Well-known face

In a moment, the coach brought the Countess the whip.

"Seize her and bring her to me!" she ordered the peasants as she doesn't want her soldiers and servants leave the carriage unguarded. The locals were **** to comply though. "Or else..." Geraldine pulled out her wand again, this time pointing it to one of the barns. In a wink, it blazed bright. Some of the frightened villagers ran away to stop the fire, others gazed in awe, - "If this stupid kid is not restrained, the next time I'm going to burn one of the houses, or two".

Several men and women rushed to grab poor Holly and quickly tied her to the post.

"Sorry, Holly, how can we fight this witch?" - whispered one of the Holly's friends

"You cowards!" hissed the blonde. "I'll never forgive you for that!"

Geraldine approached slowly with a wicked smile on her face, playing with the whip.

"It's not that I really want to get my hands dirty when touching such a lowly scum - that's why I took a really long whip - but the likes of you need a lesson well learned. No insolent rustic can sling mud at me and go on unpunished".

The Countess swung the whip and landed it on the Holly's bare back. The peasant girl winced in pain but managed to stop herself from screaming.

Geraldine d'Alindard was not really a sadist woman. She didn't take special pleasure in making someone squeal in pain though she certainly lacked empathy for those who were 'inferior' to her. She was however a kind of perfectionist. Just like she always looked immaculate and felt out of place and **** if it wasn't so, she wanted everybody to pay respect to her. And not to see respect from the young village girl was upsetting. Where most of the powerful people would just shrug shoulders - "commoners words can't hurt anybody" - she felt insulted and wanted to break the resistance, **** the impudent teen beg. My rule begins this day, she tought.

"It's time for you to learn some manners, are you going to plead for mercy?"

"No fucking way! Go fuck yourself, rich bitch!"

"All right then" Geraldine raised her hand with a whip for the second time.

"What the hell is going on here?" a ringing female voice came, as it seemed, out of nowhere.

The Countess' gloved hand froze in the air. The voice was well known to her. She slowly turned around on her heels to face the new distraction.

There, in a few metres, stood a young woman in her early twenties. She was of shorter than average, with a lively pretty face and dark curly hair. She wore old and simple but clean hunting wool outfit with plain heeled boots made of dark crude leather. The woman looked the Countess in the eye with both surprise and defiance.

"Geraldine?? By all gods, what are you doing here?" she spoke

Geraldine was surprised even more.

"Princess Glenda? What are you doing here? It's been two years since you escaped. Where have you been all the time?"

"Travelling the country, learning new skills, meeting and doing business with common folk... something they won't teach you at the palace", answered Glenda.

"Such a shame" said Geraldine in her usual posh voice. She threw the whip away. "You quickly became quite like these pig herders. Even for a Karthian princess that's a long way downhill".

"I always knew you were loyal patriot of our country" Glenda mocked the Countess. "Thank gods, you are now not in position to lecture me, if you ever were. And by the way, you didn't answer my question".

"I'm minding my own business here and I am not obliged to report to you" Geraldine kept calm, haughty face, but a nervous note flashed for a second in her voice.

"You are. I don't care about all those princess things, but there should be some use of them in the end. And last time I checked a real princess was more important than some poor cousin who managed to sell her female parts for the large chunk of gold and land. So, what are you doing here except for lashing innocent girls? You can't beat everyone who is younger and has a tighter body than yours", Glenda barely controlled herself from giggling. "By the way, guys, free Holly immediately".

The Glenda's jokes stung deeply. Geraldine smirked and was about say something to return a favor but Holly cried out first...

"Huntress... um, sorry, Princess! Don't believe her single word. This evil bitch stole the stone we discovered! I don't know what she will do with it but I feel like it won't be pretty!"

"It wouldn't be hard to guess anyway", answered Glenda. "So, you are going to sell it to Argellian masters" Glenda looked at Geraldine in the eye.

The Countess let out a worried look on her face for a second, then stepped forward. Two women now stood within a couple of yards. Both royal-blooded brunettes were beautiful women but all similarities ended there. In fact one couldn't find a more different pair in the whole kingdom. A shortish, lively, feisty young princess in the plain comfortable outfit and zero make up and jewelry stood against tall, thoroughly made up and coiffured regal older lady in the chic formal gown and with snooty, ice-cold look on her face. It seemed like sparks were about to burst between them...