Amazon Maidens 5: The War of the Unholy Alliance
By Littlesilverstar, silverstar222b@yahoo.com
As the forces of the Amazon Queen and Usurper King clash, Katarina is caught in the middle


Colonel Wilkins, the highest-ranking Royalist soldier captured by the Amazons,
stood nervously in the dark, windowless room, lit only by a small lantern on
the far end. Next to him were three of his equally frightened junior officers.
All four of them had their eyes focused on the woman that was approaching
them.

She was extremely beautiful. She was tall for a woman, with a slender but
muscular figure, darkly tanned brown skin, and curly shoulder-length black
hair. She wore a skimpy leather outfit of knee-high boots, miniskirt, and
halter top. A fancy headdress that indicated she was of high rank completed
her outfit. Though she faced these four men alone, it was they and not her who
showed fear. The sword she wore on her hip and the knowledge the men had of
these Amazons' lethal fighting skills ensured that that was the case. Wilkins
looked at his men in turn, silently warning them not to try any foolish
attacks. He knew they would never succeed.

A horrified male scream came from the distance, soon joined by several more.
The Amazon paused about fifteen feet away from the men and simply stood there,
waiting as the screams continued, increasing in pitch and intensity.

Finally, she spoke. "I am Jenova, a Princess of the Amazon Nation. You are no
longer men, but property. Show obedience, submission, and acceptance of your
new role, and you may continue to live. Fail, and you will die. Is that
clear?"

"Yes," said Wilkins in a small voice.

"Yes what?"

"Yes...my Princess."

"Colonel, I don't think..." began one of the junior officers.

With blinding speed, Jenova tumbled towards him, starting with a cartwheel and
then performing a series of back handsprings. Ending her tumbling pass with a
one-and-a-half twisting layout to finish facing forward, she kicked the
speaker in the face, knocking him to the dirt floor.

"You're right about one thing. You don't think. You don't think before you
open your stupid mouth. He is not a Colonel. He is a slave. As are you. You
will not only learn to be addressed as slaves, but you will refer to one
another by the same term. Whatever ranks and titles you had in your old lives
are no longer relevant. Those lives are gone. THIS is your life now. You can
accept it, or you can accept death. Is that clear?"

"Yes...my Princess," said the newly humbled officer.

"Good," said Jenova. "Now, we can get down to business. You have information
about the strengths and positions of the enemy armies, the weaknesses in your
fortresses, everything. You will tell me all that you know."

The four men looked at one another. No one spoke.

"If you do not wish to speak, I will turn you over to my sister." At that
moment, a particularly bloodcurling scream came from the distance. "She has
some particularly...enthusiastic methods of interrogation."

When the men still remained silent, Jenova drew her sword. At that, Wilkins
raised his hands. "All right, all right! We'll cooperate!"

"Excellent," said Jenova. "Let us begin."

* * *

Livia, Jenova's older sister and the heiress to the Amazon throne, poked her
head into the dark room. She was similar in height and beauty to the younger
woman, but had long, straight auburn hair and larger muscles. "How goes it,
little sister?"

"It went well. I have what I need to know."

"And I got what I needed." Livia held up a sack, then dumped its contents onto
the floor. About fifteen severed penises and fifteen pairs of severed
testicles fell onto the dirt. Wilkins and his junior officers shrank back in
horror.

"Livia!" Jenova scolded her sister. "Look how big some of those cocks are!
They would have made good breeders! Where do you think babies come from,
delivered by a stork? We need those men to help produce the next generation of
warrior girls!"

"They were MY property, assigned to me by the prize division laws of the
Amazon Nation. I can do with them as I please! Anyway, it's not like there's a
shortage of slaves."

Jenova sighed. "Did you come here just to show off your gruesome trophies?"

"No. I came to remind you that you still owe me one more prisoner. Remember
when I beat you in that swordfight last week? The bet was for one slave. I'm
here to collect."

"Very well." Jenova sighed again. The men all trembled in fear.

Livia laughed sadistically at their terror. "Strip," she ordered. When the men
hestitated, she drew her sword. That got them going. They quickly threw off
their tattered uniforms.

"Show me erections," she ordered. But because of the men's fright, they were
not forthcoming.

The auburn-haired beauty growled. "Perhaps you need some motivation." With
that, she threw her athletic body into a standing tumbling pass, starting with
two back handsprings, two whip backs, two more back handsprings, and finishing
with a double full twisting layout. As she landed perfectly on her booted
feet, she smirked at their rising boners. Men always loved girls who could do
back flips.

Her smirk grew bigger as she paused in front of one man whose hard-on was
noticeably smaller than the others. "Ha! You're hung like a little boy." It
was the junior officer who had foolishly opened his mouth earlier. He hung his
head in shame.

"I'm going to hunt you for sport. Surely you have no objections, Jenova? This
one is useless for breeding." Livia called for one of her servants. "Take him
to the hunting grounds and release him! I'll give him a thirty minute head
start." She grabbed the terrified prisoner, threw him to her servant, and
walked out of the room, laughing.

* * *

FORT OSWEILER, ROYALIST TERRITORY

Princess Katarina sat at the head of the table in the war room, looking over
at her waiting officers. Tall and commanding, slender but muscular, with her
long, straight, silky black hair, darkly tanned brown skin, and exceptional
beauty, she looked a true commander of men, despite having seen only
twenty-three winters.

