Dronia and Marco Casteol

Copyright © November 15, 2011 by Cupideros

All rights reserved.

(782 words)

"Women are average, men exceptional."  Dronia kept repeating that quote as she slowly rode her horse victoriously through the battlefield ranks of the defeated enemy.  She stared at the men, in shock, men being stripped of their armor by her all-female army.  The men's eyes either downcast or defiant in a useless manner felt helpless.  Some of the men smiled and hoped for mercy.  Others, a few, did not know what to make of their astonishing defeat.  Marco, their leader, where is he, Dronia thought.  "Bring me Marco Casteol-alive!"

Fresh round of activity began as, Marco's men all pointed in the direction behind them.  Dronia's Legions also went, pulling up the downcast face of the enemy, tearing off the helmets of the injured, calling out, "Where's your leader?"  "Where's Marco?"  "Casteol?"

"There!"

"He's wearing the eagle's plume," said another of his men.

A grizzled old veteran, who had seen too many wars in Dronia's opinion as her horse ambled by him shouted, "He should have led from the front, like a real leader."

A young recruit of Dronia's came running up.  "We found him, Dronia!  Alive!"

There was quite a scuffle as one Amazon woman; whose muscles matched any of the elite enemy, dragged him forward on a chained of gold.  She threw him at Dronia's feet.

Silence.

"Remove that plume," Dronia commanded.

Marco's black head of hair lay wet, scattered on his neck and forehead.  He slowly looked up at his worst enemy.  Not Dronia.  A female.  Any female. 

"Women are typical, Men individual."  Dronia let the quote sink in pausing.  "Women are average, men exceptional." 

The smell of burning eagle's feathers filled the air.

***

How it all came to this is the stuff of legend, on the Quodarian side.  Later on an exceptional genius, female painter would portray Dronia riding off to battle on her horse, in full red armor, holding her helmet in her right hand and the horse's reins in her left, accepting a rose from her stay-at-home husband. "La Dronia Queen's Victory over Marco."  Her oil painting soared in price even though, the battle took place some three thousand years back in Quodarian history.  Even her reprints became famous and sold all over their new home planet, Tinon and amongst the Gians, who allowed old earth people to live, inhabit the taboo planet. 

One year earlier, Dronia led a peace negotiation on Gian.  The Gian's had space travel and old earth people had not redeveloped to that capacity.  Dronia offered half the land from the MonteCliff Mountains back north to Marco.  Quodarians would take the MonteCliff Mountains and everything south.  He refused.  "Why give up what I can win outright?"

But this did not anger Dronia.  She offered several reasons why fighting against her all-female force was a disaster. 

"In the history of our planet, Gian ambassador, we have found women to be typical (one not any more worthy than another) and men individual; we have likewise found women are average, men exceptional."  Marco did not even address Dronia directly. 

Gian's ambassador replied, "We have found our women to be exceptional and individual."

"Fools!  You too, are weaklings!"

Dronia realized the seriousness of the situation.  Even though the Gian ambassador's face remained neutral, surely he considered this a future threat to his own realm.

"You insolent fool, Marco!"  She pointed to the neutral face ambassador.  "You threaten him, too!"  Dronia pushed her chair away from the oval golden negotiation table, grabbed her helmet.  "You won't ruin things for all earthlings.  I will make sure of that!"

The war lasted approximately three days--Just as the Gian Prophets predicted.

From that moment, the Quodarians began to gather many allies.  Still this was a bloody time in the earthlings history of Tinon.  Some forces even larger than Quodarian's army agreed to unify in order to save Tinon from the thoughts of careless, war hungry men like Marco Casteol.  Better to have a place to live; than to say we fought, we died and now all earthlings vanished, a distant memory in Gian's history books," the new allies would say.  That moment, the Quodarians became the holders of the heritage of old earth.  Quodarians became those who would defy the reckless leaders on Tinon. 

***

As Dronia led Marco's defeated army away, high and unseen, in the space atmosphere the Gian's watched cautiously.  Gian's ambassador to Tinon said dryly, "From her stock, will come the final Queen of Tinon, Morah, and her marriage to Lord Tweezer shall heal not only Tinon but save our galaxy as well from the MonteCleft!"

--THE END--