Chapter 43 Skipton the Battle.

Astrid, “Mum remember we have the battle later today.”

“Yes dear I have remembered. Gaby and the others are getting ready for their race later so do not go and pester them. Helen I presume you are still monitoring Gaby?”

“I have no real need she is quite well adjusted. Initially she had a few problems, but those have abated now. Her problems where genetic as they are for all males in this family.”

“Yes it was a shock for me and I remember the trauma of it. That is why I have you monitor all those who have not had their minds wiped. Personally I think Gaby has adapted well to the change. “

“I will continue to keep a check on her Alexis. Stop worrying about Gaby and let’s get on with the show.”

In the town of Skipton tourists where arriving by the coach load. After dropping off their passengers the coaches where being sent to the Aireville Campus which was off the A65.That was where they had to park up for the day. A fleet of mini busses brought the drivers back into the town centre. Very soon that coach park was full and the coaches had to us the nearby swimming pool complex car park.” Over 600 coaches arrived between 9.00 -10.00 and many more after that. To complement the other events the Ancient Parish Church of Holy Trinity had decided to hold a flower festival at the same time. The ladies of the church had been in the evening before to decorate the church. The High street was closed to all but emergency traffic as all other traffic was re-routed around the town. At 11.00 there was a parade through the town with the local championship band playing. This was followed by the re-enacting soldiers and followers. Somewhere walking and somewhere on horseback. Alexis and some of her partners rode side-saddle though the town and gave everybody a wave.

The commentator, who was standing on the town hall balcony said, “I see we have Mary queen of Scots, Queen Elizabeth and of course our own local celebratory Lady Anne Countess of Westmoreland & Lord of Skipton.
“I am informed that a detachment of the enemy forces commanded by Generals Fairfax and Lambert are also making their way here. Well ladies and Gentlemen we have a super fine day for the Battle. I understand there has already been a skirmish or two yes here come a detachment of our local Clifford White coats and it looks like they have already taken many prisoners. Yes it is Sir Edward Mallory our castle governor and they do have prisoners.” “I understand they discovered some Roundheads where camped on Rombald's moor and decided to take them out. It looks like they have captured a considerable amount of cannon & ammunition. I have been informed it was the Roundhead supply train that was captured. This set back is going to put the Roundheads at a disadvantage in the forthcoming siege. The cavalry are now setting off apparently another troop of Roundheads has positioned their cannons a mile away from here on a hill. It sounds like the enemy have finally got their first shot off. That was another cannon shot & they are all falling short of their intended target. That speeded the Calvary up. They now have completely over run the site and look more prisoners and more cannon.”
“What is going on now? Apparently some of the enemy are to be executed and the gallows are being set up. Yes I can clearly see some of the blindfolded prisoners being led to the gallows. The priest has come and is giving them all confession. That is it the lever has been pulled on Gallows hill & those traitors are no more. What is this! The Roundhead leader with a white flag, he wants to parley. Lady Anne herself is coming out to talk. General Lambert is in a quandary what to do. Lady Anne is the wife of the commander of the parliamentary forces and he does not want to attack the castle while she is in residence.”

Lady Anne comes out with her ladies but the detachment of White coat is off again. Lady Anne has just been informed of the disaster at Marsden Moor. Unlike there this is going the Royalists way. It appears that more Royalists have arrived. They do not look like losers. It is Prince Rupert’s Regiment of horse and there must be a thousand or more of them. “They are bringing more captured Cannon. It also appears that they are willing to exchange some of their prisoners for some General Lambert has. Well the exchange is over and General Lambert is leaving. Apparently it was not the main force the Roundheads did battle with at Marsden moor and now both sides are lined up here. General Lambert has his forces on one Hill overlooking the town. They though are completely encircled. He is being given the option to surrender and live to fight another day or go down in a blaze of glory. He has decided to surrender his forces are completely surrounded. Most of his men are to be allowed to go free but there was some escaped felons among his ranks and these are to be executed. This is Richard Whitely reporting for Yorkshire news.”

“Well Richard what do you think of this turn around. It was the loss of the supply train that did it. Prince Rupert sacrificed a small group to ensure there was no supply train for the enemy. That and the loss of their long range cannon came as a shock to the Roundheads who until recently had been winning. Now it looks like the Northern Generals are going to re-take the south for their cause. What is this messenger from General Lambert leader of the rebels? Apparently Oliver Cormwell died in London. General Lambert is approaching Lady Anne and handing her his sword. She is raising it and tapping him on his shoulders. Apparently we are all witnessing history in action. Lady Anne was cousin to our late Queen Elizabeth. She apparently has both Royalist and Parliamentarian support. Yes we are seeing the enthronement of the new Queen Anne. The battle is over and although some wounds run deep it is now a time for healing. “Prince Rupert is also coming and handing Queen Anne his sword. The Archbishop is approaching with the Crown. Well ladies and gentlemen today we are watching the coronation of our new Queen.