"As you all know, an army of 8000 Amazon girls is approaching us, with another
Amazon force of equal size already besieging our fortifications at San
Sebastian on the other side of the island. And an army loyal to the usurper,
my vile little brother, Little F, will land at the Colonial Capital in less
than a week. You are all good men...and women," she said, smiling and winking
at the two female officers among the men. "Today, I need you all more than
ever. We are quite literally caught between a rock and a hard place, and we
will have to play our cards exactly right. We march out to meet the Amazons
tomorrow at dawn."

Loud murmurs came from the officers. "March out?" asked a general. "My
Princess, the enemy outnumbers us. Wouldn't we be safer here in the fort?"

"Yes. For a few days. Then we'll be trapped here when the Amazons put us under
siege, while Little F seizes control of the Colonial Capital. I will not allow
that to happen."

"Couldn't we just retreat to the capital to protect it, my Lady?" asked a
colonel.

"Then we would be under assault from two sides. No, desperate times call for
desperate measures. I have a plan. Many thanks to this man." She pointed to a
major, the official military historian and intelligence officer. "His
information enabled me to draw this up. Now we can only pray to the gods that
it works..."

* * *

TWO DAYS LATER

Princess Katarina's army, consisting of 5000 men and 500 female soldiers, had
taken up a strong defensive position between two steep hills, taking full
advantage of their superiority in artillery to command the uphill slope that
the Amazons would have to attack. Across the field, she could see the Amazon
army, 8000 women strong, steadily approaching. Though the Amazons had fewer
cannons and the narrow defensive front would reduce their advantage in
numbers, Katarina knew that the Amazons were far deadlier in combat than her
own men. She hoped the armies wouldn't have to fight. If all went according to
plan, they wouldn't.

As the Amazons formed up across the plain, Katarina whispered something to
Lieutenant Colonel Summers, the commander of the single female battalion. The
woman nodded. Then the Princess suddenly urged her horse forward, riding out
from her lines and onto the barren plain, raising a white flag as her horse
galloped.

"What is she doing!" cried a general. "The Amazons do not parley!"

"Not with men, sir," said Summers. "But women, on the other hand..."

* * *

Princess Jenova and her senior commanders sat on their horses in a circle,
watching the armies deploy. Suddenly, one of the girls shouted and pointed.
"Look! A rider!"

"He carries a white flag," said another.

"He is a fool," said an archer as she reached for an arrow. "Don't they know
that we don't parley with men?"

"Wait!" said the first girl. "The rider is a woman!"

"It's HER! Princess Katarina!" said an excited voice.

"If we take her out, we can..." someone began.

"NO!" shouted Jenova, silencing them all. "The rules of honor of the Amazon
Nation allow men to be treacherously killed during parleys, but not women! Now
put that arrow away!"

"Yes, my Princess."

"Now give me a white cloth and a stick. I will ride out to meet her."

* * *

Katarina allowed herself a small smile as she saw the opposing commander
riding out to meet her, carrying a white flag of her own. The first part of
her plan was working. Now, she just had to pray that the rest of it would work
as well.

"Princess Jenova," she said when the other woman rode within earshot. The two
ladies stopped their horses about ten yards from each other.

"Princess Katarina." Neither girl expressed any surprise that the other knew
her name. They both had good intelligence networks and assumed the other did
as well. "What did you wish to speak to me about?"

"I wish to request your aid. My vile little brother has murdered my father,
the king, and usurped the throne. He is sending a massive army of disgruntled
misogynists against us. This army is a threat to both our forces. Join us in
an alliance. Let us have peace between the two of us and stand together
against our common enemy."

"What makes you think I will help you?"

"I have heard that you are far more reasonable than your sister."

Jenova suppressed a laugh. That was certainly true, she thought. Though she
was considering Katarina's offer, she felt that she couldn't show weakness. So
out loud, she said, "I am not here to interfere in whatever civil wars you may
have. I am here to make you an offer. Surrender, and your lives will be
spared. Your men will become either breeders or field slaves, depending on
their sexual desirability. The female soldiers that I notice you have in your
army will be given the opportunity to take the Amazon warrior test and become
full-fledged citizens of the Amazon Nation if they pass. That offer is
extended to you too, Katarina."

The Royalist Princess sighed. Now she would have to go to Plan B. "In that
case, I CHALLENGE YOU to single combat!" Katarina shouted loudly enough for
the front rank of Amazons to hear. "By the ancient laws and customs of the
Amazon Nation, any female warrior, even one from another nation, has the right
to challenge an Amazon commander, as long as she is of equal rank. We are both
Princesses."

"How did you know...Never mind," said Jenova. Meanwhile, several of the Amazon
Princess's senior commanders were riding out to her. Seeing it, Lieutanant
Colonel Summers and a few of her female officers also rode out to have
Katarina's back. The males wisely stayed behind, as their presence would have
provoked a full-scale battle.

"My Lady," said Jenova's second-in-command. "You know that it is your right to
decline the challenge."

"Yes. But I will not be made to look like a coward." Jenova turned to her
counterpart. "I accept your challenge. If you win, I will pledge my army to
your aid. And if I win, you will surrender your army."

"Now wait a minute," said Summers. "That's not an equal arrangement."

"If that is not satisfactory, then we'll be happy to let our armies just fight
it out," said another Amazon. "I was looking forward to spilling some male
blood today. And perhaps some blood of females who have chosen the wrong
side." At that, Summers's eyes began flashing in anger, but Katarina calmed
her down with a sharp look.

"My officer does make a good point," Katarina said to Jenova. "Would you care
to sweeten the pot a little? My army is ready to fight if we have to."

"How about this," said Jenova. "If you lose the duel, I will take only your
male soldiers and let your women go."

"If that happens, allow me to pick five men to remain free, and you may have
the rest."

