Chapter 16 Chapter Sixteen

"Are you in pain?" Sirian asked Jura with concern. Jura shrugged in answer.The fact is that her back was bruised by the whip, and it has been aching since yesterday afternoon. The two of them were arranged alone in a small stone room. Because of what happened yesterday, the number of guards on duty outside doubled, and they did not have any freedom of movement. Yesterday afternoon, when Celian was carrying grain, she was overwhelmed due to her heavy load, and an Ertans woman whipped her to make her get up.When Jura found out, he ran and took the woman's whip, and strangled her throat, but for this, five or six Ertans women were called, knocked her down, and whipped her hard.

They work very hard every day, and are only allowed to rest at night.Tonight, Sirian was so overwhelmed with righteous indignation that she could neither sleep nor want to sleep. "We can't delay any longer, we must flee!" she said firmly to Jura, and this was about the third time she mentioned it. "They have added personnel outside the door to closely monitor us, and find a way to lure them away, otherwise..." Celian stopped suddenly, and she found that Jura didn't seem to listen to her, and she was staring at the door in a daze.She looked up, and there was a torch in the doorway, and a ghost stood behind it.

"Jura!" said the ghost in a soft but distinct voice. Sirian regained her vision first, and immediately jumped off the bunk to the door regardless of the fatigue of her whole body, and stretched out her hands to hug Ron. Ron hugged her tightly too.Since he had come to Lanconia, he had sometimes been indignant at the fact that people were unwilling to recognize him as king, or call him "Your Majesty," but to argue with him and reject his decisions; Admittedly, he'd rather have a woman around his neck than be a figurehead king. He hugged Célianne, and it felt so warm to meet for the first time in these days a woman who was honest, innocent, and genuine, and quite different from the servile women of Ertans.

"How are you? Are you unhurt?" he asked Celian. Cillian let go of his neck, but hugged his waist again. "I scratched my skin a little bit, I wasn't hurt, I was just too tired. Yesterday, Jura was whipped and hurt." Ron turned to look for his wife.Celian let go of him at once.Jura had obviously seen Ron a long time ago, but she was still sitting on the bunk and did not come down. "Jura," Ron called to her softly. "How are you? Have you nothing to say to me?" "Why are you still alive?" Jura said this in an angry tone, her heart was pounding and her face was hot.

Ron wasn't offended or disgusted by her attitude, and smiled as he took a step towards her, "Are you happy to see me?" "We were captured and became slaves," Jura was still angry. "They treated us like cattle and horses and worked every day. I think you are dead, otherwise why didn't you come to look for us. But you are not dead!" If Rather, she was condemning him, rather it was an expression of emotion.Because of the quarrel before they parted, how many times she cried, fearing that he would die, unable to explain to him; and now that he appeared in front of her, not only alive, but still in good health, she was naturally very happy; he was neither dead , but left her and Celian alone, and she felt aggrieved. These words were spoken under the control of such complicated thoughts.

Ron seemed to understand her very well, walked a few steps to her hanging bed, and put his hand on her shoulder. Zhu La jumped off the bunk, threw himself into his arms, and hugged him tightly with all her strength, repeating only one sentence: "You're not dead! You're not dead!" "I'm not dead, my baby," he whispered, gently stroking his sore shoulder, "I'm not dead." They hugged for a moment, and he pushed her away, saying, "Let's talk, Cillian, come here, come near me, we don't have much time." Cillian came over.Ron put his hands on each of their shoulders, as if worried that they might run away.He introduced what happened to him and other men these few days in the shortest language, and then suggested that he should leave this place.

This is exactly what Sirian hoped for.She immediately expressed her support. "Jura thought you were all dead, so she just cried. She was very sorry that she didn't help you with your plan to unite the tribes; she loved you very much, but she also regretted that she never told you..." "Jura, is this true?" Ron's eyes flashed with excitement. Jura just nodded. Ron put his hand on Jura's chin and kissed her affectionately. "I thought that after this time, we could negotiate with Marek and realize our union with Ertans; but now I have no hope for Marek. I am naive, Jura, as you have told me many times I'm such a fool!"

