A Medieval Story - Helena and Beatrice (fantasy story + drawings)

The brown haired woman looked way more confident than her brunette counterpart; "They're going to fall for it, Beatrice. You'll see it".

"It's still too risky", Beatrice noted. Her long, curly black hair waived back and forth as she walked. "I don't like it, Helena. What if they don't buy it?"  

"Just dumb villagers", assured Helena. "They'll fall for any crap. I mean, as long as you're confident, of course".

The two young women reached that village in the middle of nowhere. Helena was, at 26, a good looking woman that hadn't really amounted for anything yet. Too pretty to work, not rich enough to marry a lord. She learned at a very young age that she could have her way, though. A third way.

Beatrice was two years younger than Helena, but she had already reached similar conclusions about life. The same beautiful-but-not-rich-enough dilemma applied to her too. She wasn't going to sit and wait for things to get fairer either!

The villagers laid their eyes on them as soon as they stood on the main square  -which was just a muddy space at the village's center. The men admired their pretty faces, as well as every curve in their bodies. The women's gazes were less forgiving; two rivals had made their appearance in their neck of the woods. The children stopped playing to look at Helena and Beatrice; they didn't seem very welcoming either. Helena thought that a wolf could have smelled their distrust from a mile away.

And she smiled, because that's exactly the feeling she wanted to strike onto these losers. Helena turned her head to the right and winked at the less confident Beatrice. They had rehearsed this hundreds of times. It would work. Both women raised their hands, quickly. Then both closed their eyes and started chanting at unison.

"What's that gibberish?", an old man asked, to no one in particular.

"I don't like it", said a woman, who barely a minute ago was displaying one of the harshest gazes laid onto the girls.

"I think is that smarty-pants' crap they're always talking about... that Latin shit...", a very drunk man holding onto an even more drunk pal ventured, slurring the last word.

Had it been a contest, the old man would have won it; because it was gibberish. Helena and Beatrice had rehearsed it too. It had to look perfect and it did look perfect. With her eyes closed, Helena imagined these fools' faces as they chanted. They were probably about to shit themselves in fear.

That was good.

Then they stopped chanting. They opened their eyes and lowered their hands, this time in a slow motion. The whole square was silent. The villagers' faces showed a mix of fear and anticipation. What would happen now?

Then, it happened.

"Auch!", someone muttered, but didn't get enough impact to warrant attention. Then several more 'ouchies' were heard. No one was looking now at the newcomers. Dozens of birds were attacking people, which diverted all attention. A teenager girl screamed and ran around while trying to untangle a crow's legs out of her long, blonde hair. A fat man flailed his arms trying to scare two other crows away  -and failing at every attempt!

Similar scenes could be seen just by looking around. Helena and Beatrice, meanwhile, stood unscratched in the middle of the chaos, laughing triumphantly. Then, Helena made her move.

"Behold our power, you feeble mortals!", she yelled. "For what we're the mighty Witches of Erast! Terrible is our wrath, but generous is our gratitude. Serve us, and your wishes shall be granted". An then, after a pause; "Betray us, and your fate shall be doomed!"

Dozens of knees hit the ground before Helena could even spell the word 'doomed'. She smiled and looked at an also smiling Beatrice. 'Their asses belong to us now', her lips gesticulated silently.


******

"More wine, my lady?", the young man asked. Helena nodded.

"Of course", she sentenced. At the same time, a young girl brough a second dish for Beatrice (who didn't even bother looking at her, much less thank her for her service).

"We want to be alone now", Helena commanded her new servants. "Go away".

The room  -at the biggest house in the town- was silent as the villagers left. Once alone, both women bursted into a fit of laughter.

"Suckers!", whispered Beatrice, laughing.

"Schmucks!", said Helena in a whisper too, and both laughed even harder.

The 'third way' both girls had learned was not magic. It didn't even have anything to do with sorcery nor witchcraft. It was the oldest trick in the world; taking advantage of people's ignorance.

They had planned the trick months in advance. With the help of the  -aspiring- maesters of their hometown (which wasn't Erast), Helena and Beatrice had found out that there are many extracts whose scents that can attract or repel birds. Soon who found who could provide them with these substances. They didn't even need to pay for these; both girls were good-looking and they knew it. The aspiring maesters are often romantically-challenged loners, so it wasn't difficult to lead them on.

