-January 12th of 1313

Lena allows Holly and Delilah to debate her clothing as Dolly and Lena munch on some snacks enjoying the show. Lena is rather satisfied how at ease Delilah with Holly as does Holly because she is capable of bickering with Delilah rather than ignoring her.

The last two months following the royal announcement of Lena’s new title were full as Lena was busy establishing her presence at court as the courtiers wished to better acquaint themselves with the new princess. But Lena was mostly plagued by leering court young men.

After being delayed in the Capital for weeks Lena would finally be able to return to the Bartholomew household. But it was not meant to be.

Her Royal Father with great pomp bestowed upon Lena the additional title of Grand Duchess and awarded the Duchy of Hyacinth for her own. It is quite common for an additional title to be added to royal children to grant them their own personal land. But usually it is not quite so grand as that of Grand Duchess.

However, regardless of appearances the gift bestowed upon Lena was not quite what it seemed. The issue lay in the fact the Hyacinth was the province in the worst of conditions and the most problematic out of all the provinces. The province was overrun by bandits and criminals. Gathering taxes was impossible unless the tax gathers were heavily guarded and even then, one had to find people to gather taxes as the people would flee into the mountains.

The previous Duke had run the Duchy into the ground and upon doing so, his household fled the kingdom abandoning the townsmen. And although the Duchy wasn’t completely destitute it was in just rather rough shape.

Now said event had happened some twenty years ago, but her Royal Father had not been able to foist the Duchy onto anyone until now. And as such, Lena found herself in a ragged worn down castle and a Duchy with no potential prospects.

Tired of the ongoing bickering Lena clothes herself in her usual clothes and escapes as. Delilah and Holly remain bickering. Sneaking out of the castle was easy as the current staff consisted of three staff members, Dolly, Holly and Delilah. But, on the morrow, Holly and Delilah were to contract new personnel for the castle.

The townsmen greet Dolly and Lena without much enthusiasm or respect as they pass by. The town is rather ragged and run down stricken with poverty. After a tour of the land, Dolly and Lena return to the castle to find two rather aggravated women.

Holly and Delilah loudly lecture Lena about proper princess behavior as she and Dolly eat. Finally, the two of them exhaust themselves before sitting down to join them for a meal.

After the meal, Lena trudges to the study. The faded rich carpet greets her as Lena sits down in a rickety chair and sorts through the piles of documents for the next hours. The night is almost gone when Lena finally finishes sorting the piles.

Most of the documents are debt collection notices and overdue taxes. If Lena ignores the lack of taxes she won’t have any funds, but if she collects them from the already improvised people, the people will revolt against her.

What can Lena possible do to revitalize this Duchy?

New Cuisine? Everyday people barely have enough to eat.

Tourism? There’s nothing to see nor are there any hot springs nearby, she had double checked.

Clothing? Who has time to learn about fashion, when one is barely clothed.

New School? They already receive basic schooling and can apply for higher learning.

Private Military School? It is rebellion for creating private forces.

Culture? Who has time to see plays or art, when one is starving?

Why would-. That’s it. There is an untapped market right here. Lena smile wolfishly as she writes a letter to Merchant Vadim. That would will be killing two birds with one stone.

-January 14th of 1313

Lena sniffs in the rocking carriage as Dolly is seated at her side. Merchant Vadim ignores the women as he sits squished between his two burly guards. Lena must periodically hide her smile at the scene right out of a mob boss movie. You come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married-.

Although Lena had to give Merchant Vadim his due without him, she would be in worse straits. The carriage rolls to a stop as Lena impatiently climbs out. With a sigh, Lena feels the squishy mud under her. She knew she was going to get an earful when she got back.

The cold breeze carries light flakes of snow that trail down from the sky as the rest of the members exit the carriage. Lena waits for Merchant Vadim to lead into the ragged building on the edge of town that served as the hideout for most of the criminals in town.

Their footsteps creak on the wooden floor as they leave muddy tracks on the grimy floor. From the shadows, suspicious gazes are seen with the occasional leering gaze. Merchant Vadim leads them into a large open area within the compound.

The criminals on the second floor look down at them, while the rest lean against the walls and stand on the far side around a seated figure. An older grimmer man, whose face had seen hard times signals for them to sit before him. Merchant Vadim and Lena seat themselves as Dolly and the two guards remain standing behind them.

The older man greets them after a long period of silence. ““Welcome to my humble abode, how may I be of assistance this evening?”

Lena lightly responds, “I have come to offer a fortuitous opportunity to redeem yourselves.”

The men snort in laughter as the older man fights back a smirk on his face. “Oh, is that all? What a waste of both of our times,” The older man mockingly said as he leaned forward.

A cold expression enters his face as he sneers at Merchant Vadim. The older man coldly spits out, “Merchant Vadim, this woman has utterly enthralled you.”

The men audibly snicker at his words and grunt in agreement. They nod their heads as others begin to impatiently move and rustle. Dolly’s ears flatten as her tail fluffs out, while the two burly guards silently reach for their weapons in preparation.

“Redemption? We’ve seen plenty of priests preach such talk. But does their word feed our starving families? It does not. Such a useless concept is of no use to us. As for our souls, well, that ship has already sailed on yesterday’s evening tide.

Scarlett Princess, I had expected a better offer from you. After all, are you not the General who pardoned any solider of their crimes?” The older man coldly said as his eyes narrowed slightly in realization of just who he was mocking in actuality.

