by P. S. Power
"Where would you like to go next? Tellerand? It's actually kind of interesting. They do the most amazing things with pullies."
She smiled, but shook her head and then shrugged at him a bit.
"If we can manage it, we need to get to Printer. Holly needs to know that one of her Barons is off aiding the rebellion after all. After that..." She put her right hand on his shoulder and moved to face him directly. It was too close and made him want to pull away, a fine line of fear reaching through him then. Her left hand touched his other arm, which was disconcerting, since it wasn't really there and all of his attention was suddenly focused on it. It felt real, physically, but it wasn't.
That reminded him of looking down and seeing his own legs being gone, blood spurting out of the stumps as the cool air of the dungeon his them, just before he was distracted. It took work to break the chain of thought before Nora interjected herself into his mind. Going blank was a relief and meant that he noticed Trice looking shifty for some reason.
"Well, we could go and visit my parents? In the Duchy?"
Timon sneered, not able to help himself. The look on her face shifted to hurt, but he got control of it before she saw too much.
"That isn't the point of a wedding vacation you know, forcing the poor beleaguered groom to associate with the in-laws like that. Hardly fair."
That got her to smile at least and after a few seconds nod.
"Right! I actually forgot about that part of things. I really just want to get an update on what's going on with Gala, to make sure that we've actually fixed that. I mean, you're young and if the Baron wants to claim this doesn't count, then I don't know what to do." Misery poured off of her then, which was, he realized, real enough. It showed on her face, but also her field. He wouldn't have gotten that if she weren't touching him.
"Alright, but only because I love you. Then we can do something that will actually be interesting? I mean, so far I've enjoyed the coin making opportunities here, but..." It took effort to make it all seem like he was kidding with her a bit, so her feelings wouldn't be hurt. That at least felt right, like what he would have always done. After all, there was no benefit in making someone dislike you. Not unless it was needed in the moment.
She froze and then looked at him as if he had two heads suddenly, her body stiffening and her eyes wide.
"You love me?" There was a soft and meek tone to her voice, as if she were close to panic.
Timon let himself roll his eyes and puffed his cheeks a bit.
"Sure. It's required by tradition you know. We have to fake that until it becomes pure habit. You know... it's almost like you haven't been married before or something. I mean, I haven't either, but I've seen it done. It's the same for nobles too, isn't it? I'm not working this the wrong way around or something, am I?"
"Yep, exactly the same! Thank god, I thought you were going to just suddenly move ahead of me without warning, falling for my great beauty and all that. It happens from time to time." She pushed her hair back and then waved toward the front. "I'll pilot. Can you take the water pumps down?"
He didn't even have to move outside, doing it by simply placing a single hand on the wall, which was a cool blue at the moment and looked slightly glass like, and then focusing.
"Done."
There were no more words for several seconds until she sat down in the pilot's chair and scowled, "Timon... where are the controls?"
"Put away, so that no drunken Warden party goers tried to fly away in the night. If you touch the armrest and think about them, like activating a sigil..."
Fortunately she was a quick study and the controls came back into being, looking like a floating silver metal and copper stone that hovered in place. She didn't wait for him to sit, causing them to rise slowly, then move to the south west in a steady fashion, so that everyone would see where they were going.
She started to explain what she was doing, but hesitated after the first word.
"You already get what I'm doing, don't you?"
"Pretty much. Are we going to head back out over the ocean before going to Printer? That way no one will see us. We can come in like a boat, if you want. It will mean reshaping things in here, but it's doable. Built in to the craft I mean."
That got her to nod.
"Let's do that then. People will think a lot less of a funny looking boat, especially if we make it small and come in at night. That will take a while, it's mid-afternoon now, so we have a few hours. I was thinking that we could head to the Capital and go to the large outdoor market there? That way I can spend some of your gold for you, so you don't feel like this isn't a real marriage. That makes sense, doesn't it?"
"After a fashion. I've heard that noble women were supposed to enjoy shopping as a hobby. You can get... fripperies or something? That's a thing, isn't it?"
"I was thinking we could get gifts for everyone. Take some nice things to Denno Brown and Lyn Red. You know them, right? They were there yesterday, and Tor knows them."
He had to bite his tongue then, since he didn't really blame her for talking about his brother and who they all knew in common. It was a bit dense of her, if she meant it, but Timon figured it was just small talk, meant to break the silence.
"Sure. We were all on the trip to Vagus together, for the summit." She'd been there too, but it was just possible that she'd forgotten that he was too.
"I know. I just meant, you know them as family members, not just people that you met in passing? It will influence what we get them. Do you have any idea what they might want?"
That got them talking for a while, as they headed off to the west, coming back up to follow the coast line. They ended up setting down on a nearly empty beach about halfway there, to stretch their legs. He didn't really need too, but Trice didn't ask if that was what he wanted. She just did it, setting down on a large expanse of sand. There were enough people around that they were seen, but no one ran at them screaming, even if it was an odd choice as to landing spots.
Trice hopped out, as if she had a plan. That was just walking, even as people slowly started to come and pretend they were just staring at the strange, rather large, craft that had appeared.
