The Stolen Kingdom

  Chapter 4

  King Harris of Belsden

 

  The Dark Duke was quick to revel in his new-found powers, yet careful not to move ahead too quickly his plans. He felt that it was important that the people of Belsden trust him, that they have faith in him, that they put hope in him – then he could really move in for the kill. And so, in the week following the Queen’s death, the Dark Duke hosted various ceremonies and memorials commemorating her life and achievements. He told the people not to worry, that he would continue on with the progress that she had started, and even went so far as to order that a statue of her and her unborn child be built in the town square. It was a remarkable show of affection.

  The Dark Duke also thought it important that he didn’t come on to the people too strongly, for his reputation had preceeded him and he wished to do away with it. Still, try as he would, he could never shed his moniker; in the towns and streets the people still referred to him as the Dark Duke, never regarding him as a true king.

  He justified his closing of the borders by claiming that a mass exodus would destroy Belsden’s economy, and would drive the country into a complete state of disarray. It was said to be in the “best interest of the people.” When he had over a dozen newborn babies killed because they were supposedly “infected,” that, too, was “in the best interest of the people.”

  As a matter of fact, all of the Dark Duke’s actions were said to be “in the best interest of the people,” including the raising of taxes a mere two weeks after the Queen’s death, when he claimed that more money was needed to support the army in St. Augustine. Of course, when word of a major victory came a month later, effectively ending the war, it did not end the tax raise along with it. Most of the money went toward the Dark Duke’s army, the Palace Guard, which operated under his direct command. The rest went to Rahavi, who was instructed to form his own, smaller band of brutes and goons for the purpose of collecting taxes and dealing with the commonfolk.

  Three reasons backed the Dark Duke’s actions. The first was that he wished there to be no chance of revolt on the part of the people. He had heard of it happening far too often, and he wasn’t taking any chances. The second reason was that he wanted to be able to collect taxes upon request, so that he might continue to fund his army and become the most powerful man in Europe and the world abroad. The third reason, though, was a little different. Since he could never be sure that he had actually found the newborn king, he couldn’t be sure that he was actually dead. And, foreign a threat as it might be, there was always the possibility of the baby king returning and looking to reclaim his throne. This the Dark Duke could not allow.

  …………………………………………..

  Rahavi, meanwhile, basked in his newly acquired status. His regime, techinically entitled His Majesty’s Royal Revenue Service, had been nicknamed the Mad Mob by the people, and was known for stirring up trouble, on and off duty. It was made up of derelicts, degenerates, and even criminals, the only requirement being that they be large and ruthless. And who was going to stop them? – for they had only the king and Rahavi to answer to.

  When the Mad Mobmen knocked on your door, you had to open it and give them what they wanted or else. Otherwise, they might beat you or throw you in jail, or worse. Sometimes even after collecting what they wanted, they would still beat and pillage and maim.

  Needless to say, this raised great terror throughout all of Belsden. It was well known that men had been beaten to death or been sentenced to life in jail simply because they couldn’t pay their taxes. Sometimes a villager would be taken away and would never be seen again.

  The name Rahavi soon became synonymous with the Mad Mob and terror. People feared him and he knew it. And furthermore, he liked it. That was his favorite pastime: inspiring fear in people. Often he would accompany the Mad Mob on its expeditions, though his presence was usually completely unnecessary. He liked the look of fear on people’s faces when they would see him approaching with his men; the agony in their eyes when they pleaded with him for mercy; the quaking of their bodies. His job was fear and he loved it.

  Each day brought new challenges, most of which could be solved by the use of pure brute force. Oh, you’ve hit hard times and can’t pay the money? Crack! Oh, your father and mother just died and you’re an orphan? Crack! Oh, you’re ninety and have no home? Crack! Not a problem was met that couldn’t be solved with a little physical persuasion.

  Meanwhile, despite Rahavi’s busy schedule of robbing and brutalizing, he managed to find time to wine and dine himself appropriately. A normal day for him went something like this:

  10:00 AM: Woke-up, bathed

  10:30 AM: Met King for breakfast

  11:30 AM: Went out with Mad Mob to collect taxes. Beat some people, tortured a little, had some cheese.

