WARNING: This is the final installment of the Manor Series. You need to have read To The Manor Sold and By The Manor Owned to understand this story. It is VERY DARK! There is rape, murder, reckless sex, S & M, Bondage, political strife, hurt/comfort, some disturbing culinary choices, good guys coming up short, bad guys getting away with anything they want, sex between women and men, women and women, men and men, and perhaps some solo acts of debauchery (one never knows). If any of this give you the most remote sense of dread then you should skip this story.

RED SOX: Get ready to believe, again.

FEEDBACK: Is welcome at p.phair@comcast.com

FROM THE MANOR TAKEN

by Phair

Part 1

"I would speak with the Governor," the tall, thin black man dressed entirely in robes as dark as his skin demanded of the guards behind the fortified gate. "And, I would speak with him now."

"Be gone, Priest! The Governor has no tolerance for Papist prattle," the senior guard chuckled. "Go back across the sea to your Popi and your religious zealots."

"Fool!" The man rebuked him. "I'm no Papist! I've never set foot in Urashai. Never even set foot on a boat, for that matter. I'm a Secular Monk of the old Republic Order." He sighed as he used his sleeve to mop the nervous sweat off his shaved head, "Besides, I'm not here to discuss religion. I've come with a warning for the Governor."

The guard stopped grinning, "What kind of warning? What's your message, man?"

"Until just a week ago, I was being held prisoner by the Escaped Slave Army. They plan to march this way." The monk looked over his shoulder before continuing, "They mean to take the Governor's land and end his life."

"How close are they?" A younger guard paled as he asked. "I have family beyond the gates. Should I warn them to go north?"

"Are there Fed troops between us and them?" Another voice called from behind the fence.

"How many strong are they?" Still another shouted. "Are they well armed?"

The senior guard flushed with anger before bellowing, "STAND YOUR STATIONS! No need to act like a bunch of sobbing women. Open the gates and let the monk in."

The large gate opened just enough for the monk to squeeze in. The guards were quick to slam it shut once he pulled his robes clear of the entry way.

"Your haste is wise. I suggest you prepare for battle. I'm no more than two or three days travel ahead of them." The monk swallowed hard before continuing, "However, they seem to be in no hurry. The heathen lot of them are butchering every free man, woman, and child in their path. They are laying waste to homes and land and farms."

"We've heard tales of terror about their crimes. Everything from evisceration to cannibalism. Did you see anything like that?" The senior guard was sweating now as he asked.

The monk gave a slow nod and the remainder of the guards drew closer to listen, "I'm the last of fifteen brethren from my abbey. All the others were beaten, raped, and stewed alive."

"God in heaven!" The younger guard gasped before turning from the group and retching.

"Why then," the senior guard was old enough to be suspicious, "didn't your ass get fried too?"

"Because," the monk glared at the guard and took a step closer to him, "I broke bread with them. I shared their meal. To save myself, I ate their stew. I ate my fellow monks. My reward was my life and their brand." The monk folded back his legt sleeve to reveal an ugly red T burned into his skin.

"Bastards! Private, go alert the Governor he has a most important guest," the senior guard ordered. "Come on, Monk, you need to wash the dirt of the road off your face and hands or the Governor will have me flogged for messing up his living area."

The monk followed the guard to the water pump. Just beyond the pump, the monk noticed a cage. The inside was strewn with rotting food, excrement, moldy hay, and filthy rags. Something stirred beneath the pile of waste.

"What horrible manner of beast is restrained in such conditions?" The monk gagged from the stench as he walked up the bars.

The senior guard put his hand on the monk's shoulder and pulled him back several paces, "You'll not want to be near that bitch. She's likely to hurl shit at you. Leave her be."

"No," the monk shook the hand off his shoulder, "I was treated in much the same way during my days with the ESA. No animal, no matter how vicious, deserves this kind of punishment." The monk knelt next to the bars and extended his hands between them, "Come, I'll give you a blessing. Don't fear me."

A soft growl was the reply from beneath the heaping mess. The senior guard pulled out his shock stick. He was certain the crazy monk with lose one if not both hands when the bitch attacked.

Another, louder growl followed. Slowly, the creature rose up on all fours. She shook off the rags covering her battered body. Her hair was a wild, matted mess, dirt and crusted blood and bruises and weeping sores covered every inch of her naked body. The chain padlocked around her neck looped around her wrists and ankles and was fastened to a stake in the ground. It effectively prevented her form standing upright or laying down flat.

"My God!" The monk whispered, "It's human. A woman. What crime could be so heinous to result in this kind of unbearable torture? What could be so bad to make this seem like justice?"

"I freed the slaves!" She hissed in a voice rusty from nonuse.

"TESSA?" He gasped.

The guard grabbed the monk around the neck and dragged him away from the cage. Two sharp kicks to the ribs and a swat with the shock stick had the monk begging from mercy.

"What do you know of Tessa?" the guard screamed the question as he hauled the monk to his feet.

"Please, wait, don't kill me," the monk was babbling. "I know about her because of them. They idolize her. She's their martyr. They talk of her and her sacrifice constantly. "

"Who?"

"The Escaped Slave Army. The ESA. That's why they're on their murderous rampage. They think the Governor executed her. They want revenge."

"Damn it!" The guard felt ill. "We are doomed then. Quite doomed indeed."

The monk felt the guard ease his hold. "No, no, no, this could be the one thing that will stop them from destroying us. We could trade her for our lives. She might be our salvation. Tessa might be our best chance for survival. She could be our only hope."

The guard was grim faced as he answered, "Not after what we've been doing to her for all these years. Even God won't be able to help us when they free her and learn of her treatment. She'll have her Slave Army roast us on spits.

TBC

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