Alexis for a moment forgot this was a re-enactment and when asked by the archbishop what name she took said, “Queen Alexis.”

She did not realise her mistake until the Archbishop said, “I crown you Queen Alexis of all Britain.” By then it was too late to rectify the mistake.

“Rombald approached,” “I am Queen Alexis champion is there any amongst you today that doubt she is our queen?” He looked around and his daughters steeped forward.

“Father there appears to be no objection so I propose we have the traditional three cheers for our Queen and may her rule be a wise one.”

Alexis, “Lord Cromwell shall be buried with the honour he deserved. True he and Charles had their problems. Now we have to heal the wounds. There will be no retribution to those on opposing sides. Lords Fairfax and Lambert you both have expertise we all could benefit by. Whatever side you fought on tomorrow I want all participants to march down this High street side by side as you now again are brothers in arms. You all are my army. You no longer are Royalists or Roundheads. With this in mind you will become Queen Alexi’s regiment of horse and regiment of foot.”

Without asking the soldiers shouted “Three cheers for Queen Alexis.”
The rest of the day the soldiers where giving displays of musket & pike stances. Around 5.00 the Bike race started. Some of the well-known internationals where into the lead first Lance Armstrong was one of those who hung back as did Jenny Bond. Gaby was watching her mother and when she went for it so did Gaby and the gang.

“It looks like the entire Bond team has decided to make a break for the lead following the break Lance Armstrong just made; Yes Jenny Bond has just taken the lead from Lance. Her daughters are also passing Lance. Time he retired if two little girls can pass him. The Girls are of course Gaby and Maddy Bond and it looks like the two of them are trying to take their mothers crown. This is getting into a very interesting race. All three of them are now well in the lead and I doubt nobody now could catch them. Sorry Lance has been passes by another girl. This is Julie Bond her forte is Badminton & Tennis, but she still has the grit of her younger sisters. It now looks like the battling Bonds have it totally sewn up. Lance is out of the Game he has come off his bike. No he is having a new wheel put on. That has cost Lance his first place as the remaining members of the Bond team are also going for it.”

“Well that is about it for Lance a couple of local lads have now passed him & look to take the first male prize and local boy home. Who is going to win the first three are truly now battling it out for the first place. I have seen nothing like this before. There is nothing between them and it looks like it will be a photo finish to determine the winner. Well Ladies and Gentlemen, We had a dead heat between Jenny and her daughter Gaby and Maddy was 1/000 of a second behind them. In third place we have the other Bond daughter. Will Jenny Bond and her daughters please come to the Podium to receive their prizes?”

Gaby's cheer leaders where all there and where cheering them all on. “For those who cannot see we have some cheerleaders here and they appear to be supporting all the Bonds. The first three of the men have come in & among them we have another Bond. We have 1st from Thornton Mr Bond Jennies Husband, then we have Mr Draco from Skipton & Mr Vater from York. Lance Armstrong was the fourth man in but that puncture did it for him. As I understand he intended to retire after this race. Perhaps Lance the cancer has taken more out of you than you realised. Saying that Jenny also is recuperating from cancer and look at the performance she put on. She and her daughters deserve all the praise they are getting. I would like to see all four of them in a distance race against each other.”

“I have one of our Olympic hopefuls with me now. Tell me what did you think of that performance? Well for some time I along with other members of our team has been training with the Bond Girls. I was surprised when they did not make their move sooner. It was typical Bond tactics. As you noticed their remaining team mates also went at the same time. Princess Katrina of Bavaria is one of those team mates and I know her uncle will be glued to the television for the results. He has already invited the Bond Team to Munich for a race and to be his guests.”

“I did not realise that Gaby Bond entered the Schoolboy- Schoolgirl championships and is Junior British Champion. Apparently while in America she entered an International and became Junior International Cyclist. I hope there is plenty of shelf space in the Bond household because between them they have collected many trophies today. Jenny and her daughters are now greeting her husband as he takes the podium. The Photographers want to have a photograph of all seven. It appears the cheerleaders are all going again.”

We appear to have Queen Alexis followed by her retinue coming to the podium. She also has changed her outfit and now you could not doubt that she is a queen. Shortly coming from here in the castle will be a folk and country event. I like the other commentators will be stopping for that, but for now I am signing off.”