"It's a deal." There were murmurs of disagreement from both sides, but
Katarina and Jenova both insisted that the arrangement was made.

The details of the duel were quickly worked out. Each girl would be on
horseback, starting forty yards apart from one another, and be armed with a
spear, a sword, and a wooden shield. Each would also choose a second to
enforce the rules and hold their commander's other weapons. The duel would end
when one woman either submitted or was killed.

The other girls, except for the seconds (Lieutenant Colonel Summers and
Jenova's second-in-command) rode back to their own lines. Katarina
relinquished her double-barreled pistol to her second, keeping her sword, and
was handed her spear and shield. She watched Jenova hand over her bow and
arrows and receive her new weapons in turn.

"Are you sure you want to do this, my Lady?" Summers asked her.

The Princess smiled wistfully. "It's a little late to be backing out now.
Anyway, it's our only chance. Wish me luck."

"Good luck, my Princess. Kick some ass."

* * *

Katarina and Jenova sat on their horses, forty yards apart, staring at each
other. Katarina gripped her spear tightly in her right hand, causing the
muscles in her slender but muscular brown forearms to ripple. She wore her
shield on her left arm, and her sword was sheathed at her hip, ready for use
at a moment's notice. She could see Jenova's weapons in the same position.

BANG! Summers fired the pistol into the air, signaling the start of the duel.
Both women began guiding their horses towards each other, moving at a trot.

With blinding speed, Jenova suddenly hurled her spear. Katarina raised her
shield, but the Amazon's throw was so powerful that the tip of the spear drove
all the way through the wood and pierced her left forearm. With a yelp of
pain, Katarina yanked the spear out, tossing it to the grass along with the
shield it was still stuck to. She glanced down at her arm. There was a
nasty-looking gash, but she wasn't bleeding too badly. In the distance, she
could hear the Amazons cheering loudly and her own men and women shouting
encouragement.

Katarina elected not to throw her own spear. She had the advantage of a weapon
with longer reach now, and her right arm was perfectly fine. She urged her
horse into a gallop, aiming the spear at Jenova's neck. The Amazon raised her
shield as she urged her horse faster as well. They came rapidly closer...
closer...

Katarina suddenly repositioned her spear, trying to drive it underneath
Jenova's shield into her vulnerable midsection. But the Amazon babe was very
fast. She swiftly lowered her shield enough to block the spear, at the same
time lashing out with a blinding kick that sent the spear flying. The girls
rode by each other and turned their horses around. Katarina, now at a
disadvantage, could hear the Amazon cheers growing louder. But over all their
voices came the clear, musical, feminine voice of Lieutenant Colonel Summers,
leading the Royalists in a cheer for her. Taking strength in that, she
tightened her grip on her sword, riding again towards Jenova, who was already
charging.

Katarina drew back her sword as she approached her opponent, making it look
like she was setting up for a mighty swing. But instead, she suddenly kicked
Jenova hard in the chest as she rode by, sending the Amazon flying off her
horse to land in the grass. The Amazons suddenly fell silent, while her own
men and women cheered loudly.

Turning her horse around once more, Katarina charged Jenova, who had gotten up
and was standing ready with sword and shield. This was it, she thought. But
suddenly, just before she reached her, Jenova executed a dazzling aerial
cartwheel, kicking Katarina with both of her booted feet and knocking her off
her horse. Jenova rotated through her cartwheel and landed elegantly with the
grace of a pro-gymnast.

The two ladies now fought woman-to-woman on foot. Katarina, with no shield,
switched to a two-handed grip on her sword to give her blows more power. They
fought, Katarina's sword banging against Jenova's shield and both blades
clanging into each other, for what seemed like a long time but in reality was
less than thirty seconds. Katarina drew next blood, her sword slashing
Jenova's left shoulder. With a yelp, the Amazon dropped her shield, but
continued fighting with equal ferocity, switching to a two-handed grip as
well.

Jenova swung low with her sword. Katarina jumped over the blade just in time
to prevent her ankles being sliced, but didn't see until it was too late her
opponent sweeping out with her long leg. Katarina was tripped to the grass,
landing on her back. Jenova stood over her and drew back her sword.

Suddenly, Katarina used a back walkover to get back to her feet, kicking
Jenova with both of her boots in the process. Before the Amazon could recover,
Katarina kicked the sword out of her opponent's hand, then did a standing back
layout, backflip kicking her in the face and knocking her to the ground. After
an elegant landing, she immediately leapt on top of her and pressed her blade
against Jenova's throat.

Katarina looked down at her opponent's tanned face. The Amazon showed neither
fear nor defiance, and she somehow managed to keep an expression of pride
despite her clear acceptance of defeat. "You win. I submit," Jenova said
simply.

Katarina stood up, her heart pounding. She sheathed her sword and held a hand
out to help Jenova to her feet. Both women looked at their wounds. They were
both superficial and would make cool-looking scars that would be attractive to
men who found tough female warrior types hot. In the distance, Katarina could
hear her men and women cheering. She had done it!

Jenova bowed and held her hand out towards her army. "My girls are at your
service. I only ask that they not take any orders directly from males. I'm
sure you'll understand that that would lead to...unpleasantness."

Katarina nodded. "I understand. Any orders that need to flow from my army to
yours will be given through myself or one of my female officers."

