Chapter 32

The morning dawned bright and clear. The people were happy. The storerooms were full, the enemy were defeated and for the first time that anyone could remember they had real hope of a better future. The tables were laid, the food was prepared and the musicians tuned their instruments. Finally, the preparations were complete, and the people gathered for the celebratory feast.

Tom stood before them, as usual when making these speeches, his mouth was dry and he had butterflies in his tummy. He looked around at the people before him. He saw little Martha sitting on Gwen's lap chattering away with Paul, Janice and Dr Ilsa sat by them. He smiled at Gwen and saw the life was just beginning to return to the traumatized woman's eyes.

He saw Eleanor, his queen. He would have to leave her when he returned to Earth, but that was for another day. He saw Tony and Admiral Stephens, Rolof and Captain Simon. Without the support of these men, he would never have been able to achieve the stunning success of freeing the island from tyranny. The crowd saw him standing there and quieted down expectantly.

"My friends," he began, "welcome! We are here today to celebrate our freedom. We are also here to celebrate the lives of those who made the ultimate sacrifice so we can be free. We have won the war; now we need to win the peace, to ensure that those who gave their lives did not do so in vain. We must ensure that all men are treated fairly, that no woman lives in fear, and that no child goes to bed hungry. Are you with me on this?"

A great cheer rang out! The people clapped and stomped their feet.

"We still have a great deal of work to do. The walls must be finished, roads must be built and fields must be cleared and planted. We will set up a system of patrols between towns. People will be able to travel between them without the fear of robbery or murder. Trade will flow throughout the land and we will all prosper. When we work together we can achieve wondrous things. Look what we have achieved already! We have driven the invader from our shores, and we intend to keep him off our shores! We have increased our harvests and will soon have abundant food stocks. But all this is for tomorrow; for today I say let's eat, let's drink and let's dance!"

Cheers rang out all around. The band struck up and the people partied. The feasting and dancing went on all day and well into the night. Tom and Eleanor wandered around talking to one here, another there. They danced and laughed all evening. As they all moved around they noticed Gwen sitting with Martha on her lap. Sitting beside her were Paul, Janice and Ilsa. They noticed that Gwen was now looking slightly better, as she had lost the dead-eyed look. There was even the hint of a smile once in a while.

As the evening wore on they saw quite a few couples disappearing out into the darkness. They smiled at this. It was a common theme no matter where you were. Young people would find a way to be together. They suspected there would be quite a few weddings over the next couple of months. All in all the people had a good time, and seemed after all the trials and tribulations that had befallen them they were determined to have a good time. The sky was starting to lighten, and the sun beginning to rise before the last of the revellers finally made their way home.

Nothing much was achieved the following day, except that around mid afternoon they had a visit from Captain Simon.

"Sire," he began, "I was wondering what arrangements you were thinking of implementing here when you leave. Would you object too much if I were to remain here in charge of the garrison? You see, Sire, I have met someone ... and, well, we wish to be married."

Tom looked at him and smiled.

"I'm pleased for you, and would be only too glad to make you garrison commander. However, I do think you would be better employed as regional governor. As you know, I will not always be here. I will need men I can trust to assist Queen Eleanor in running the place. As governor you will be responsible not only for the defence of the town, but for the well-being of the entire region. I have seen you at work and I know my faith in you is well founded. What do you say?"

His face was a picture as he almost stammered, "Regional Governor? Me? Why ... yes, Sire, thank you, Sire! I'd be delighted. I ... I don't know what to say."

"Well, there's an awful lot to do. You will have to finish the defences, organise a militia, work with the local leaders, organise patrols, start building roads, persuade farmers that they will be safe, and to bring their crops into town for safe keeping, and dispense justice in my name. All in all you are going to be very busy."

"Ah, yes, Sire, I believe I am."

"Good, as long as you understand that. Now, we would like to meet this young lady that has stolen the heart of our brave captain." Eleanor said, smiling. "Bring her here tonight for dinner. By the way, what's her name?"

Captain Simon was stunned. He looked at them blankly

"Your intended's name? What is it?" Eleanor asked again trying not to laugh at the young man's reaction.

"Oh, it's Susanna. Dinner, tonight, here?" He took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesties, we will be delighted to attend dinner here tonight!"

"Good. We'll see you at sunset. Now go and tell her; give her time to prepare. Go on now; run along."

The young man seemed to pull himself together. He stood up, saluted and left. Tom and Eleanor waited until they were sure he had left and then they burst into laughter.

"His face!" laughed Tom, the tears running down his face

"I know. That was a master stroke offering him the governorship of the region. Tell me, how do you intend to sort out the rest of the kingdom?"

Tom's face took on the same look that Simon's just had. Eleanor looked at him, and she too burst into laughter.

"It will need sorting," she told him once she had got herself back under control.

"Oh God!! I hadn't even thought about it! I just thought I would ask the people who were in charge before to carry on where they left off!"

She looked at him. "That might work if the people were doing a good job before, but as we have seen most of them weren't. They were either ineffective or self serving, only there because they were either the richest or the biggest. That's not necessarily the best way to run the kingdom. You are going to have to think about how we are going to organise things."

"You're right, of course. I'm going to have to talk to Paul, Tony and some of the others. This is just too big for me to decide on my own. I really need to talk to the others. Of course, you are the one who will have the most input, as you're the one who'll have to implement whatever we decide and live with the consequences."

Eleanor went quiet, then said, "I've really gotten used to having you around. I do wish you didn't have to leave. I'm going to miss you."

"I know. I'm going to miss you as well, but this is not where I'm meant to be. I have to return. I have responsibilities back home. I have a wife and family that I love very much, and who love me. I must say I do miss them. I miss them very much."

"I know. I miss Magnus. He was a good man and a wonderful father. Yes, I really do miss him."

A melancholy mood fell on them. Tom reached over and squeezed her hand and smiled at her, she returned the smile, both knowing that they would take what comfort they could from each other while they could, but in the end they would part.

"I'll send for the others. We'll thrash some ideas out and see what we can come up with."

He dispatched messengers, and before long, they were all gathered in the dining hall. They were soon deep in discussions.

"I think you should just leave things as they are," said Tony. "They have, after all, done all right for themselves up until now."