"And without even letting that wanker touch my hand", joked Beatrice.

Helena and Beatrice had made sure to apply the repelent extract on their vests and skirts before walking into the town. The small vials containing the attracting extracts the girls carried on their closed fists, which were promptly and sneakily thrown as they vigorously raised their arms.

It worked like a charm. Kind of ironic, since it couldn't be further from being one.

"Where the hell is my ale?", yelled Beatrice, clearly addresing the villagers that awaited behind the door. "Do I have to burn your crops down, or what?"

A young, good looking blond man rushed in, bringing her ale. He accidentally spilled a bit of it on Helena's lap, staining her green skirt.

"Oh, damn! Where did you lose your brains, you idiot?" she hurled at him. The young man  -whose tall and athletic physique would otherwise make him intimidating- was terrified.

"Turn around", Helena commanded, coldly. He complied.

"Bend over". He complied with that too. Then Helena planted the sole of her left boot on the seat of his pants and pushed, making him fall forwards. She and Beatrice laughed at him.

"Go away now, imbecile", Helena added, laughing. The blond man rose back to his feet and trotted back outside, not even daring to look over his shoulder.

"Nice ass, though", noticed Beatrice, giggling.


******

They managed to enjoy w good couple of hours more of elitism, until a man with a large moustache walked in.

"My ladies?", he asked. Helena and Beatrice looked at each other (while enjoying delicious red grapes) and then looked at the man.

"Say it", said Helena. The mustached man cleared his throat before he spoke again; "I speak in the name of the whole town when I say that our devotion to you is unbreakable", he commenced.  
"Whatever you ask from us shall be granted. We'll serve, sacrifice and devote to whatever you..."

"Oh, cut that crap!", demanded an annoyed Beatrice. "Just say it, old man!"

The man was startled by Beatrice's impatience. Then he continued; "There's a rock quarry not far from here. We get our rocks to build from it. However, there's a cave nearby, in which a terrible monster lives. We cannot work on the quarry anymore for fear of being attacked by the monster".

"And you want us to deal with the monster. Am I right?", asked Helena. The man nodded.

"We'd be extremely grateful if you did, my lady. With rocks from the quarry we could serve your needs even better".

"Fine, we'll do it", sentenced Helena. "Now get out, old man. We have to get ready".

The man bowed in respect before leaving the room. Helena looked at Beatrice, who looked worried.

"Wait, wait, wait", asked the brunette, in a rush. "If we go there we'll get exposed. And then we'll be done here!"

"Don't be a fool", Helena scorned her. "There isn't any monster in there, it's just folklore. These are the same fools we duped this morning, remember? We'll go there, do some stupid shit so they'll believe we're doing magic and then we tell them the cave is clear. After that they'll be even more afraid of us. It couldn't be any easier!"


******


"Beware of the monster, my ladies", warned the mustached man while en route to the cave. "It's a beast like no other! A demon that crawled out of the hottest hell and..."

"Again? Shut up!" demanded Helena, smacking the back of his head. "We told you we'll deal with it, and we'll do. But if you keep up with that stupid narrative I'll turn you into a monster. Is that clear?"

The man grasped; "Very clear, my lady".

Along with the old man, Helena and Beatrice reached the cave. And expectant group of villager had gathered there. They seemed fearful about the cave, but also about the arrival of the newcomers. Both women enjoyed the feeling of power that gave them.

The villagers held some hopes, it seemed, because one of them claimed; "Finally! Now this nightmare will be over!"

"Helena and Beatrice will send that disgusting creature to the hell it came from!" a teenager boy assured to everyone else. A general murmur of acquiescence was heard.

Both women walked up to the cave. Nothing to be seen there, and nothing could be heard. However, the villagers stood far behind. Beatrice turned around and looked at them.

"This is the closest we dare to stand", said the teenager boy. "Not even an inch closer".

Helena and Beatrice looked at each other and laughed. Beatrice faced the cave's entrance again.

"I told you" whispered Helena. "Just a bunch of fools".

"We could just walk inside and pretend we fight the monster, and they'll buy it" suggested Beatrice. "This is so fun!"