The news filtered back to each army and was greeted with apprehension and
uneasiness by both sides. The Royalists had to get used to the idea of the
Amazons, whom they had long thought to be their bloodthirsty enemies, as their
allies. The Amazons had to get used to the idea of cooperating with men
instead of killing or enslaving them. However, since both Katarina and Jenova
had such strong leadership skills, both girls convinced their respective
armies to go along with the plan. Katarina reminded her men that they had
female soldiers in their own army. Jenova pointed out to her girls that very
soon, a large number of misogynist males would be available for killing.

As the two armies marched together back to Fort Osweiler, with the female
Royalist soldiers forming a buffer between the males and the Amazons, Katarina
and Jenova rode together, telling each other stories about their respective
nations, gradually warming up to each other but still keeping their guard up.
Each woman had respect for the other, but still realized that their first duty
was to their own country.

Katarina realized that she still had much to do, even though everything had
gone according to plan so far. Keeping these two armies as allies would not be
easy. One fight that got out of hand could ignite a powder keg and lead to
disaster. And there were the terms of the agreement. Jenova's army was to be
at Katarina's service to defeat the force sent by Little F, but what if
defeating it took longer than expected? What if Jenova's soldiers grew
impatient? Exactly how long the Amazons were expected to be in Katarina's
service simply wasn't clear.

Jenova, for her part, was wondering what she had gotten herself into. She saw
the wisdom of Katarina's arguments, but she wondered how many of her girls
secretly saw things differently. She knew there were at least a few snitches
who would go running straight to Livia as soon as they had the chance. Her
sister would be a problem. And her mother, the Queen - what would she think of
all this?

When they made camp for the night, Katarina invited Jenova and her senior
commanders to a strategy meeting in her tent with her staff officers. Here,
the first problem erupted. One Amazon stopped abruptly when she saw men in the
tent. She crossed her muscular arms in front of her. "I'm not going in a tent
with MEN unless they are slaves or prisoners." Murmurs of agreement came from
some of the other Amazons.

As a general opened his mouth to make an angry retort, Katarina, knowing how
quickly the shit could hit the fan, gave him a sharp look and he quickly
closed his mouth. She then looked at the angry Amazon, trying to decide what
to say. She opened her mouth, but then closed it again and looked at Jenova.
If the words were going to have a real effect, they would have to come from
her. The Amazon Princess looked at her Royalist counterpart and nodded.

Jenova began her speech. "Amazons. Listen to your Princess. We have done
something wonderful in this world of mostly male-ruled kingdoms. We have
created a society of women, by women, and for women. That's the way Amazon
society has been and that's the way it should always be. No man will ever rule
over us."

"But perhaps it is time to reconsider some of our policies. Like the one about
never signing treaties with men. We need not be at constant war with every
realm ruled by a king instead of a queen. Certainly, we should fight with all
our strength against any man who wants to make war on us. But there are males
out there who would rather have peace and trade with us. Why not trade with
them and bring more prosperity to our girls? And perhaps not every male in our
society has to be a slave. Of course prisoners who have made war on us deserve
their enslavement, but we also hold as slaves peaceful farmers who have done
us no wrong. I'm not saying we should let them command armies or hold
government offices, but perhaps giving them some rights, or allowing them to
go back to their own people..."

"Male emancipation?! Preposterous!" said the angry Amazon, interrupting her.

A male Royalist major began opening his mouth. Katarina whirled, the look on
her face telling him, "Not now."

At the same time, one of the other Amazons shushed the angry one, saying,
"Just listen to the Princess. She's saying some difficult things that need to
be put out in the open."

"I had an interesting talk with Princess Katarina on the ride over," Jenova
continued. "She told me a lot about her kingdom. Yes, they still have a long
way to go when it comes to equality for women. But they're making progress.
They have women in their army. Female staff officers. A female commander. And
think about what Katarina is asking us to do. She's asking us to help defeat
the evil forces within that kingdom that want to roll all that progress back.
I think that is a goal that deserves our full cooperation."

Jenova looked at her officers. Although the angry Amazon and a couple of
others stalked off into the night, the rest of them were nodding in
understanding. One by one, they entered the tent. Katarina squeezed Jenova's
hand. "Thank you. Your words had an effect that mine could not."

The meeting was still tense, and several arguments erupted, but Katarina and
Jenova calmed things down each time by each chewing out the people on their
own side. Perhaps the hottest argument flared up when one of the Amazons
called a female Royalist major a traitor to her sex. She angrily challenged
the Amazon to a duel.

"NO," said Katarina. "There will be ABSOLUTELY NO DUELING."

"But you fought a duel with..."

"Princess privilege. When you become a Princess, you can fight as many duels
as you want. But until then, no. Now let's move on to more important matters."

"Yes, my Lady."

When the meeting was over and the others had dispersed, Katarina and Jenova
looked at each other. "Well, at least we accomplished a few things," said
Katarina.

"We put out a lot of fires, but we were so busy doing that we didn't have time
for much else," sighed Jenova.

"Oh, come on. It wasn't THAT bad. Anyway, we came up with a basic strategy for
the defense of the Colonial Capital." She ran a finger through her long silky
black hair. "Now that we're alone, there are a couple of other things I wanted
to discuss. An Amazon army is still besieging the Royalists at San Sebastian.
Perhaps we can work out some sort of truce."

Jenova shook her head. "I have no command over that army. Livia commands it,
and we both know what the chances of her being open to reason are. We'll just
have to deal with that situation later."

Katarina sighed and nodded. "There is one more issue...the enslavement of my
men you captured. I would like them released."

"I hope you don't think that was part of our agreement."

"Of course not. But still..."

Jenova sighed. "I'm already putting myself out on a very fragile limb with
this alliance. Releasing slaves who were captured while making war on the
Amazon Nation will enrage the whole country, not just fanatics like Livia. And
some of them...well, they can't exactly be released."

