Chapter 37

Luke was anxious to get home. Everyone just assumed he just wanted to get home to fuck his hot girlfriend and even hotter wife, and he did have to admit that was part of the reason. Okay, a significant factor. The main reason, though, was that he knew they were scheduled for invasion soon, and from the spies Marion had in Norway, he knew the historical invasion was still on track. Luke wanted to get back so they could get ready for it.

Before he could leave, though, he had to deal with some more rebellious nobles. This time, they acquired some firearms on the black market. Fortunately for Luke’s army, the nobles didn’t know how to use the guns and didn’t have any way to get more ammunition. Some of them had managed to get the secret to making gunpowder, but because Luke’s guns required a primer to fire them, the nobles still couldn’t use them beyond the limited use of the tiny number of primers they had managed to steal. This was one reason Luke made these firearms in the first place and not simpler muzzleloaders. Luke won the battle easily, but it had cost him almost 100 dead and nearly twice that wounded. The only good things that came out of the battle were that the last of the rebellious nobles had been killed, and the firearms had been recovered.

After the battle, Luke started his march back to York. Since it was the middle of summer, he kept the march at a slower pace and ensured his army had plenty of water and rest. The last thing he wanted to do was to cause his soldiers to suffer from heat exhaustion, especially when there was no pressing reason they needed to hurry to York. So, Luke and the army took their time going back. They stopped to help build difficult sections of road and to help farmers with their chores occasionally. In the end, a march that could have been done in a few days took two weeks. The plus side was that support for Marion had been shored up in the region, and Luke knew that soon, that would prove vital. He knew support for Marion was still very shaky, and he suspected most of her support was because people feared him. He hoped people would support her one day but worried this was still far off.

When they returned to York, the sight left most troops speechless; the city had changed drastically in the month and a half they were gone. All the streets were now paved with concrete, and trees and flowers were planted along the sides. New streets were laid out, and they were having either their sewers put in or were being paved. It seemed new buildings made of brick and concrete were going up everywhere. The most significant difference was the sheer number of people present in the city. They were everywhere, and all seemed to be doing some job. The biggest surprise they got was Marion herself; she ordered the army to march right through the center of town and assemble in the castle courtyard.

Luke paused the army outside of York for an hour or so. This was so the soldiers could get cleaned up to look their best. He also made sure he got cleaned up. The route to the castle was packed with civilians who had all turned out to cheer for their army. Finally, it was time, and Luke had the band lead the way into the city, but the crowd was so loud barely anyone could even hear the band. Luke estimated every one of his soldiers probably gained 2kg from all the flowers.

During the march, Luke observed a Jewish synagogue being built with help from some Christian pastors. Although Luke didn’t like religion, he approved of everyone being open with their faith and practicing in peace. When the army got to the castle gates, they swung open to reveal Marion and Gabriella standing there to welcome the soldiers back home personally. Anyone who doubted Marion’s ability to be a great leader had them put to rest that day; Marion proved she was an excellent administrator and extremely popular with her troops. By now, everyone had accepted her and Gabriella as a couple when the general wasn’t in town. When he was in town, every straight-leaning guy between puberty and dead was jealous of him because he had two of the most beautiful and intelligent women to share a bed with every night.

Since Luke had been about halfway back in the parade, it took him a while before Marion got to him. When she did, everyone watching expected that she would jump into his arms. Instead, Luke snapped to attention and gave one of the crispest salutes anyone had ever seen.

“General MacDougall and army returning to York as ordered, ma’am.”

Marion returned his salute:

“On behalf of the people of York, I am pleased to welcome you and your troops home. You, your troops, and their families are all invited to a banquet this evening. The doors to the banquet hall will open at 1830 and will remain open until all the food and drink are gone.”

Everyone in the army was stunned, from Luke down to the newest recruit. There had been no news about a banquet. In addition, everyone was shocked by this display because they were sure Luke would be greeted by his wife, Marion; instead, he was welcomed by his commander, Marion of York. Luke was glad that Marion had done this because it would help reinforce her position as the military’s commander-in-chief. He was pissed about the banquet, though. He wanted to do nothing more than rock his beautiful wife’s world all night after getting some of his paperwork done; now, he had a damn banquet. He turned to the troops:

“Due to the banquet, everyone has a 48-hour leave starting at 1700 this afternoon. ATTENTION! DISMISSED!”