  2:45 PM: Went on daily horse ride.

  5:30 PM: Had visit from lady-friend.

  7:00 PM: Attended Palace Banquet.

  10:30 PM: Had visit from another lady-friend.

  1:00 AM: Went to bed.

  In fact, during this time both Rahavi and the Dark Duke fared rather well for themselves, wining and dining each night, toying with jewels as well as with ladies. It wasn’t a bad life. That’s why the Dark Duke was so insecure: he had so much to lose! And that’s why he kept such a strong lock on the people.

  And then, of course, there were the dukes to deal with.

  The new king had concentrated his forces so much that the dukes found themselves rendered utterly powerless, despite the fact that they truly didn’t want to challenge the Dark Duke to begin with. The new Duke of Lonn was merely a pawn, not nearly as powerful as the Dark Duke himself had been when he had held that position. He had been chosen by the Dark Duke upon his resignation and succession to the throne, adding yet another aspect to the Dark Duke’s already enormous power structure.

  The Duke of Samek, on the other hand, didn’t particularly like or trust the new King, but he felt it best not to get on his bad side. True, the Dark Duke’s succession to the throne was in fact the result of an odd, if not dubious sequence of events, but who was he to question it? Furthermore, his dukedom (and he in particular) had been taxed so heavily by the new king, and given so little in return, that he could barely afford a treasury, forget an army.

  The Duke of Theo, meanwhile, was too busy getting drunk to care.

  As for the other nobles, they were too petrified to ever oppose the Dark Duke, and had little reason to anyhow. He managed to please them with gifts and money, despite the fact that he was taxing their dukedoms to the limit. Their people were straggling for crumbs, but they, for the most part, were quite content.

  Meanwhile, the people of Belsden were miserable. Taxes were at an all time high and so was brutality. With the Dark Duke’s taxes, most people found it very hard to afford even life’s basic necessities. But if they didn’t pay, they had Rahavi’s Mad Mob to deal with – so not paying was not much of an option. Much of the effects of their labor went into supporting the Dark Duke’s personal lifestyle. Hardly ever did the people have any of the festivals and fairs that had been so common in past years, the one exception being the traditional Day of Pig, still held after all these years to honor Belsden’s victory against Dermer. Yet even there nobody had much money or much reason to celebrate.

  Yes, the situation was terrible. Not even the vagabonds bothered to beg anymore.

  In his third year as King, a drought occurred, and none of the farmers could meet their crop quotas. It was only a minor drought, but the Dark Duke’s taxes and the already poor situation made it seem even worse. The farmers, in order to meet the Dark Duke’s tax demands, were forced to increase prices, causing the people to suffer. Since most people could barely afford food and housing to begin with, many people went hungry. Yet the Dark Duke refused to lower the taxes. Instead, he told the farmers that they had to lower their prices “or else.” They, of course, complied, but many of them became so broke that they and
their families were often thrown off their land and out into the cold for lack of tax payments. In the end, there was a shortage of farmers, which caused a shortage of farming, which caused a shortage of food, even after the drought was over.

  Belsden was a disaster.

  Over the years things got so bad that, despite the Dark Duke’s iron-fisted rule, some people still dared to mention the word “revolt.” Of course, the Dark Duke made certain to do away with these threats immediately, seeing to it first-hand that such people never again lived to see the light of day. But there was one group of rebel-rousers that managed to endure, perturbing the Dark Duke incessantly. Opinions about this rebel group was mixed, with some people praising it and cheering them as heroes, while others considered them nothing more than a bunch of crazies. Some silently approved of their actions, just as they would approve of any other action that disrupted the Dark Duke in his endeavors. Others, though, thought that the group was a danger, and wished they’d disappear. Either way, these rebels, most of whom were young and without a home, continued to make trouble for the Dark Duke; stealing, ambushing, inciting riots – doing whatever they could to raise havoc and cause trouble for Belsden’s phony king. But still, no one could offer a serious challenge to the Dark Duke and his Palace Guard, and so the Belsden continued to suffer.