Katarina groaned. "Livia?"

"Who else?" Jenova looked into the other princess's eyes. They were the same
height, and except for Katarina's straight hair and Jenova's curly tresses
looked very much alike. "I'll tell you what I'll do. I brought one prisoner
with me for information purposes, name of Wilkins, I think. He's some sort of
colonel. He was the highest-ranking soldier I captured in a battle a couple of
weeks ago. As a sign of good faith towards our new alliance, I'll release him.
But this does not mean I am going to automatically release the others."

"Colonel Wilkins? I know him. Good man. Thank you." A thought suddenly struck
her. "How about this? After we defeat Little F's army, you may permanently
keep as slaves any survivors from that force. In exchange, you will release
the Royalist men you hold now."

"It's a deal. Once the new slaves are captured, we will arrange the exchange."

"Excellent. Now I'd like to accompany you to your tent to escort Wilkins back
to our camp."

* * *

Colonel Wilkins, huddled in a corner of Jenova's command tent with his hands
tied behind his back and guarded by a teenage Amazon girl, looked up upon
hearing footsteps and let out a huge sigh of relief when he saw Katarina. "My
Princess," he said gratefully, standing up and bowing.

"The prisoner is going back with Katarina," Jenova instructed her soldier. The
girl looked disappointed, but nodded in obedience.

Katarina untied the colonel's hands. "Just look straight ahead and don't say
anything until we get back to our camp," she whispered. He nodded
enthusiastically. He didn't have any problem with that idea. He just wanted
out of here as fast as possible. Back in the Royalist camp, as they passed by
Lieutenant Colonel Summers, Wilkins almost saluted her first before
remembering that he was a full colonel and she was a lieutenant colonel. He
realized that after having this whole male slave thing drummed into him, it
would take a while to get it out of his system.

In her personal tent, Katarina looked at the recently liberated male captive.
"Are you okay?"

"I am now, thanks to you, my Lady."

"How were the others treated?"

"Jenova was tough but fair. Livia, on the other hand, was just a plain sadist.
She killed and castrated a bunch of my men, hunted some for sport, tortured
many of them, and completely broke mentally the survivors. I'm not sure any of
those men can successfully integrate back into Royalist society if they are
liberated."

Katarina frowned. Another problem to deal with. But she had other issues to
deal with now. So she said, "Thank you, Colonel. You are dismissed. Get some
rest. We have a big battle coming up soon, and much planning to do. We don't
know when the enemy will arrive."

"Thank you, my Princess."

* * *

THREE DAYS LATER

"They are coming! They are coming! The black sails of the enemy fleet!"
shouted the lookout from the tower in the Colonial Capital.

"Inform the Princess! Guards, to your stations!" shouted an officer.

In her bedroom, Katarina changed out of her long, elegant, feminine princess
dress and into her battle uniform. Female Royalist soldiers wore a modified
version of the male blue and white uniform. The ladies' outfit consisted of
low-cut white pants, a blue and white blouse with three-quarter length
sleeves, knee-high black leather boots, and black leather gloves. When she was
finished, she paused to admire her reflection in the mirror. As it had been
designed to do, the uniform placed her tanned six-pack abs and slender but
muscular brown forearms on prominent display.

Per the plan, Katarina allowed the enemy army to land unopposed on the broad
plain outside the city. Twenty thousand men disembarked from their ships and
formed up on the field, holding just out of range of the town's cannons.
Little F had not come to lead his army personally, the Princess noted. Typical
for a coward like him.

Two officers, one carrying a white flag, rode towards the city walls. Colonel
Wilkins and Lieutenant Colonel Summers rode out to meet them. The senior of
the two enemy officers, a major, wrinkled his nose in distaste when he saw
that one of his counterparts was a woman. He also felt his schmoe-style
feelings rise (along with his cock) when he saw her sexy, muscular, feminine
body in her modified blue and white uniform. "Is this what the wannabe queen
Katarina is doing to the once proud Royalist army now?" the major sneered,
trying to hide the fact that he was a schmoe.

"Watch your mouth," said Wilkins. "She is your senior officer. As am I. You
don't want to make her angry."

"Yeah. Like I'd be afraid of a GIRL. Anyway, I have come to make an offer.
Surrender the city and the Princess, and your lives will be spared. Fail to do
so, and King Frederick X will have you all executed."

"You mean Little Fuck-up?" laughed Summers.

The major glared. "Don't talk about your king that way!"

"That little BOY is nothing but a murderer and a usurper."

"I'm warning you!"

"What are you going to do about it, BOY?"

The major let out a growl. He tried to draw his sword, but the attractive and
athletic female lieutenant colonel was far too quick for him. She kicked him
in the face, knocking him off his horse to land flat on his back in the grass,
then did a front tuck somersault to dismount, landing her 140 pounds of female
muscle hard on his gut. She did a standing back handspring off of him and
kicked him right in the crotch.

"I told you not to make her angry," said Wilkins to the groaning man.

Summers turned to the other officer from Frederick's army. "Captain, perhaps
you have more sense than the major does. Tell your men that Katarina, your
true Queen, has an offer of her own. Swear loyalty to her and fight for her
side in battle, and you will be forgiven. Continue to stand against her, and
you will receive what a traitor deserves."

"Yes, ma'am," said the captain. He saluted and rode back to his own lines,
leaving the groin-kicked major to slowly struggle to his feet and back onto
his horse. All the people watching from the city walls were laughing at him.