The men surrounding them stiffen and slightly pale at the older man’s words. If Lena were to take offense at their words, she could easily call upon the soldiers from Fort Terra to aide her in destroying them or razing the entire area to the ground.

Indeed, it was common practice among noblemen whose lands were overrun by bandits. In order to deal with the criminal epidemic, the nobles would burn everything to the ground and start over from scratch. Sure, the people were left with nothing, but it would destroy the bandits from the lands by instilling fear and absolute obedience in the population to follow the Duchy’s laws. After that, what fool would dare to steal or more importantly protest against their lord, even if he was cruel? Much less dare to report him to higher authorities.

“What I offer is much more than that, what I offer is a brighter future of tomorrow,” Lena firmly stated as the men suspiciously study her trying to assess her.

As the men’s rustling and movement cease the room is full of a heavy silence. The older man breaks the silence and asks, “What are you offering exactly?”

Lena dazzles them with a charming smile. “I am establishing a force throughout the kingdom known as the Investigation Unit. The primary purpose and function of this unit will be to bring criminals to justice. Not just your run of the mill criminals, but specialized criminals. Within the force there will be several specialized departments such as: Homicide, Tracking, Robbery, etc.” Lena matter-of-factly stated.

The men gape in disbelief as Merchant Vadim hides his smile behind his sleeve. Doll looks down her nose at them as her ears twitch in annoyance until she grabs her tail and fluffs it out ignoring their gazes.

The elder man finally stutters, “Are you mad? Do you wish to see us tried and hanged for our crimes? Or is it a threat, that a reckoning will be reaped from our families?”

Lena pointedly answers, “I have heard rumors tell that your men are the most cunning criminals throughout the kingdom. Who better than a criminal to catch a criminal? If you feel, that you are not up to the task then please say so.”

The older man chokes as he glares back at the calm woman before him.

“For too long nobles have gone unpunished for their crimes. Although our King is wise and the guards do their best, they are overrun and spread too thin to properly to do their job.

After all the city guards, primarily job is to patrol and keep the streets safe and establish order. But that leaves little time for them to properly investigate and most importantly they lack insight on criminal activities. That will not be such a problem for you, now will it?” Lena firmly said as she gazed into their faces.

The men’s faces are full of wonder as they ponder her words. After a moment, a figure that Lena recognized from a wanted poster steps out from the crowd. Styr, was a well-known murderer in the kingdom a few years ago, until he suddenly disappeared.

After some careful investigation, it was discovered that Styr was killing those that had wronged him. It was too late even if the people wished for his pardon, there was no good reason too. And if truth be told, it did not seem that Styr wished to be pardoned for his crimes either.

Styr, though his appearance is like the wanted poster, handsome in his own way. But warmth never seems to penetrate those icy eyes of his. Out of the corner of Lena’s eye she sees Dolly straighten on guard against him. She’s not the only one as the two guards take a step forward in warning.

“And what of a murderer? Will you so simply forgive our crimes like that? And what if we commit another?” Styr icily spat out.

“All very good points. Your crimes are to be pardoned by the crown and state provided you work for me. Should you commit another crime while a member of my unit, you will be apprehended and trialed per your crimes by the courts.

And lastly, I am offer the chance to ATONE for your crimes. Do you think I am doing this out of the kindness of my heart? On the contrary I am not. I wish to see a you suffer.

Every time you fail in capturing a criminal or prevent a crime, I hope and pray that you will be burdened by your past in remembrance of the failure to prevent the root of evil from sprouting. If we can prevent a child or an individual from committing crimes of vengeance or survival, their future will be that much different and brighter.

That is why I have come to you. And should you refuse, I will seek elsewhere until I find those willing to follow me. And when that time comes, I will send out my forces to capture those that will not atone for their past actions.”

A different type of emotion appears in Styr’s eyes of respect and awe. Or perhaps, a new light enters his dark eyes, one full of purpose. Without a word, Styr kneels and says, “Scarlett Princess, should you keep your word, this one will atone for his crimes all his life.”

Styr’s name pops up in the interface as a new subordinate addition. The men’s eyes widen in shock as they instinctively kneel in her royal presence automatically becoming Lena’s subordinates. Lena did not care if they believed in the cause or not if they could follow orders that would suffice.

The older man grumbles, “It would seem that you are a better con artist than I am. But I have a feeling that will fulfill your words. Very well, my men and I, Barclay Reed swear to follow you, Scarlett Princess.”

Lena grins nastily and says, “Thank you. But I aware that there is stolen wealth and goods in the vicinity. I will need you to overturn such items to me in order to begin building the institution for training and fixing the Duchy. I am sure, that as productive members of my forces, you won’t say no.”

Barclay Reed and some of his men wince, but those that do are the thieves. Barclay rises somewhat reluctantly to his feet and leads her to the treasury.

Merchant Vadim nods in sympathy at Barclay full well in understanding. But he really shouldn’t complain, since Merchant Vadim is one of the richest merchants in the Kingdom. That reminded Lena that Merchant Vadim as member of her Duchy should be taxed per his wealth. Lena was certain that he evaded paying taxes for years.

Merchant Vadim shivers as if sensing Lena’s plotting. Merchant Vadim reaches into his pocket for a handkerchief and wipes the cold sweat from his forehead. Merchant Vadim purposefully puts distance between them as he chats with an old acquaintance.

Merchant Vadim has good survival instincts after all. But on this occasion they won’t save him. After all, he is a reliable subordinate, who won’t disobey an order once it is issued.

*