Alexis. “Welcome to my home I hope you all enjoyed the re-enactment. It went slightly different today.” The race was thrilling and I certainly enjoyed it and will be cheering the Bonds on at their future races. Even Mr Bond put in a good show although he is not up the standard of his wife and daughters. It appears that the other two men are brothers & relatives of Mr Bond and so it was a family event. As you all know Lance Armstrong has decided to retire from racing to spend more time with his family. I would like to ask him to come up here and say a few words.”

Lance. “As most of you will already know I have recovered from a bout of cancer. I will continue to do charity rides for various charities. As our host says though I have decided to spend more time with my family. I should say both my families. If it had not been for the devotion of my wife and mistress I doubt that I would have got through the treatment as well as I did. I am still having treatment with a renowned specialist. Because of my treatment I decided that perhaps I should be spending more time with my family. I have been given a second chance with a wakeup call & I decided I better sort everything out while I can.”

Alexis, “Helen you have not been slipping him a potion or two?”

“Alexis relax Lance has lost his lance by now. He was told the only way he could save his life was by taking massive doses of estrogens. That was by his consultants in America. They did not warn him of the secondary effects. When he came over to England he came to see me and by then there was nothing I could do. I told him the treatment he received had effectively removed any remaining male hormones from his body. I warned him that he must never take male hormones or that might trigger the cancer to restart. What I discovered was his body had started producing its own female hormones. If Lance had continued riding it would have eventually been noticed that his body is changing. By retiring now he hopes to avoid the notice of the press.”

“So you have not given him a dose of my special hormones?”

“Alexis I would not have done that without your permission, also he is not at the moment a nice person but he is gradually changing. His reaction to my news that he was turning female was surprising. He said both wife and mistress had mentioned he appeared to be changing but he denied it. While chatting to me I asked him what made a female.”

Lance, “I suppose a nice temperament, Smooth body without hair, breasts & Vagina.

Helen.”Look at yourself and tell me which you have.”

Lance pondered, “I suppose you could say I have three out of the four.”

Helen smiled, Smooth body, Breasts.”

Lance, “As you know full well they had to remove everything because of the cancer and now I have to sit to pee like a woman. I suppose my temperament will need working on.”

“I asked if I could talk with wife and mistress. Lance agreed so they both entered together. “I said I have finally got Lance to agree that he has become more feminine than male because of the treatment he has been receiving.”

“The wife, “In that case we have both being wanting to give him a full makeover and take in shopping for some correctly fitting clothes.” As Helen was talking they heard the announcement.”

“Attention everyone this is Lance Armstrong speaking. First I would like to congratulate our winners. Being at the top for seven years has made me rather complacent. That was until a few weeks ago when I was a spectator at a race in America.” “A young woman with an impeccable pedigree showed the cyclists in Washington what cycling was about. I am of course referring to Gaby Bond. When I saw her cycle I realised my days were numbered as number one in the world. Well I have had a great time but now I must resign my crown.
“Gabriel will you come up here with your family. Jenny at the moment you are still the ladies champion but I think you are going to have a progressively harder time to retain the title. Gabriel after discussion with the promoters I asked them to alter the name of my Title from Men world champion to World Champion. I said it should be open to all regardless of age or sex. This request they agreed to and I am the last Men champion. You Gabriel are only just starting out on life and have a list of impressive victories. I did not expect to be beaten by the margin I was. Every member of the Bond family beat me today. As I said previously I am retiring but not before passing on the yellow jersey to you Gaby. I also have this for you it is a copy of my winner’s medallion. While final agreement needs ratifying I have no hesitation in naming you Gaby Bond World Champion designate and passing my crown on to you. I think in the years to come we will be in for some interesting results like today’s photo finish.”

“Now to my second notice. As many of you will know I have recovered from cancer. “Today’s race was to raise money for that cause. So I am appealing to those watching here to delve deep into their pockets and help with the funding of these charities.” “What many of you will not know is because of the treatment I received which has cured me. I can no longer function as a male and have started developing female characteristics. I decided to tell everyone so that if in the future the media starts pumping out rubbish you know the truth. Shortly I will have no other option but to dress like a female. Unfortunately I cannot take male hormones or that would bring my cancer back so I have to be given female hormones that hold the cancer at bay.”

Helen took the microphone off Lance and said, “I am the doctor of Lance Armstrong, Recently a very upset Lance came to see me after having treatment in America. I realise he is famous & that is why he decided to come clean. There are thousands of men out there who have to have similar treatment and have similar concerns. It came as a shock to Lance when he realised he was developing breasts. I have had many sessions with Lance and have listened to his concerns. He will be the first to admit that he has led a rather active life in having both a wife and mistress.”