Although Little F had personally chosen this army for loyalty to him, there
would always be a few dissenters. Upon learning of Katarina's offer, a few men
began making their way towards the city. Suddenly, shots rang out...from their
own side as the army commander angrily ordered his hand-picked death squads to
kill the independent thinkers.

As some of the dissenters slumped dead, the survivors hesitated. But suddenly,
the members of the death squads began dropping dead themselves one by one,
shot with expert and lethal precision. Katarina, watching, smiled. She had
hand-picked about thirty female soldiers who were the best markswomen,
equipped them with long-range rifles, and hidden them in the trees. The
rifles, although slower-firing than the muskets that most soldiers used, were
accurate at a much longer range, and these skilled girls could use them to
kill from 500 yards.

As the would-be executioners continued dropping dead, unable to even see where
these shots were coming from, much less make any kind of resistance, the
survivors turned and ran. This allowed the men who wanted to join Katarina, a
couple hundred of them, to make their way to the city in safety. Included
among them was the captain who had ridden out with the white flag earlier.
Katarina smiled as she greeted them. "A wise choice."

"Move the artillery into range and open up on the city!" the enemy general
ordered. Men and horses scurried into action. Metal balls were loaded into the
cannons and artillerymen stood by, ready to light the fuses...

A buzzing sound suddenly filled the air. Little F's soldiers looked around,
puzzled.

Then the Amazon arrows slammed into them. The first volley targeted the
cannoneers. Over half of them dropped dead from the lethal projectiles, while
many other men were wounded, in agonizing pain from the thick, barbed arrows
that the Amazons used. The few artillerymen still capable of fighting, their
officers dead or dying, had no idea whether to fire on the city or turn the
cannons to meet this new threat. Not that they really could - they had no idea
where the Amazons were hiding.

Concealed in the forest, 2000 female archers, most of them still just teenage
girls, looked with pride at the carnage they had inflicted with a single
devastating volley. Their commander, at twenty-two winters just slightly older
than most of her girls, ordered a second volley to completely neutralize the
enemy artillerymen.

The invading army still outnumbered the combined forces of Katarina and
Jenova, and their cannons, though surrounded by corpses, were themselves
intact. But the complete surprise of the Amazons' attack had thrown the men
into panic. Some men began running for the ships, only stopping when their own
death squads fired on them for their cowardice.

Little F's general cursed in anger. He ordered a massive infantry charge
towards the forest to attack the Amazons, while detaching a brigade to recover
the cannons.

The Amazon archers responded with devastating efficiency, opening up on the
mass of advancing men, several hundred men dropping dead, with hundreds more
maimed, with each volley. The men fired wildly back at the unseen enemy with
their muskets, but even the men in the front were still out of range - and
many of the men in the back ended up accidentally shooting their own troops.

Meanwhile, as the brigade tasked with recovering the artillery approached the
big guns, they were greeted with a volley of cannon fire from the artillery
mounted on the city walls, blowing many men to pieces. To add to their misery,
more of Katarina's hand-picked, rifle-armed snipers, many of them female,
began picking off the officers with lethally accurate shots, starting with the
brigadier general and working their way down. Little F's soldiers couldn't
fight back, as any man who reached a cannon fuse became the highest priority
target for the snipers, and their muskets were out of range. Katarina herself,
an excellent markswoman, used a rifle to personally kill several officers
along with a couple of men who tried to light the fuses to cannons. She
multi-tasked, keeping an eye on the status of the battle each time she
reloaded.

The front ranks of enemy infantry had almost reached the edge of the forest.
Katarina picked up a mirror, using it to flash a signal. High up in a tree, an
Amazon girl flashed back a signal of recognition, then shouted the message to
Jenova, waiting down below on her horse. The Amazon princess let out a
whistle. The female archers fired one last devastating volley, then swiftly
retreated. In their place, swordswomen moved forward, hiding in and behind the
trees.

Little F's infantry entered the dark woods cautiously and nervously.
Everything seemed quiet. Slowly they advanced further and further...

"NOW!" screamed Jenova. A lethal barrage of thrown spears, axes, and daggers,
launched by the Amazon girls' powerful, toned arms, impacted male flesh,
dropping hundreds of men dead to the forest floor. Then the Amazons turned
into tanned brown blurs of motion as they did blindingly fast backflips
towards the surviving men, finishing their tumbling runs with full or double
full twisting layouts, drawing their swords as they twisted.

The men fired their muskets wildly, but the girls were so fast that most of
the shots missed. And once hand-to-hand combat began, the males' bayonets were
no match for the Amazons' ultra-lethal swordswomanship. The forest floor
quickly became stained with red as the girls sliced and diced their helpless
opponents to pieces.

The men still outside the trees could hear the terrified screams of their
comrades. They stopped marching, afraid to go in. A few men at the rear began
running for the ships, followed by a few more. Then it became a general panic,
the cowardly soldiers running for their lives.

"Take aim! Fire!" A death squad commander barked the order and his handpicked
men fired a volley into the runners. It was the only effective attack any
members of Little F's army made that day, and it was against their own men.
The death squads fired steady volleys into the fleeing cowards, slaughtering
hundreds of them, but eventually they were overrun by sheer weight of numbers
and trampled to death.

With the way to the ships now clear, the cowards thought they had found
salvation. But suddenly, a distinctive war horn sounded. It was Princess
Katarina, personally leading her cavalry. Lieutenant Colonel Summers rode
right beside her.

