"I'm not really sure," Karla said slowly. "I have no idea what to expect. I just know that things are bad and getting worse." She sighed, settling back and kicking her feet up, trying to figure out where and how to start. "Six years ago, there was a...regime change. The previous Queen and her Consort were murdered, as was the Queen's sister, depriving Glacia of the two most powerful females in the Territory. The murderer was smart and made it look like an accident, which meant no one protested overmuch when he took 'temporary control' of the government--especially since he also claimed guardianship over Glacia's future Territory Queen, who was only a child."
Funny how much easier it was to talk about when Karla pretended it happened to other people.
"Things seemed okay at first. No one really noticed anything, because the Territory was still in mourning. But he was busily working behind the scenes, bringing in a cadre of strong males loyal only to him, and giving them pretty much free reign over everything. He's robbing the treasury blind, using it to pay for his bullyboys and his lavish lifestyle. All the wine, drugs, and loose women he could ever want and more, while people go cold and hungry in the streets." Bitterness was creeping into her tone.
"But even that is forgiveable." Karla swallowed hard and continued. "Glacia's had bad Queens before and survived. What makes him different is that he and the bastards who work for him are systematically culling anyone who might challenge him. They're spreading lies and rumors, inspiring fear so no one knows who to trust anymore. They're enslaving males who they can't control in other ways; males who are too strong and won't pledge their loyalty to Hobart. They're indoctrinating young females with lies to keep them subservient and breaking females too old or stubborn to believe the whispers."
She resolutely told herself that she wasn't going to cry on the phone with a strange male, pausing a moment to collect herself. "The worst part is, they don't even have to do much anymore. The rumors repeat themselves now. It's a vicious cycle I don't know how to break. Females are afraid of males, so they Ring them--enslave them-to protect themselves and their daughters. Males fear the Ring and distrust females and so try to break them younger and younger. And I'm left in the middle, trying to figure out how to piece together a society that's been shattered when I can't even put together a single shattered body."
Karla realized abruptly just how much she'd been talking--revealing, really--to a perfect stanger, and shut her mouth with an audible snap. "I--didn't mean to ramble like that," she said hastily. "Trying to figure out where to start is no excuse to just talk at you like that."
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Funny how much easier it was to talk about when Karla pretended it happened to other people.
"Things seemed okay at first. No one really noticed anything, because the Territory was still in mourning. But he was busily working behind the scenes, bringing in a cadre of strong males loyal only to him, and giving them pretty much free reign over everything. He's robbing the treasury blind, using it to pay for his bullyboys and his lavish lifestyle. All the wine, drugs, and loose women he could ever want and more, while people go cold and hungry in the streets." Bitterness was creeping into her tone.
"But even that is forgiveable." Karla swallowed hard and continued. "Glacia's had bad Queens before and survived. What makes him different is that he and the bastards who work for him are systematically culling anyone who might challenge him. They're spreading lies and rumors, inspiring fear so no one knows who to trust anymore. They're enslaving males who they can't control in other ways; males who are too strong and won't pledge their loyalty to Hobart. They're indoctrinating young females with lies to keep them subservient and breaking females too old or stubborn to believe the whispers."
She resolutely told herself that she wasn't going to cry on the phone with a strange male, pausing a moment to collect herself. "The worst part is, they don't even have to do much anymore. The rumors repeat themselves now. It's a vicious cycle I don't know how to break. Females are afraid of males, so they Ring them--enslave them-to protect themselves and their daughters. Males fear the Ring and distrust females and so try to break them younger and younger. And I'm left in the middle, trying to figure out how to piece together a society that's been shattered when I can't even put together a single shattered body."
Karla realized abruptly just how much she'd been talking--revealing, really--to a perfect stanger, and shut her mouth with an audible snap. "I--didn't mean to ramble like that," she said hastily. "Trying to figure out where to start is no excuse to just talk at you like that."