The troops started going to the barracks to get their gear stored away and ready for leave. Luke still had hours of work ahead of him, though. Reports had to be filed, casualty lists had to be updated, supplies had to be inventoried, and new supplies had to be requisitioned. Luke had to finish all this before he could go on leave himself. So, as the troops headed toward their barracks, he headed for his office for hours of paperwork. ‘Yippy, and now I have that damn banquet tonight.’ thought Luke as he walked toward his office. When he tried to unlock his office door, his key wouldn’t work.

“What the fuck?!?!” he growled to himself.

Luke started getting pissed and wished he was still in the field. He would have used his old-fashioned door opener, but when he had designed the door, he made it virtually impossible to force it open without a tank or explosives. Plan C was to pick the lock, but his tools were in his chambers. “Well fuck me,” Luke grumbled as he headed to his chamber to get his tools; he wanted to get the paperwork done so he could, hopefully, enjoy a couple of days off.

Luke was in for another surprise when he returned to his chamber; he found his dress uniform was laid out with a note. “Why can’t I just get my fucking work done?” growled Luke as he picked up the note:

“Luke, make sure to wear your dress uniform this evening. I changed the lock on your office door so you can’t lock yourself in your office, and I have hidden your tools so you can’t pick the lock. Gabby will come by to get you at 1800, so make sure you are ready. I promise you that it will be worth it.

Your loving wife,

Marion”

“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!” Luke screamed as he sent his fist into a nearby door. Because of Marion, he would have to spend a good chunk of his days off catching up on paperwork. Luke hated when people did this to him; he was one of those people who hated to procrastinate. Luke looked out one of their windows at the brand-new clock tower outside. It said that it was 1530. ‘Fuck, how the hell am I going to kill two and a half hours?’ he thought. ‘Well, I guess I can try out the shower Marion has been writing about so much.’ Luke stripped down and went into their bathroom. He turned on the water and was surprised at how well it worked. The hot shower helped him unwind, but he was still aggravated enough that Little Luke didn’t rise, which was odd for bath time. He turned the water off, dried off, and collapsed in bed. It had been well over a month since he had been in a comfortable bed, so he passed out quickly despite being angry.

After Marion had given her troops the news about the banquet, she and Gabriella retreated into the castle.

“Did you hide Luke’s tools?” asked Marion.

“Yep, I highly doubt he will find them because they are in his office, and you have the only key around your neck.”

“Okay, make sure to get him this evening, please. I am willing to bet he lays down to nap, and I want to make sure he sees me tonight.”

“Oh dearie, you worry too much!” Gabriella giggled.

The ladies were headed to the kitchen to check on this evening’s meal. There were many things they still needed to take care of before the banquet, but with all the help they had, they were confident everything would be ready. Dinner would be a choice of pork, chicken, or beef prepared in several ways, with vegetables on the side, while drinks would be ale, wine, or whiskey. After checking on the food, which was coming along nicely, they went to work on all their other chores that had to be done before they could go and start getting ready.

It was about 1730 when they headed off to Pollyanna’s chambers to get ready. They had left their clothes there so Marion could surprise Luke, and getting prepared with good friends was more fun. Granted, they didn’t have that much to do: shower, put on some light make-up, get dressed, then fix up their hair. When they got there, Pollyanna was already getting ready. She returned to her former vigorous self after being beaten and giving birth to twins.

When Marion and Gabriella walked in, Pollyanna was naked, and Matt was napping; the campaign had worn him out, too. The ladies stayed as quiet as possible so they wouldn’t wake Matt up. Marion had almost forgotten how beautiful Pollyanna was with her warm brown eyes and raven black hair. Her skin was white as snow, making her pubic hair stand out which was as black as the hair on her head. She kept it trimmed because it would turn into something of a jungle if she didn’t. Her breasts were in the D-cup neighborhood, and her nipples were still swollen and darker brown than usual from the kids’ nursing. Gabriella and Marion took quick showers to be clean for the evening.