Caught fleeing in the open field, Little F's men stood no chance. They were
shot down, ridden down, and curb-stomped down in a brutal slaughter. Katarina
emptied both barrels of her pistol, drilling two men in the backs of their
heads, then drew her sword, ripping open the throat of, or simply
decapitating, every enemy she came across. In the corner of her eye, she could
see Summers slaying men left and right as well. In less than ten minutes the
extermination of the cowards was complete. Katarina then turned towards the
enemy commander, sitting on his horse on a hill a few hundred yards away,
surrounded by his staff officers. She raised her blood-soaked blade and
pointed it at him.

The enemy general ordered his cavalry, the only men he had left in reserve,
into action. Outnumbering Katarina's riders and in battle formation, while the
princess's forces were scattered around the field, he thought he could crush
his female opponent.

But suddenly, another war horn sounded. A different horn, one that struck fear
into the hearts of males. It was the war horn of the Amazons. Sure enough, the
Amazon cavalry, which had been waiting in reserve for just an occasion like
this, unleashed a devastating attack, starting with several volleys of arrows
from their compact, fast-firing bows. Hundreds of men, impaled with colorfully
feathered arrows, fell from their horses with each volley. Then, as they
thundered closer, muscular dark brown female arms hurled spears, savagely
impaling hundreds more male victims.

As the Amazon cavalry crashed into their opponents, Katarina's riders formed
up and charged Little F's men from the other side, neatly trapping them. The
princess, who had reloaded her pistol, used it to kill two colonels.
Meanwhile, Summers took aim with her own pistol and killed the enemy major
(remember him?) that she had kicked in the groin earlier.

The hand-to-hand cavalry battle was bloody and fierce, but the outcome was
never in doubt. Outnumbered, surrounded, and demoralized, Little F's men stood
no chance of winning. Katarina was in the thick of the battle, using her
swordswomanship to full advantage, adding over a dozen more impaled, slashed,
and decapitated male victims to her score. Once, an enemy lieutenant tried to
shoot her with his pistol, but thanks to her expert training, lightning-quick
reflexes, and excellent hand-eye coordination, she blocked the bullet with her
sword. She then charged him, cut off his gun hand, blew him a taunting kiss,
and cut off his head.

Finally, the battle was over. Katarina sat on her horse, taking reports from
her officers. Her chief of staff rode up to her. "My Lady. I have the totals.
The enemy was utterly annihilated. Almost 19,000 men are dead, and 900 are our
prisoners. About a hundred men, mostly cavalry, escaped, but the Amazons are
riding them down as we speak. One of them told me that men can't outride her
lighter, faster girls. They insisted on doing the chase by themselves and I
wasn't going to disagree." The male general gulped as he remembered the
deadliness of the Amazons, glad that they were on his side...at least for now.

"How about our army's losses?"

"Forty-two of our men and three of our women dead, and fifty-six men and five
women wounded, my Princess."

Katarina nodded. It was a victory more complete than she could have ever hoped
for. She could actually speak to each dead soldier's next of kin
individually...

The sound of hoofbeats made her look up. Jenova approached on her white horse.
The Amazon's sword was soaked with blood, and the quiver she wore on her back
was empty of arrows. The two women looked at each other, nodded, and smiled.

"Princess Katarina. I am pleased to report that my girls are already bringing
in some of the men who tried to escape. Some are dead, and the rest wish they
were dead. We should have everyone hunted down by tomorrow evening."

"Excellent, Princess Jenova. How about your girls? What losses did they take?"

Jenova sighed. "Thirty-six Amazons are dead, and fifty are wounded. To lose
three dozen of my girls in a single day...my heart is heavy indeed."

"But our victory was so complete, and our losses were so small!" said a male
officer. "How can you think like that when..." He froze when he saw that
Jenova was glaring at him with a deadly look that was as cold as ice. The
Amazon princess began reaching for her sword.

"NO!" shouted Katarina. "Especially not now. Not after our armies worked
together so well." She glared at the male officer. "Captain, dismount, get on
your knees, and apologize to Jenova. NOW!"

The male captain, used to commanding a company of men and not used to being
subordinate except to male officers who were superior in rank, hesitated, but
when he saw the looks in both Katarina's and Jenova's eyes, he sprung into
action. Leaping off his horse, he dropped to his knees. "Please, forgive me,
Princess," he begged. "My tongue was quick and my brain was foolish. I failed
to think before I spoke."

Katarina nodded, then turned to Jenova. "Do you accept his apology?"

There was dead silence for a moment. Finally, Jenova nodded as well. "In the
name of peace, I accept."

The male captain sighed in relief. "Thank you, Princess." Mounting his horse,
he rode away as fast as he could.

"Back to business," said Katarina. "I will require five prisoners. The rest
will become slaves of the Amazon Nation. As soon as my men you hold now are
released, you may carry off these new men. You will have almost a thousand
prisoners, far more than you hold now."

Jenova nodded. "We currently hold about two hundred of your men. I would like
to request to send two hundred of these new captives over now, to immediately
replace the ones we will be releasing. After you get them back, we will take
the remaining eight hundred men."

"That sounds fair," said Katarina. "Agreed."

"Now if you'll excuse me," said Jenova, "I have some burials to attend to."

Katarina nodded solemnly. "As do I."

* * *

Jenova's fallen girls and Katarina's fallen men and women were all buried with
the full military honors of their respective cultures. As for the dead
enemies, their corpses were cremated and the remnants unceremoniously dumped
into mass graves.