Jura squinted his blue eyes. "It's good that you realize it." "I did feel like a total failure the day Keown died," he still whispered, "but you didn't want anyone to see my weakness and gave me strength!" Jura nodded again. "Ron!" An urgent voice came from the door, it was Dale. "Let's go, Geralt wants to betray, he wants to stay!" "Geralt's betrayal?" Jura yelled angrily. "Damn it! Ron, Cillian and I will come with you!" Ron shook his head. "Now, I cannot take you with me," he said, "there are too many of them. I can see you because there are three Ferens and Geralt on guard. Don't look at me like that, Jura. , I will definitely take you out of here. However, I do not want bloodshed in this city of women. Trust me."

"However, they forced me and Sirian to clear the rocks on the road for them, dig water trucks from the soil, unload their stolen food and goods, and repair stone walls... In short, they use us like cattle and horses," Zhu La said, panting, looking at Ron, "while you men are... having fun." "I wouldn't do that, Jura," Ron confessed to her. "I swear to you, I won't touch any of them, and I won't let the women of Ertans bear my children." He tried to hug her, but she turned away. "What if you go away with these Ertans women, leaving Celian and me and Bretta dead and rotting here?"

"There's no such thing," Ron explained to her, delighted at Jura, a curmudgeonly wife who couldn't stand her husband sleeping with other women, which proved that she really loved him and cared. he. "You have to do work for women in Ertans, broaden their horizons, and let them know that the world is big and there are many men. As long as they awaken themselves, they can get happiness." Celian said, "Yes, but it's not easy." "Ron," Dale urged him, "we have to go back, or if Marek finds out, he'll kill us." "I'll talk to Marek and try to negotiate a success," Ron said. "If it doesn't work out, try to escape."

