by P. S. Power
“I don't know Tor, I think a lot more people than you might expect would just run away in fear if you started towards them with intent. I've seen the new military plan for handling you if you get out of control and it's…” He just shook his head seriously.
“There's a military plan for that? What is it? Or… or is it a secret so I can't plan for it, I'd guess that would make sense, maybe I shouldn't know.”
Rolph shook his head and sighed, Tor recognized that a joke was coming, so steeled himself for it. The Prince wasn't normally cruel, but his jokes could be ill timed now and then.
“Tor… It's truly horrible. If you get out of control and are attacking them… their supposed to drop to their knees and grovel, the idea is that it would embarrass you so much you'd be rendered incapable of fighting anymore!” There was a chuckle in his voice, but Tor went still.
Totally still, thinking about different scenarios he'd experienced in the past. Rolph stopped smiling and gave him a look, one that asked silently if he was offended by what was said, Tor shook his head, not smiling at all.
“I… that would probably work. I mean as long as they weren't hurting anyone, what could I do? I might run away then, but I couldn't keep fighting, could I?” Tor threw his hands up playfully. It was just true after all.
It wasn't funny, but they both laughed and waves of affection came off his friend. Tor felt like a heel then. It wasn't something he could help, but now that he knew it, how Rolph felt, he had to stop being so mean to him. It… There was just nothing he could do. If he were a better person, or even just less backwoods in his thinking, he could just be Rolph's lover and that would fix it. His feelings were real enough for his big friend for that.
It just wasn't something he could manage, not for real. Even kissing Denno that one time was gross and he was as pretty as a girl. The whole situation sucked, and not in a way that anyone would like at all. Looking at his friend in front of him, hair red, but still short, a military cut, Tor decided to let go of the whole thing for now. Why worry overly about what he couldn't do anything productive about at the moment?
“Anyway Rolph, dinner at the palace tonight, we leave at eight, plan to stay over though. Burks and I got Denno, but I'll fill you and Ali in on the trip… I think she can know about it at least. It doesn't seem to be a secret or anything.”
Until then they'd just do school work, Tor decided. He badly needed to practice his violin, you didn't get better without work after all, and he needed it there. As it was it felt like he'd fail that class for sure. His instructor was a wonderful woman, older and gray, but she had a keen ear and always called the kids on lack of practice. In front of everyone. Tor focused himself, started a noise canceller for Rolph's safety and peace of mind and practiced until he felt his friend shake his arm. Blinking Tor realized that he'd dropped into a working trance while playing, which was decidedly odd. Really he hadn't even known that would be a possibility. The activity of doing something active, with his eyes open should have prevented it. He’d been deep too.
They collected Ali, a small magical trunk floating behind her, filled with… nothing much, Tor guessed, some brushes and make-up maybe? That reminded him to provide his people with the disguise amulets soon, especially the girls. It could be made to color their skin in place of cosmetics and would be a lot faster, at least once preset. Less time spent doing that meant more time to work and help others, right?
Right. Because that was exactly what the average person did with their free time.
They spent the trip with Tor explaining the whole situation, trying to leave out the part about him having to kiss Denno and then what the device had played while they escaped. It was just too embarrassing. That he was the only one in the whole world that would find it so didn't matter, his face and neck got hot just thinking about the shame. It had worked, but still…
“Gods! Tor, is that the King’s river already?” Rolph goggles, as Tor nodded.
“Yep. This new carriage is a little faster than the old kind.” That was an understatement of course, and came with a matter of fact and dry tone.
The trip in took just as long as usual, of course. It was silly and really wouldn't help anything at all, that ten minutes of slow decent into the palace grounds, but it was traditional now, so it had to be done. Well, at least the Royal Guard wasn't requiring that everyone be stripped to bare skin and all their secret parts be checked for devices and amulets. It had been suggested at one time, but the King put his foot down. It would simply take too long.
That was the actual rationale for not doing it too. Not preserving dignity or anything like that. Just that it would take too long to be worth the effort.
As it was they had to all be checked with truth devices to prove who they were and that they intended no harm. When it got to Ali the cream and yellow stripped aura of light that surrounded her turned black when she gave her name, causing the guards to draw weapons. Ali shrieked and looked scared, but Rolph just put his hand on her arm gently.
“It's all right. You have to give your real name, that's all. I know you don't use it, but I think that's what’s triggering the device right now.”
“Oh, right. Um, I'm Gretchen Alison Derring Baker. I go by Alissa or Ali now. I intend no harm to anyone.” That got a pure reading and the Royal Guards put the weapons away so smoothly it hardly felt like they moved at all.
In a way it was how both Burks and Denno did things too, that smooth and economical way of moving that didn't waste motion and gave them a still feeling most of the time. It was more pronounced in the Ancients, but now that he noticed it, it made sense. Watching the others he suddenly realized how much energy and time people wasted doing most things. Did it make you faster by cutting out wasted motion? It was something to think on.
Like he needed another thing to ponder. What he needed was to start making a list of things, so he didn't forget good ideas later.