Katarina took the four highest-ranking prisoners - two brigadier generals, a
major general, and the three-star general who had commanded the enemy army -
for interrogation about Little F's plans. She informed them that if they
talked immediately, they would be rewarded with quick deaths by beheading
after they had told all they know, but if they resisted, they would be
tortured until they talked, then broken on the wheel. The three lower-ranking
generals elected to talk immediately. They revealed that although Little F
still had massive amounts of soldiers on the mainland, the men he had lost in
this battle were his most loyal troops. In addition, more than half of his
navy was now waiting in the harbor for Katarina to take over. After they were
done talking, the three generals were led to the courthouse square in the
Colonial Capital, where Katarina, Jenova, and Lieutenant Colonel Summers each
decapitated one of them with their swords. Their heads were placed on pikes in
corners of the square.

As for the enemy commander, his foolish stubbornness was rewarded by Jenova
getting three of her hand-picked most sadistic Amazons to torture him. He
quickly broke down. After making sure he wasn't holding back any additional
information, the same Amazon girls gleefully broke him on the wheel. After he
was finally dead, his head was cut off and put on a pike in the town square's
fourth corner.

The fifth prisoner Katarina took was a frightened-looking young man, little
more than a boy. "You are lucky," she informed him. "You will carry a message
to my cowardly little brother. You will inform him that he will immediately
stand down his armies, relinquish the throne to me, and surrender himself for
trial for murder and treason. If he is convicted, he will be rewarded with a
quick death by beheading. If he resists, however, tell him that he will be
broken on the wheel when I catch him. Also, tell every man in his army that he
will be forgiven if he swears loyalty to me. Men who fail to do so will be
punished in proportion with their rank. Is the message clear?"

"Yes, my Princess," he said, trembling.

She turned to two of her men. "Escort him to the docks and let him take a
small sailboat."

* * *

Katarina sat alone near one of the fountains in the Colonial Capital, watching
the patterns of the dancing water and trying to think of how she should handle
things next. She looked up as footsteps approached. It was a Royal Messenger.
He bowed. "They told me I'd find you here, my Lady."

"What have you to report?"

"General Norton is in trouble at the siege of San Sebastian. He estimates that
his men can hold out for one more week at the most."

Katarina simply nodded, not allowing the worry spreading within her to show on
her face. "Anything else?"

"No, my Princess."

"Thank you. You are dismissed."

Alone again, she let out a sigh. She had known this was something that would
have to be dealt with, she had just thought she would have a little longer.

Katarina called a quick meeting with her high-ranking officers, along with
Princess Jenova, and explained the situation. The Amazon princess let out a
sigh. "Livia. I fear that I will not be able to reason with my sister."

"If we go together," began Katarina. "If we explain just what a great victory
we achieved working together just now. If we show her and her girls what
progress we have made. We have to try."

"And if my sister refuses to listen?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"It is a good plan, except for one minor detail, my Lady," spoke up Lieutenant
Colonel Summers. "You should not go. I should go."

Katarina opened her mouth. Summers raised her hands. "Please, my Princess.
Hear me out. You are too valuable. If Livia refuses to cooperate, you would
likely end up killed or captured. We cannot afford to lose you. And obviously
none of the male officers can go. That leaves me to lead our delegation."

Katarina nodded slowly. "I suppose you are right. Come with me after the
meeting is over. We have some planning to do."

* * *

Two days later, the Amazons left the city, heading south towards San
Sebastian, frog-marching 200 of the whiniest, most obnoxious male prisoners
captured in the battle to make them begin their lives as slaves as early as
possible. With them rode Lieutenant Colonel Summers and a group of about
twenty female Royalist soldiers that she had hand-picked.

Before the Amazons left, Jenova and Katarina had signed a peace treaty,
declaring that although the time of the Amazons being under Katarina's command
as per the agreement made at the duel was now over, neither woman would use
her forces against the other. Although the treaty had been accompanied by much
celebration, everyone knew that Katarina's brother and Jenova's sister and
mother would state that the two princesses had no authority to sign such an
agreement. The threat of war was far from over.

After the last of the Amazons had disappeared over the horizon, Katarina
headed back to the throne room at the Colonial Castle. She still had a lot of
work to do. She arranged for cavalry patrols to roam the countryside to be on
the lookout for any renegades, and she sent some of the ships the combined
force had captured to patrol for any more vessels that Little F might send.
Once things were settled here on the island, she could think about using the
fleet to launch a liberation of the mainland. She also organized a network of
counter-spies and snitches to sniff out anyone who might be spying for Little
F. The 800 remaining prisoners who were to be delivered to the Amazons as
slaves later were locked up in the dungeons under heavy guard, and the cannons
captured from the enemy were added to the batteries on the town walls.

As the days went by, Katarina waited impatiently for any news from San
Sebastian. Finally, one day, a young female Royalist officer rode up to her
excitedly, dismounted, and bowed, clearly having something important to
report.

"Lieutenant, what news do you bring from San Sebas...wait a minute. You
weren't with Summers's delegation."

"No, my Lady. I was leading a cavalry patrol near the western edge of our
sector. We spotted a massive army of Amazons headed our way. We estimate their
numbers at ten thousand. They have cannons and siege towers. And they appear
to be led by the Amazon Queen herself."

"By the gods," murmured Katarina. "Anything from Summers or Jenova?"

"Nothing yet, my Princess."

"Send word that all male cavalry patrols are to return to the city at once. I
want you to pick a dozen of your best female cavalry soldiers to shadow the
Amazons and report on their movements. Do not let them see you and do not
engage in combat with them under any circumstances."

"Yes, my Lady."

As the girl rode off, Katarina looked up at the sky, knowing what was coming.
Sure enough, as if on cue, dark clouds covered the sun and a cold wind began
to blow.

TO BE CONTINUED...

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