After their showers, they slipped on their dresses. All three had been secretly working on their dresses for a couple of weeks and had used pictures of Luke’s sister in formal wear as inspiration. Marion had a long blue dress with a halter top and a slit on her left side that ran from the floor to her mid-thigh. Gabriella’s was about the same, but hers was bright red. Pollyanna’s was strapless and black; since she had the biggest pair, she could pull off the strapless look, while Gabriella and Marion went backless and halter top because they had smaller tits. They wanted their men to drool over them and remind all the other men of what they couldn’t have, so they hid their dresses from Matt and Luke.

Alice wasn’t present because she had patients that she refused to leave. Marion, Gabriella, and Pollyanna tried to convince Alice that she needed to get away for an evening. Marion even had a beautiful green dress made for her, but Alice wouldn’t budge. She proved to be an extremely devoted doctor and would gladly give up her personal life to help her patients. Another reason for not wanting to go was neither she nor her fiancé was much of a party animal, and Alice preferred to spend a quiet evening with him to one of people eating and getting drunk. However, her fiancé asked her to wear the dress for him, and she was only too happy to model it.

As promised, Gabriella went to wake Luke up at 1800 and was surprised to find him already up. He was wearing an old pair of pants and looking out the window.

“Good evening, Colonel Smiten,” Luke said extremely dryly.

“Seriously, Luke. Why so formal?”

“Why not? I can’t get any fucking work done.” Now, it was Gabriella’s turn to be angry.

“Now listen here, Luke, and you listen well. Marion put a lot of effort into this, and you ARE going to go! End of discussion! Now get your dress uniform on!”

Luke just stood there and didn’t move a single muscle.

“LUKE!” Gabriella screamed, “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!?”

“Well, let’s see here.” Luke responded calmly, “All I wanted to do when I got back was to get my paperwork done so I could enjoy a couple of days off and hopefully catch up with Marion. Thanks to you and Marion, I will have to spend a lot of tomorrow catching up on paperwork. I would have shot the lockout, except I didn’t want the hassle of putting a new one in. Now, please leave me alone.”

“Fuck no! Get dressed, or it will be a long time before you get laid again!”

“I don’t need to get laid to survive, Gabriella.”

Gabriella was now fuming. How could Luke even think of refusing Marion after all the work she had done to surprise him with everything? She stormed out the door, slamming it shut. On her way back, Gabriella ran into Pollyanna and Matt. After explaining why she was so furious, Matt told her:

“Better let me talk to him before you go off halfcocked. Remember, I have been campaigning with him continuously for the last month and a half.”

“Fine, but hurry. The party is about to start, and Marion expects him to be there.”

The three of them walked back to Luke’s chambers. Matt knocked before he entered, finding Luke still in front of the window. He signaled the women to stay in the hall and be quiet.

“You know you pissed Gabriella off, right Luke?”

“She’s a big girl. She’ll get over it.” Luke responded flatly.

“Okay, what gives? I’ve never seen you angry like this.”

“Oh, you don’t want to go there.”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have asked.” Luke took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“Pull up a seat, Matt,” Luke stated as he turned around. After Matt had sat down, Luke started. “Do you know how much paperwork must be done to keep the army running smoothly?” Matt was taken off guard at this

“Ah no, I do not.”

“I thought not. After returning this afternoon, I probably had at least five hours of work. The casualty and inventory lists need to be updated. Requisitions must be filled out so the army can get more supplies. Spy reports need to be read and digested to avoid more surprises like in that last battle. Always remember, an army without spies is, at best, half-blind. I mean, the list is endless. I had planned to spend the rest of today on this to take a day off tomorrow, relax with nothing that needs doing, and spend the next day casually catching up. Now, I won’t get that day off because I still have those five hours of work to do, plus the work from tomorrow, so I will probably be stuck working all day to keep up. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but Marion changed the lock on my office, so I couldn’t even get at least some work done before the fucking party.”

