina paused to wipe away the tears. Her father? Dead? Of a heart attack?
It couldnt be! He was in excellent health. No, her slimy brother must have had
him poisoned! Earlier, she had been on the fence about being able to obey her
brothers orders, but that had been when she had thought her father would die a
natural death. Now that her brother had revealed himself to be a vile sack of
shit who murdered his own father, she knew that there was no way she could
ever obey him. She clenched her fists, the muscles in her slender but muscular
brown forearms rippling, as she continued to read:

These gentlemen are here to escort you to the Imperial Capital and make sure
you get there without any delays or misadventures.

Your brother and YOUR NEW RULER, AND DONT YOU FORGET IT,

King Frederick X.

The Princess looked up and saw four burly men pointing muskets at her. The
messenger lowered his head. Im sorry, my Lady. I had no choice. Your brother
is holding my wife and daughter hostage.

One of the men, wearing the uniform of a major, suddenly stabbed the messenger
in the back with his bayonet, the tip sticking out of the front of his chest.
He withdrew it with a squishing sound as the messenger slumped down. Yes, and
your usefulness is over now. After the king gets tired of them, hell give your
wife and daughter to us as a reward for a job well done, the murderer sneered
to the dying man. He then looked up at Katarina. Lets go, Princess. He spat
the last word.

Katarina looked around. The major smirked. You think we havent thought of
that? I have three hundred men here, personally hand-picked by the new king,
who are loyal to me and have been specially selected for not wanting to take
orders from women. They are all armed and alert, ready to take the
unsuspecting men who are loyal to you by total surprise. All I have to do is
shout and there will be a massacre. Now Im sure you dont want that, so Im sure
youll go quietly.

She looked down at her feet, nodding with a sigh.

Excellent. All right, men, play it cool. To anyone who doesnt know, were just
escorting the Princess. She knows not to try anything. He began moving towards
the exit of the large tent, another man beside him. The other two formed up
behind her. Katarina saw out of the corner of her eye that their muskets were
shouldered, so not to look suspicious.

She struck with lightning speed, performing a spin kick that struck both the
men behind her in the face, knocking them down. She then grabbed the major and
his companion and bashed their heads together, stunning them. Snatching up one
of the muskets, she stabbed one man in the heart with the attached bayonet,
kicked another in the head with enough strength to both fracture his skull and
break his neck, and simply beat the third to death with the butt of the
musket.

Only the major was left. She stood over him, then suddenly stabbed the bayonet
right into his throat.

All you have to do is shout. Too bad you cant do that.

She savagely twisted the point of the weapon, then withdrew it with a
squishing sound. Blood sprayed out like a fountain.

She cautiously peeked outside as the major expired. Sure enough, her tent was
surrounded by hundreds of men in identical uniforms to those of the major and
his three goons. Further in the distance, she saw her regulars, blue-and-white
uniformed men who were loyal to her, but they were unprepared. They had no
idea what was going on, and being safe in the fort, most of them didnt even
have weapons on them.

Katarina tucked two double-barreled pistols into her belt, making sure they
were loaded. She tucked a knife into each of her knee-high black leather
boots, sheathed a sword on her hip, and finally slung the musket over her
shoulder. She took a deep breath.

This is for you, Father.

She slipped out the back of the tent, a knife in each hand. The two men
guarding the rear exit had their throats ripped open before they knew what was
happening. She quietly shoved their corpses into the tent.

She began making her way as rapidly and silently as she could towards the
nearest cluster of her loyal soldiers. If she was lucky, she could&

Hey, shes getting away!

The enemy soldiers, who had been milling about, bored, jerked to attention.
Katarina was already in action. She emptied both of her double-barreled
pistols, killing the shouting man and three others. Tossing the empty weapons
aside and drawing her knives, she stabbed a nearby man in the heart, then
hurled both knives at a pair of soldiers taking aim at her with their muskets.
Both dropped dead, one with a blade in his throat and the other with one in
his eye.

TRAITORS AND MURDERERS! she shouted. LOYAL SOLDIERS, YOUR PRINCESS NEEDS YOU!
There wasnt time for proper explanations, but the soldiers had already heard
the shots. Seeing these new, differently attired men attacking their Princess,
the loyal soldiers sprang into action. A quick volley from several of them
slammed into a squadron of enemies who had been taking aim at her.