"This is pretty. Maybe after we finish up with my parents we could come back here?"
Timon looked around and shrugged. It was pretty clear that Trice didn't have a clue where they were.
"This is in County Morris. I'm almost certain that if we tried to stay here to long the Count would have his Army after us. As it is I bet we have the local guardsmen out to visit inside the hour."
"Oh. Well, we should leave before that then. I thought we were a little closer to the Capital."
He didn't go into the geography of the situation, but the fact was, most of the coastal region belonged to Morris. At least it did for now. Eventually Tiera was going to kill the man and take it. She almost had to really. It was a very messed up situation, but the man had made the mistake of pushing her. It set off a chain reaction that she wasn't just going to let go of, even if Tor had stripped her of anger like he had Timon of his freedom.
They didn't run off, holding their position until the four mounted guardsmen from the closest village started to ride up. They were about a half mile away when Trice got them back into the air. The rest of the journey didn't take long, only about fifteen minutes, and they landed, not at a nice and friendly market place, but at the Palace, after the ship was reduced in size considerably, to fit in the landing zone.
"Sorry about the change in plans." She didn't sound like she meant it at all.
"Leave the kitchen like it is, or you'll crush the food." He had some luggage too, but that would be alright, he figured. He'd been keeping his things packed up. Hopefully the new dishware and pots would be safe too. Something made a loud cracking sound from that direction as the spaces shifted. He looked at Trice, but she just gave him a slightly pained smile, as if to try and claim it wasn't her fault.
"Oops?"
Sighing he got out without goi
ng back to look at anything. If something was broken, they could replace it later. It turned out that they didn't have to go far to find the damage at least, since the decently large wooden chest that Baron Eager had given him, filled with coin, was partly open now, the leg of the central table inside of it, and surrounded by gold.
He just left it, but on the way out did something that he hadn't bothered with before, making the door vanish into the side of the thing. That got the Royal Guard on hand to glare at him, but Timon didn't let that bother him overly. He wasn't worried about them stealing anything, he just needed to make sure he kept to good habits. They'd understand, if he bothered to explain himself later. Which he doubted was going to come up.
"Names and intention." It was Kevin asking, one of the Royal Guards that Tim actually sort of knew. Not as well as George or Kara, but well enough that he had to get who he was. Except that he looked six years older than normal and could have been anyone short enough, who had the right magic on them. Instead of making a big deal out of the whole thing, they played along, answering correctly, and at least on Trice's part, trying to act as if it were just a friendly visit.
Because the King's Palace was where he personally went when he wanted a fun good time, wasn't it? Of course it might actually be true for his wife. She certainly wasn't a stranger to the place.
"I'd like to chat with my Uncle, if that's possible? It's decently important, but nothing that can't wait, if he's otherwise occupied." She looked at the guard as if he might be made of something good to eat. For all Timon could tell, that might even be the case, speaking on an adult level, rather than a food one. The man wasn't old, about twenty, and was in very good shape. His face wasn't startlingly good looking, but he had clear skin and eyes, and was symmetrical.
For his part, Kevin acted like he didn't know Patricia Morgan well at all. Strangely enough, he clapped Tim on the shoulder, like they were old friends, even after the questioning under Truth amulet.
"Timon, is the honeymoon going well? No problems or anything?" He actually seemed concerned, which was both nice and a bit strange. Except of course that the Royal Guards had that ceremony for him, which might well mean something to them. Just because the tradition wasn't his own, that didn't mean others wouldn't take it seriously.
"Pretty well, so far. No fights or anything. We actually spent some time in Soam already and are just here to visit a bit and then go to the Grand Market. Everything's been going alright here?" Really, he was just trying to be polite, but the man looked away to one side, then at Trice, almost as if he were about to share a secret.
To that end he leaned in and whispered, as if that were really going to help at all.
"The King has Princess Karina confined to her rooms. Normally that wouldn't be a huge issue. It happens, as a punishment for minor rule breaking, or to keep her safe. This time it seems different. There are guards on the door and Veren has been pulled from the duty and confined to his own quarters. The natural thought would be that they were caught having sex or something, but the King wouldn't do more than snicker at that. George would have Veren's hide, but the King? No, this is something more than that. It's a little unsettling. Veren isn't the brightest of us, but he's loyal. Honest too. People are wondering about plots now, which is hell on morale."
Kevin had always been chatty, so the amount of words used weren't a surprise. What he'd said was. After all, Princess Karina hadn't mentioned anything at the wedding, and that meant whatever had happened took place after that. Most likely. It was just possible that this was such a minor issue to everyone that it honestly just hadn't come up at all.
"Veren... I'm not sure that we've met." Timon watched Kevin very closely, but Trice started to speak, saying something that Kevin missed, since he spoke at the same time.
"Large fellow? Beat you pretty soundly the other day?"
"Ah! I do know him then. Well, always nice to put the face to a name. I'll see what I can find out."
"Thanks. I don't want you getting in trouble over this, but if you learn anything and it isn't secret?"