Ron left Jura with deep regret that he never needed her more.When he reached the door, he turned around and said affectionately to her and Celian, "Give me two days. After two days, I will take you out of here." He went away, quietly.But Jura was so troubled that he could no longer sleep.Before dawn, she got up and walked to the door, watching the silhouette of the majestic palace from afar.Ah, Ron lives there. She leaned her head against the cold stone door, clearing her mind.But her thoughts were too rambling, and she knew her only hope was for Ron to come and take them away.She lived like a year, and she was unwilling to wait for a moment. "Jura," Celian called to her when she awoke, "have you been up all night?" "Can't sleep," Jura said, her eyes sparkling with excitement, "I thought, Ron's business is good, we should tell the women here to stop being ruled and cheated by old Marek, as long as they If you want, everyone can get a husband." "It's a good idea, but we don't know Ertans' language." "There is a female guard who understands Arial. We can talk to her and let her tell the rest of the women." Cillian agrees. The next day, they were dragged to repair the road again.Jura wanted to find a chance to try to get close to the woman who knew the Ariel language. Around noon, the women watching their labor suddenly straightened their necks and looked towards the street.It turned out that Marek passed by here. Jura and Sirian also stopped their work to watch.Marek was lounging in a carriage, accompanied by four young and beautiful women for a ride.This king looks very old.Not only were all the teeth lost, but the features were also very vulgar. There were two carriages behind him, Ron and Dale, and Geralt and Ferens respectively.And there was a petite beauty sitting on Ron's lap.When Zhu La saw it, she was extremely excited, clenched her fists tightly, and even had shortness of breath. "How despicable these men are!" she said to Célianne. "We are slaves, and they are having fun!" The female guard, who understood Arya, obviously heard her complaint and looked at her in surprise. Cillian whispered to Jura, "Don't get Ron wrong, he's trying to reach Marek, negotiate a deal, and release us." "Maybe, but who knows." Jura was dubious. When they continued to interrupt the work in hand, the female guard who knew Arial approached them actively, and Jura and Sirian took the opportunity to chat with her.They talked about the situation of each tribe, and the other party also asked a lot of questions, mainly about the situation of men.Finally, Sirian suggested that all the women should listen to them and she would interpret them. The sun was setting.Jula and Sirian were sitting under the shade of two trees, drinking cold fruit juice, and chatting to the surrounding Ertans women.These listeners were extremely interested in the stories of all the men of Lanconia, and were especially fond of the strong men of Zenas. Some people even asked, how could men in Ariel like tall women like Jura and Sirian? "Because they manage their husbands," Jura said, laughing. It was the happiest day since their captivity.Also had the best sleep at night. When I just got up in the morning, I didn't expect that more than a hundred Ertans women were waiting outside the door, asking to see Jura and Sirian.They were exempted from labor on this day and just talked with everyone. .When they said that every woman has the right to choose and can also get a man to be her husband, these women couldn't believe it, as if they thought it was a myth. The next day they went to work again, but they were surrounded by more people, mostly young women.Jura and Sirian not only talked carefully and concretely about marriage and family, but also about the equality of men and women.They said that the marriage system should develop in step with the times, and Ertans' current situation is ignorant, backward and unfair.The reason why women admire and submit to men is mainly due to the lack of men. If Ertans can intermarry with other tribes, women will get a happy marriage and their own freedom.Jura also gave an example of how she herself had offended her husband (of course she did not mention Ron), which is enough to prove that she is equal to him. "Does he still love you?" a woman asked Jura through an interpreter. "If you lose your temper like this, how can you keep him from abandoning you?" "Aren't you afraid of punishment?" asked another woman. "Do you really dare to get angry with a man?" "Yes," Jura replied affirmatively, "a wife is not a slave, and cannot be subservient to her husband. If you find him disloyal to you, you can sue him, or abandon him." As night fell, people still refused to disperse.Jura's throat was sore again from talking too much.But she can see from the expressions of these audiences that their propaganda has left a deep impression on people, which is very useful in shaking Marek's rule. When they returned to the city, almost all the women in Ertans They were pointing and talking, and nodded and smiled at them to show their respect.Jura smiled secretly, it seemed that Ron's tactics had worked, and if Marek continued to deceive his people, it would be difficult. She yawned, thinking why didn't Ron come to them?Can you get out of here soon?Will something happen? Ron was sleeping soundly when he was suddenly awakened by the noise outside the court. Yesterday, he approached Marek, but the negotiations were fruitless.In the evening, he spent another long time resisting the entanglement of the two Ertans women, so he went to bed late.don't