“Wow, but I’m guessing that is only part of it, right?”

“You know me so well it’s almost terrifying. Yes, that is only part of it; just think of it as the last straw. I have been getting worried for months now that Marion will start sipping back into her old upper-class habits, and I’m horrified that she is. She’s changed so much from the woman I fell in love with that half the time; I’m afraid I don’t even know her anymore. The shift in her attitude has been gradual, but being forced to attend this party without considering what I had planned was the last straw. Despite everything I have done for her, she has been treating me less than equal for quite some time now. I was always afraid she would slip back into thinking like a boneheaded noble instead of thinking like a person.”

“Oh, come on man, it’s not that bad, and you’re sounding more than a bit petty right now.” Luke just gave him a hard stare.

“As far as me being petty about this whole thing, you’re right, I am, and yes, I know that. Also, you damn well know that I don’t stand for men treating women less than them; why should I stand for some fucking noble treating me like I’m less than them.”

“Because the noble in question is your wife, and for some reason, she loves you, although I don’t know why.”

“That worsens it because she knows my history, what makes me tick, and doesn’t care anymore. If you kindly excuse me, I have a letter to write and packing to do.”

Matt was terrified because Luke was, in many ways, the glue holding the army together. He rushed out, nearly running the women over, for they had been trying to listen through the door.

“We need to get Marion down here NOW!” Matt said over his shoulder as he ran. “I think Luke is about to resign and leave.”

Gabriella was dumbfounded. Why would Luke throw away everything that he had over a party? Matt rushed to catch Marion before she could make her entrance to the party because it would be much harder to get out then. He barely managed to catch her and told her everything about what Luke and he had discussed. She rushed back to her and Luke’s chambers after asking Matt, Pollyanna, and Gabriella to stay behind. Luke and her would have to sort this out for themselves. On her way back, she was going through every emotion possible, starting with: ‘How dare he do this to me after everything I have done?’ to ‘Is he serious?’ to ‘What the fuck will I do without him?’ Marion barged into the room just as Luke finished and signed the letter.

“Hello, Marion. I figured you would send one of your lackeys up here,” Luke said without looking up.

“DAMN IT, LUKE! You know me better than that.”

“Do I? I’m not so sure anymore, and since Matt has probably told you everything we discussed, why don’t we skip the bull? I still need to pack.”

“LUKE, LOOK AT ME!” Luke didn’t. “DAMN IT, LUKE, WHEN I SAY LOOK AT ME, YOU LOOK AT ME!”

Luke just shook his head as he continued to pack his original backpack with everything he needed.

“You know, I find it amazing you know my problem, yet all you do is reinforce my position. Don’t pull that stunt on the battlefield in a few months, Marion of York, or you will be smashed.”

He had purposely added her formal name as a kind of last-minute reminder. Luke still faintly hoped that he and Marion could work things out, but that hope was getting dimmer by the second.

“If you try to leave, I will have you arrested!”

“Then you had better call the guards, Cecilia, because I will only be here for a few more minutes.”

“I’M MARION, YOU BRAINLESS PEASANT, NOT MY BITCH SISTER!” Marion screamed.

Luke just looked calmly at her and squinted.

“Sorry about that, but I’m having a tough time telling the two of you apart.” With that, he zipped up his backpack and threw it over his shoulder. “I wish you luck, Marion; you will need it.”

Marion was about to issue a retort to that. She wasn’t her evil sister, but something stopped her. Luke had given her the same look that he had always given Cecilia. It wasn’t the look of love or lust. It was the look to see how easily he could kill her if he had to. Realization of what was going on struck Marion so hard that she felt like she had just jumped off the top of the castle. She WAS slowly turning into Cecilia. Slowly, she turned her back on what had made her army so strong in the first place and had delivered so many victories. That something was treating everyone as the person they are. Not by what gender they were or what family they were born into but by who they were. Cecilia had believed that since she was of noble stock, she could do anything she wanted, that she was superior to everyone else, and that she could order people around like they were her livestock or, worse, furniture.