"There we go!" claimed Helena, happily, and then both girls started walking towards the entrance.

"We'll demand a good dinner when we come out", said Helena. "With lots of wine and..."


RRROOOAAAAARRRRRRGGGHHHH!!!


The due stopped on their tracks. Beatrice in particular had lost all the confidence. She looked now like a frightened little girl on a woman's body.

"Did you... did you hear that!?", she asked Helena.

"It must have been just the wind", her brown haired friend ventured. "Caves make all sort of noises, it's nothing!"

But Helene looked worried too. It may have been just the wind, but that was quite loud. Maybe...


RRRRROOOAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHHH!!!!


A scared Beatrice put a grip around Helene's arm. That had been louder, and also felt closer!

"C'mon, you filthy creature! Get out and meet your demise!", a miner shouted behind the girls.

"You're going to die, you son of a bitch!", howled another man. "These two women are going to finish you off!"

"It's real, Helene! The monster it's real!", Beatrice muttered, scared to death. Helena was still hoping that it'd be just the wind after all when she saw it. These eyes. Huge, red, lizard eyes, so full of ancient malice.

And, oh, the teeth.

Giant, sharp, evil teeth!

“Quick! Raise your hands!” commanded Helena.


“Oh, my, Helena!”, muttered Beatrice, terrified. “These teeth!”


“Forget about the damn teeth! Raise your hands!”


Helena raised hers, and shortly after Beatrice did the same.


“What now?”, asked the brunette.


“Now we’ll wait”, answered the brown haired.


“Wait for what?”, asked Beatrice. She was getting more and more nervous.


“Until I have an idea to get ourselves out of here!” , whispered Helena.


They knew they couldn’t call it off; these dumb locals would then realize they’ve been duped all along. But facing that monster…


“What are they waiting for?”, someone questioned behind them. Helene had lost all her confidence at this point. For the first time in a long time, Helena was regretting her past actions (something that didn’t happen often!).


“Listen carefully, Beatrice”, Helena solved. “I’m going to count three. When I say ‘three’, we run. As fast as we can, as far as we can. We’re done here”.


“A-Alright…” muttered Beatrice.

Helena breathed in, waited a bit and then started the count; “One… two..”


 RRROOOOAAAARGGGGG!!!!

The beast had become impatient, so it stuck its giant, ugly head out of the cave and pounced on Helene and Beatrice.


                         “Noooooooo!!!”


                 ******


“Hahahahaha!”


“Look at them now!”


“Now so powerful now! Right, sweethearts?”


“Get the hell out of our town, you losers!”


“I cannot wait to leave this crappy village behind” Helena sentenced, bitterly. “Besides, it reeks to cow shit”.


“You have to admit it, Helena; we had it coming…”


“Life is about outsmarting other, Beatrice. We just failed this time”.


“Bye, bye, morons!” a little boy shouted, and his friends laughed with him. Helena was infuriated. The men laughed at them. The women laughed even harder at them. But the children… oh, the children took mockery to the next level. She clenched her fists while walking out of the town, along with an equally undignified Beatrice.


Had the girls paid more attention to these maesters they considered just losers, they would have known that the creature in the cave was a Khzfend*, which, although big and strong enough to maim and kill men, has a high intelligence and understands the motivations and weakness of people. Hence, when cornered, usually didn’t resort to injuring intruders. Instead, the Khzfend prefers resorting to humiliation.


Helena and Beatrice and walked back unscratched, except for the fact that the Khzfend had bitten off the entire seats of their skirts, down to the hems. Only a few hours earlier Helena and Beatrice were feared and respected. Now, the whole town laughed at them as they walked away, their voluptuous asses now only covered by the snug seats of their panties.


No dinner nor wine for them, of course. Much less servitude.


And now, absolutely no respect at all!


“Ahahahahaha!”


“You deserve it, morons!”


“They’re making fun of us, Helene!”


“Just ignore them. Head high, and walk with confidence!” Helene advised Beatrice, but the truth was that it was very hard to do it in the current situation.


The Khzfend had achieved what it wanted. The level of ridicule that both girls were experiencing granted that they’d never set a foot on that town ever again. Maybe with time they’d figure out a new scheme to get their way. But for sure not at that town. And not at Erast either!


The End