The man didn't leave his post, even when Trice took Timon's arm and pulled, forcefully enough to make him stumble. She had a large frown on her face, but her words weren't about the Princess.
"Why would he have beaten you? Was it a game of some kind? That guard didn't seem to think it was that sort of thing at all."
"Oh... Royal Guard coming of age ceremony. They take you out back and force you to fight. I didn't do well at all, so if anyone attacks us, you get to do the defending for now. Really, I think they were just trying to keep me occupied so I wouldn't get cold feet and run off on you. You should send them some muffins."
She glared at him, for about fifteen steps, then took his hand in a companionable fashion.
"That actually does sound like something they'd do, well it's good that you have friends. I was a little worried for a bit there, to tell the truth, since you haven't talked about any really."
Which was pretty close to true. Thinking about it for a while he finally had to admit that there weren't a lot of people all that close to him. Not in his own age range.
"Back in Two Bends it was hard for most of us kids to be very popular. Part of that was because we're all a bit different. We have a large family, for instance. Most people have two or three kids, but my mother just didn't stop for some reason. Then, well, the area isn't exactly rich, so we were set apart a bit because of that, even before Tor was a wizard. When it came out that we were nobles... Well, a lot of people that had been our friends just couldn't be anymore. Not because we didn't want them too, but because it was too hard for them. As if I wasn't the same boy they'd all known for years? It got even worse after the Fast Delivery Service started and my family was employing half the town. They all keep looking at us like we think we're too good for them. Even though the family didn't leave. No one notices that part overly."
It was a lot to say, and probably didn't mean much to her, but Trice gave his hand a little squeeze.
"I'd heard something about that before. From Tor and Tiera. Anyway, when we get in, let me do the talking." She didn't leave him any room to debate that, and made it sound like a command, which set his teeth on edge. Not that she had to beg his permission to be heard first, but she didn't have to be rude about it, did she?
Rather meanly, he shook his head.
"Sorry, I can't promise that. You'll have to take your chances that I'm secretly a moron that won't understand what your plans are." They kept walking as she cast a sideways glance at him, a smile on her lips, if not reaching her eyes all the way. "It's a pretty big risk. I do feel a sudden urge to strip and stand around in their hallway. It wouldn't be the first time either..."
She didn't question him on that one at least, since a sudden flare of acute embarrassment flowed through him then, causing him to blush. He managed to keep moving, and was pulled through the large wooden door into the throne room. Today only the one vast chair was set up, and the King wasn't in fine clothing at all, but sat there dressed like a military official in black canvas, which was what the two men with him wore as well. Counselor William Smythe and Count Peterson.
The wild looking Count stood from his own seat, which wasn't as grand as the King's but seemed to be more comfortable, actually having several cushions on a sturdy frame.
"Ah! Countier Baker, and his lady!" The giant smiled at least, and bowed, which was a pleasant enough thing, considering that everyone in the room technically outranked him. Even Trice, if only by polite convention and not in practical ability to get things done. Though, given her actual occupation that part was highly debatable too.
He bowed, but Trice actually moved in on the man and gave him a hug.
"Raul. Thank you so much for being there for us at the wedding. I know that you were against the idea at first. Maybe even now. We won't forget that you stood by us anyway."
The man cleared his throat, but didn't actually answer her at all. Smythe gave them both a small bow
and then moved in himself, first for a hug from Trice, then to clap Timon on the shoulder. It was a fatherly kind of thing to do, and seemed to indicate that he actually knew Patricia Morgan rather more than Timon had considered before. It made sense, being that they ran in the same circles, but the man was the head of the Kingdom's military and had been for years. Decades.
So about the same amount of time that Trice had been in and around the Palace, playing first, and later sitting in on sensitive meetings?
It almost made him wonder why she hadn't just married the Counselor. Sure, he was old and didn't hold a title, but that would just mean that in twenty to thirty years she could be free of him and marry where she wanted. It was possible that they were simply too related. That, or having been used to thinking of her as a child the man couldn't see her as anything else now. It probably wasn't that, since his next words sounded like he suspected something was up. He didn't even let the King speak, interrupting him in his own throne room.
"Sorry, King Richard. You were saying?" What the older man had started to say was that he wanted a full report. There was an odd edge to it and he looked away from Timon when he did it. That was his way of trying to exclude him from the situation. It was a thing that Timon had noticed before, from the man himself.
The King just sighed a bit and then chuckled.
"I take it that you're both having a good time on your vacation? Do you need anything that we can provide? Coin perhaps? I'm sure that we can manage something in that vein, at need." Red hair got pushed from his forehead, no crown in sight. It fell back almost immediately, which was a sign the man needed a haircut.
Trice waited for him to speak, then smiled after about ten seconds when he looked at her, trying to convey that she was supposed to do it, by her own request. She picked it up well enough.
"No, nothing like that is needed. My husband has actually managed to make thousands of golds already, while we relaxed. Building some wood working tools for Baron Eager. There's more to the story, but perhaps a more secluded area would be wise for that discussion?" The formality of it all practically poured off of her. It was enough to make him look around, half expecting to see people standing there, taking notes for their spy masters.