want to get up. "What's going on?" he thought, rubbing his sleepy eyes, and getting dressed.He headed down the hallway and went to each room to call his people. Regardless of Dale and Ferens, each of them slept with one or two women, and Gerald purposely hugged three women.He ordered them to go to the hall at once, and turned away. After a while, everyone gathered.At this time, a group of women from Ertans rushed into the palace, everyone had angry faces, holding all kinds of weapons: fire hooks, iron rods, axes and long bones. laughed. But Ron didn't smile. He stopped a dark-haired girl who was walking ahead.Asked in Ertas: "What do you want to do?" She sneered at him; "We have been deceived!" Her voice was high and shrill, "Our men are almost dead, but Marek does not allow women to marry other tribes, so our city has become a city of women. Jura said we have the right to intermarry with men from other tribes, so we asked Marek to agree to our request!" Ron laughed, and Jura and Cillian sure enough acted.He let go of the girl and translated her words to his companions. But Geralt became angry when he heard it. "Jura! She destroyed our Paradise!" Ron grabbed the front of Geralt's jacket and scolded angrily, "Your sister has become a slave, but you want to enjoy yourself here! Now, you must stop this kind of activity, or I will settle accounts with you!" Geralt wrenched free from Ron's grasp. "Let's kill old Marek and let me rule Ertans. You can take the Ariel away, and I will stay to marry Ertans girl!" At this moment, Jura and Cillian came suddenly.Apparently they had heard Geralt's words, and Jura moved closer to him. "You are not worthy to rule this country!" she cried. "You only think of yourself, you don't care about the people, you are not loyal to Ariel or Lanconia! You and Bretta have only been together for one night. Will the Ertans women love you? Will they follow you?" She looked at Ron and Dale and went on, "Marek has been cheating on the Ertans women for so many years, and now they've got their blood boiled, and they want him account, and kill all the men who bully them. So, we—especially you men—should get out of here as soon as possible!" Ron took her by the arm and said, "Jura, you're not on your brother's side this time!" "He doesn't look like a real Lanconian!" Jura said angrily, and then asked Ron, "Can we get out of here?" "Please don't leave just yet, Ertans women need support and guidance." He kissed her on the cheek, and then ordered all his companions: "Follow me!" Geralt hesitated, Ron Force him back into the hall. "Let me go, you usurper," cried Geralt, "the women of Ertans will not harm me, I am their master." As soon as Ron let go, Jura grabbed a vase off the table and dropped it on her brother's head, who immediately fell to the floor. Ron has always been against the use of force, even Jura is not satisfied with him. "Look, you wounded him, how do we take him away?" "Let us carry him away," said Jura, "I think the women of Ertans will attack the palace, and we must hurry!" Ron didn't argue, because time was precious, he immediately organized everyone to escape from here.The two Ferencians carried Geralt on their shoulders, and Ron led the way down the corridor again, looking for a way out. At this time, Ertans women gathered more and more, blocking the front door of the palace, and Ron turned to the back of the palace.There was a grain depot nearby. He took a look at its height and ordered Dale: "Quick! Go and move a stone slab and put it on top." The Ferencians put Gerald down, and together with Dale, Jura, and Sirian, they lifted up a large long stone strip, and carefully placed it between the palace and the grain storehouse, forming a slope-shaped bridge. . "I'll go first," Jura said, and started to move, but Ron stopped her. "You take care of your brother, he has woken up." Jura stared at her brother for a while, then sat down and stroked his wound.Ron sat on the slab and slid across to a safe place.Then call someone over. But Geralt refused to go with them. "I want to stay here, this is my home," he said to Jura, "I don't want to go back to British rule." "He is a true Lankonian, much better than you!" she said, "Sol's choice is too correct!" "Go with him," said Gerald viciously, "and I will stay here and manage this mess." Ron called Jura over from the building opposite.Jura climbed up to the window, onto the slightly sloping stone slats, and she glanced back at Geralt, who was sitting there, looking at the women of Ertans who were swarming into the palace. "Jura, come on!" Dale and Cillian called her almost simultaneously. She thought for a moment, said: "No! I must take Geralt away!" and jumped out of the window again. Ron cursed Geralt. He wanted to leave the city as soon as possible, but Geralt held him back, and he had to come back.But there was no sign of Jura and Gerald in the hall, and some Ertans women who came in were hostile to Ron. "Why did you run away?" These women asked him, "Don't you want to rescue us?" In their eyes, yesterday's god has become a devil today. Ron smiled at them and explained, "It is to save you that we must leave Marek, otherwise he will kill us and you will never be free." He pushed his way through a group of women and found Jura wrapping his body around Geralt, talking to the Ertans women. "I knew you'd be here," Jupiter said when he saw Ron, and smiled at him. "Come with me," Ron ordered, "don't delay." "They're trying to kill me," Geralt said, "I want to..." "Stop talking nonsense!" Jura stopped him, "Follow King Ron!" "Don't