Katarina raced for the cover of a large boulder. Two enemies popped up in her
way, preparing to fire. She shot one dead with her musket, then suddenly did a
standing layout backflip, being athletic enough to pull off the flip despite
wearing a long dress. The second mans musket ball flew safely between her legs
as she was upside down.

She landed elegantly on her booted feet and charged him as he drew a pistol.
Lashing out with her sword, she cut his hand off, snatched the pistol in
midair, and whirled and shot dead another enemy who had been about to fire at
her. She then turned back to the screaming one-handed man.

No, please&

She cut off his head, shutting him up.

Looking back again, she saw more enemies advancing. A gun battle had broken
out between the loyal men and the traitors, but the traitors had the advantage
of preparation and greater numbers. Seeing several muskets being aimed at her,
she threw herself into a cartwheel followed by a series of fast back
handsprings. Her elegant, blindingly fast backflips in the style of a
pro-gymnast allowed her to dodge the musket balls fired at her. She finished
her tumbling run with a high back tuck that took her over the boulder to land
safely on the other side. She swiftly reloaded the pistol she had
appropriated, then began reloading her musket.

She heard a noise behind her and whirled, aiming the pistol. An enemy was
standing there, with the tip of a bayonet sticking out from his chest. The
weapon was withdrawn and the corpse kicked down, revealing one of her officers
standing behind him.

Thank you, Colonel, she said, squeezing his hand gratefully.

Any time, my Princess. He smiled as she went back to loading her musket.

On the parade grounds lay the corpses of a dozen loyal soldiers who had made a
heroic stand. In front of them were at least fifty dead traitors. Still,
Katarina knew that she and her allies were badly outnumbered. She alternated
between firing her musket and pistol, while the colonel leaned out and fired
from the other side of the boulder. Even though every one of their shots found
its mark, and more loyal soldiers were firing at the enemy from different
positions, there were perhaps twenty of her allies left alive, facing over two
hundred enemies.

Katarina and her loyal men shot enemies dead by the dozens, but the enemy
pressed on by sheer weight of numbers. One by one her blue-and-white coated
allies were shot down. There were only a few left now. Was this how it was
going to end?

Suddenly, a loud, clear female voice rang out. Take aim! Fire!

Musket balls slammed into the traitors, killing over half of them with a
single devastating volley. Sure enough, in the distance stood a company of
female Royalist soldiers in their sexy uniforms. The front line of girls knelt
down, reloading their weapons and revealing a second line of ladies with
muskets aimed.

The surviving enemies, suddenly facing fire from two sides, tried to turn
around. They were greeted by a volley from the second female line. Blood
splattered.

The few traitors left alive dropped their weapons and either raised their
hands in surrender or began running away. The first line of female soldiers,
who had finished reloading, coolly shot down the running men with expert
precision. The second line charged the surrendering men with their bayonets,
brutally stabbing them to death, showing them no mercy and giving the cowardly
traitors exactly what they had coming. One enemy ran right by Katarinas
boulder. She stuck out her leg, tripping him and sending him to the dirt face
first. Before he could get up, she stabbed him in the back with her sword. She
spat on the corpse. A cowards death for a traitor.

My Princess, said the female captain in command of the girl-soldiers, bowing.

Rise, Captain, Katarina said, giving her a hug. You saved our lives.

So what happens now? asked a female lieutenant.

Little F probably already has an army on its way. Handpicked men who are loyal
to him, said the colonel grimly.

Well, we& Katarina began. Just then, a messenger rode up, staring at all the
dead bodies.

Ill explain later, said the Princess. From the look on your face, you have
something important to report.

Yes, my Lady. Amazons are approaching, two days march away. Eight thousand of
them. A force of equal size marches on San Sebastian in the south.

By the gods, murmured Katarina. Talk about being caught between a rock and a
hard place.

They stood in the already battered stone fort, men and women together, knowing
they faced an army of angry woman-haters on one side and an army of angry
man-haters on the other. As if on cue, dark clouds covered the sun and a cold
wind began to blow.

TO BE CONTINUED&

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