I have been advised by the Attorney-General of New Edom, the President of the Allied States and the Archbishop of the Apostolic Church that it is an acceptable time that a general election should be planned to take place in the Province of Raith Immel. All persons involved with diplomacy, military affairs, and acting as advisors as well as local officials are invited to take part at a planning session at the villa of High Prince Findi Lamat of the Niradnis Elwe who has kindly offered to act as host for this event. Please come prepared to discuss the following subjects:
1. Preparing citizens to vote who may not be fully literate.
2. Planning for electoral districts in rural areas.
3. Voting instruction.
4. Hiring or election of electoral officers by district.
5. Peacekeeping operations to prevent violence during elections.
6. Any other questions or concerns raised presented in a thoughtful manner offering solutions to problems.
We have reached, truly, the end of New Edom's civil war, in the last province in which it was waged. Now we hope to end it graciously and well.
sincerely,
John Carmel,
Governor of Raith Immel
Brightwater, Raith Immel Province
Majestic Hotel
The young dark haired woman stepped into the light near the bed. She was wearing a light blue jacket, a white dress shirt, a navy skirt, pale stockings and pumps, and involuntarily bit her lip as she looked at the man lounging on the bed in his shorts and undershirt. He was a strong looking powerfully built man with very hairy arms, legs and shoulders, a bushy moustache and powerful arms almost like an ape's. He was smiling faintly as he looked at her--the expression of a man who had had many meals looking at yet another, and she felt a sharp twinge in her stomach.
"A bit dowdy, but nice. But the sweetmeat is lovelier than the shell. Get undressed." he said in a voice used to command.
"What, everything?" she said without thinking.
"Yes, everything. Do you need music or something?" he said with amusement.
"I'm not a whore...there's no call for that..." she said angrily, taking off the jacket. "Why insist on this though?"
"Because it insures your complicity, my dear." said the man. "And remember, no names."
"No names," she said, with a deep breath, folding the jacket. He watched as she unbuttoned her skirt and removed it, took off her shoes and stockings, unbuttoned her shirt, and reluctantly, feeling rather sick at heart, unhooked her bra, skimmed out of her panties and stood totally naked in front of him.
"Not bad," he said. "Very full breasted, never had kids yet I see, you could use a trim and a dab here and there but not bad at all. Turn around for me."
While she was facing away, he spoke to her. "The instructions are on the dresser. Follow them to the letter."
She wondered if he really expected her to go through with all of this. Reading the instructions, she understood what he wanted--both here and afterwards. Here...it was fairly simply. She gritted her teeth, swallowed, and sat beside him on the bed, and began to remove his shorts.
They had met earlier, at the hotel's bar; there was a teacher's convention for the province going on, and he was a well dressed man albeit somewhat drunk in a jovial way, wearing a suit but with a military bearing. He picked her up after some mild resistance on her part. And now she was here. But it had all been planned and was intended to be, and it made sense for this humiliation to happen, because you never knew, the Council Police had so often set things up, made their enemies hoist their own petard. Who knew how much they were being watched? As she began her ministrations under his guidance she hoped this was all just cleverness, but if it was, he was certainly aroused by it.
Later on, as she was showering, she found herself rubbing herself hard. She had felt that she was a professional, but she wasn't; she was a patriot. She wept in the shower. She'd never really been with a man before--adolescent play, yes, but this was her first time, and she felt soiled. But anything for her country's freedom. She used mouthwash for the fourth or fifth time, combed out her hair, dried herself, her skin feeling tingling and raw from her too hot shower, and dressed in the bathroom. Peeking out, she found that he was gone.
Izabella Quiri walked out of the hotel and went to wait for a bus. It was a little dangerous now, with foreign soldiers around and many lumber industry workers staggering out of bars this time of night, but somehow she didn't care; she just wanted to get home. Besides...in a crowd, who knew who was who anymore? She shivered, though the night was warm, and saw the sunny glow of the lights of a bus coming down the street.