hurt people," said Ron, and led Jura and Geralt through the crowd of women.The women still stared at them, expressing great displeasure at their hasty escape. "Marek lives there," Ron said to the women, pointing to a castle in the palace, "you should go find him!" But the women didn't listen, and pushed the palace door, trying to lock them in the palace. Ron shouted: "Get out! Don't kill anyone!" Jura did not attack the Ertans women, she only used her body to protect Ron out of instinct.But these women brandished weapons and drew bows and arrows, so Gerald went on a killing spree, knocking down one after another.But Ron still didn't do it. Jura knew that he loved his people and would protect them at all costs. They rushed out of the palace and out of the city gates, and the women of Ertans chased them back for a while, and Ron, Jura, and Geralt went into the mountains. They ran for about an hour, stopping to catch their breath. "We've got to find someone else," Jura said, looking at Ron.Strangely, his face became pale, and there were bloodstains on his shoulders, which turned out to be injured. Jura hugged him like a mother and made him sit down. "No, I have to find Bretta..." "Sit down," she said affectionately, "you have done too much, and now you should allow others to help you." She turned to her brother, "Go ahead and look for our people. Tell everyone that our The king is wounded and sent Dal to find his mother!" Ron kissed her gratefully and said, "Okay, this distribution of power is exactly what I think." "Jura, I..." Geralt hesitated. "Go!" said Jura gravely. "You have caused the trouble. You should thank our king for saving your life." Geralt walked forward wordlessly. "Jura, I'm not seriously hurt," said Ron kindly. "You put a bandage on me and I can walk." Jura cut the front of his garment with her knife and bandaged his axe's wound. Ron took her face in his hands. "You started calling me king and Lanconian. Do you mean love me? Don't want me dead anymore, marry Dale?" She looked at his blue eyes for a long time without taking her eyes off her. "I was brought up by Saul, and the first thing I thought of was training, war; I loved Dale because I had no conflict of interest with him, but you gave me true love, and you taught me the importance of peace, so , I fell in love with a man, love..." "what?" "Love is all over me." She cupped his face in her hands, "Ron, my dear husband, if you die, I shall not live, and with every drop of blood that bleeds from your wounds, so does my heart." The same amount of blood... when you leave me and ignore me, I feel very, very painful, I don't know if it's love..." He kissed her tenderly again. "Jura, I think it is more difficult to conquer you than to conquer Lanconia. But I have finally obtained your love. How much pain and frustration I have suffered, how much blood has been shed, and countless accusations and curses have been endured. your love!" "Not quite," she protested, before breaking into a smile. "Do you think it's worth it?" "Yes," he answered sincerely. "I think, I don't need a wife like the women of Ertans, just meek, humble, and bear children for me, you are more than a wife to me, you help me understand the Lifestyle and everything...” She cut him off. "I helped you? Yes, I wanted to protect you from being killed. But you never asked for my help and always went alone. If I hadn't been unconscious, I wouldn't have let you go to Ertans Come on. You trust people too easily, you believe that everyone has a good heart..." "Yes, I am eager to unify Lanconia. So..." Ron suddenly laughed, "From now on, we will live and die together, and we will share weal and woe. You can help me more. Don't let your stupid brother interfere with us." "Geralt isn't stupid, he's greedy..." "Really?" Ron asked, fighting back the pain from his wound. "Maybe we'll give him a little piece of land and tell him that's his territory. He's got us in a lot of trouble, and he'll do it again. He hates the Zenas, for example, but I think we Give them the Ertans women, and the union of the tribes will go smoothly." She finished bandaging Ron's wound. "Marry those sweet little Ertans women to Zenas men? Not a bad idea." "What a 'sweet and lovely'! They made me and Celian labor almost to death, and one woman whipped me..." "Yes, yes," he said. She smiled and kissed him.At this time, he didn't think about anything, Lanconia, Ertans, Ariel... He fell in love with Jura since he saw her, and now he finally fell in love with her. He hugged her and put his lips close to hers. Vermilion lips, the whole universe has disappeared, and I only feel infinite happiness, infinite joy. On the ridge walk Dale and Cillian.When they heard the voices of Ron and Jura, Cillian said, "Listen, how happy they are." "Jura loves him," Darler said conclusively, not in a tone of envy but in friendliness. "I think she gave her life to him." Cillian stared at Dale. "Does your heart ache at the loss of Jura?" "I feel like a big brother who loses a little sister. You know, Jura and I loved each other, but we never cared for each other," he smiled reminiscently. "She's never like those Ertans women." "Really," said Cirian grimly, "you like Jura, her sword, or her comb?" Dale looked at her in amazement, and then his eyes sparkled with excitement. "Cirian, I love your throbbing breasts when you throw your spears, understand? Come on, let's go down and meet our King and Queen. When I find my mother, I'll marry you. Will you ?” Cillian laughed.Dale helped her down the hill, and Cillian followed him obediently.