The Mistress took the microphone. “As Dr Helen was saying Lance has led an active life. The cancer has put paid to his lifestyle. Unknown to Lance his wife and I had an agreement we would share him and that is what we did. Now because of the surgery and the hormones he has to take for the rest of his life Lance is no longer the man he once was. Regardless of this we both still love him and have decided to stay with him regardless of how he has to dress. After talking it over with Dr Helen we all decided that it might be better if Lance dressed to fit his current body shape.”

A reporter with the local Argus, “Do you mean Lance has had a sex change?”

Helen, “Normally we do not discuss patients and the surgery they have had done. Lance though has given permission for me to answer honestly. Lance had to because of the cancer have his entire genitalia removed. In addition because of the hormones he has grown breasts, but he has not had a sex change operation. Many men are in a similar situation it is because he is famous that Lance has decided to come clean. Before you ask Lance will have to wear Bras for the remainder of his life.”

“Lance if you are turning female do you ever envisage changing your name to a feminine version.”

“At the moment I have no intention of doing so, but eventually I may have to do so.”

“When I agreed to enter this race I did not realise the treatment had left me as weak like it has. I could not even compete with the ladies champion who has herself been fighting a similar battle and won it. To be beaten By the British Junior champion was a shock to me. I will certainly be watching and supporting Gaby and Maddy as they try to take their mothers crown. As I will have no need of my bike I am presenting it to Gaby & hope it brings her much success like it did with me.”

Jenny spoke, “Thank you Lance for that kind offer.” “I have to tell you regardless of how you are attired the girls say you are welcome to come and train with them. We would not like your expertise to go to waste.”
The rest of the day went without any incident. In the castle that evening they were all reviewing the day’s events.

Alexis. “First I would like to congratulate all team members on the effort they all put in.”

Gaby, “Helen is it true what Lance said?”

“Lance would hardly come out with something like that if it was false."

"So are you going to grow him the required parts? Gaby I have not yet put that to him. As we have a sample of his on file we could do it. It could be possible for him to become a genetic female and produce all his own hormones.”

Alexis, “Without passing our contamination on to him?

“Yes we can do that so he will live a natural life unlike us. In that case Helen I think you should call him and his partners in and give them the option.”
Two days later Lance with both his partners sat in Helens office and listened to what she had to say.

Lance, “So if you grow this part for me will I will no longer need injections. Will I Lance be able to get pregnant?”

“Well once you start having periods you will certainly be able to get pregnant.”

“Can you not grow his original parts then he could be a man again for us.”

“If we where to do that Lance would almost certainly have cancer again so it is not an option.”

Lances wife spoke, “So we will have the choice of Lance being a woman or being almost a woman. We both have being getting on well with Lance as he becomes more feminine. Perhaps it would be for the best if the part is grown."

Lance, "How long will it take doctor before it is ready for me? Actually it is ready now I anticipated your decision. However I will need you in surgery within the next six hours.”

“Dr we all need to know something. When we realised Lance would be unable to father children after the cancer treatment we took steps to ensure that option stayed open. If one of us had children using what we preserved could all of us mother the child. What I want to know is if we all could breast feed the child or children?”

“Well you could with an injection or two causes you all to start lactating but I would wait until Lance has been a woman for at least three months before I took that step.”

Lance looked at the doctor, “In that case I had better come and undergo the surgery.” Lance turned to his two female companions, “By the time I awake you both had better have decided on a new name for me.” Lance signed various documents to say the operation was of his own choice.

“Will it take long to change all his documentation to Karen Elizabeth?”

Helen, “We can have all that done before she awakes.”

“When I married Lance I did it full well knowing he had a woman’s soul. He never went with any men or even cross dressed, but there was something there that attracted me."

"Same here I think that is why I became his mistress. We both soon realised he was only ever bothering with us both. The diagnosis of cancer was a shock to him, but when she realised neither of us wanted to leave him he stayed happy. Of course our relationship changed. Neither of us grumbled though. We took to both going to bed with Lance. It was almost his dream come true in bed with two women. Since then we have done that each night since the operation.”

“So you are telling me Lance sorry Karen Elizabeth is a lesbian.”

“We never thought about it like that. I am not divorcing Lance. Neither of us has bothered with other men & now the only one we both loved is beckoning a true female. No we will continue to all live and sleep together. Karen Elizabeth is going to need a couple of female friends to advise her on various things if this operation is a success.”