Sighing, they all walked to the dining room, Rolph had changed into a splendid purple velvet outfit with gold highlights and what looked like thick cotton underneath, a winter time dress outfit for a Prince? It looked sharp and was mainly purple, which Tor liked, that being his favorite color and one of the Cordes house colors. Ali was wearing a big dress that looked fluffy and huge, cream and white satin and piles of lace. Rolph had commented on how pretty it was when he saw it and again as they walked down the hallway.
“Thank you Prince Alphonse,” Ali said, making the change of title and name come to her lips far more easily than Tor ever managed. She had a small, alluring smile on her face, flirtatious and a little coy. “So kind of you to notice. Petra Ward designed it for me. She's one of the best in the kingdom you know.”
Not for the first time Tor wondered if they were sleeping together. It made sense, maybe he should suggest it if they weren't? Rolph was great, Ali was splendid and given their shared culture making love would have been pretty normal for them, even if they hardly liked each other, since they both knew him so closely. It was hard to think like that, but Tor shrugged, no one noticing that he did.
The stupid royal rules made little to no sense to him at the best of times.
They didn't sit at the table at first, small meal or not. The dining room wasn't one of the big ones, but Denno was basically as important a visitor as they could have at the palace, so they'd pulled out the stops. All of them. Even common sense.
The room was filled with more kinds of magic than Tor had ever seen working in one place at one time, some of them his, but a lot of them were other peoples as well. It was almost like a museum display, as if to overwhelm Denno with what they could do. The room clicked and buzzed, lights flickered and blasted at times, different, all pleasant, emotions tickled across his skin, and music, ethereal and soft, chimed from the back of the room.
It was too much and looked silly to Tor, not very tasteful at all, but Denno kept walking from one device to the next looking amazed and baffled, finally he turned to Tor and threw his hands up.
Blinking Tor stopped for a second and tried to remember what he'd worked out about that, from the bits of science Burks had told him about as they trained and prepped for the mission a few weeks before.
“No it's not. That's the flaw in your thinking on it, you're missing one key part, so you think that it's impossible, even when you see it working. Magic is simply a complex organizational process on the quantum level, using a biological interface. What you're missing, I think, is that every object exists down to the smallest parts of reality.” It made sense to Tor, but the Brown man grimaced.
“I know that.” He said, as if Tor had just insulted him.
“Good, but remember, the human brain exists on that level too, and we can control our thoughts, which means that we can build partial structures of information on that level…”
Denno looked shaken for a second.
“But…” Then he stopped talking and walked away.
The man stopped asking him how magic worked at least.
Connie walked over and placed her hand on his arm gently to get Tor’s attention. It was a soft and gently thing, and she looked radiant, as always. Her hair had grown out a little, near collar length, and was still her normal red-brown color, it was hard to describe really, being as lovely as it was. On impulse Tor gave her a warm, but small hug. It wasn't enough to insult his wife, and the King wasn't in the room yet, being busy elsewhere for the time being, so it wasn't rubbing anything in his face. She looked at him in surprise, but took the opportunity to kiss him gently on the lips. Nothing to overt, but it got a grin from Ali who stood at his arm.
The Queen looked around the room and sighed.
“Burks suggested it. I'm mortified myself, but Mr. Brown does seem impressed. We'll shut it all off for dinner.” She looked at both of them and suddenly swooped in to give Ali a hug.
“Now, Tor dear, go away so I can chat with Alissa about you in private.”
Laughing Tor walked over to Rolph, wondering what they were really going to be talking about. He wasn't interesting enough for a conversation, he knew. His huge friend stood and watched Denno walking around with an amused expression. It was a little funny, even as the good looking man fought for control over his face. Someone had given him a clothing amulet Tor noticed, and let him set the style, a plain jumpsuit like everyone wore in Austra. The color was a simple brown and looked bland for the room, but Denno still didn't. The guy always looked good.
Rolph shook his head.
“A year ago I thought the Ancients were just a fairy tale told to children, immortal little men and women that helped guide us all in secret, like gnomes or something. Now I not only know they're real, but have met six of them.”
“Six?” Tor only counted three himself.
“You, your mother and sister Tiera, Lairdgren, Brown and Lara Gray. Six.”
“Ah. Well, I don't count. I'm still just Tor after all.” He tried to sound normal, but it came out humble and a little embarrassed. He wasn't Ancient at all, two months younger than Rolph even.
“Court Jester!” Came a familiar voice from his right, near the door, Ambassador Mutta from Afrak. His great niece and cousin. Tor stopped himself from wincing but it took work. His family tree was so convoluted it hurt his brain to think about.
Tor and Rolph both spun, smiling. The vision that walked smoothly towards them was incredible. Dark skin that was so brown she nearly looked blue, ice blue eyes and brilliant bird like red hair that stuck up several inches and fanned out just a bit all over. She was wearing a proper court dress, a deep almost purple red, which was both lovely and a subtle blending of her hairs color and the royal purple of Cordes. There was lace on it and she looked stunning enough that everyone had turned to stare, even Denno.
Mutta may have called his name, but her eyes were only for one person, Rolph, who stepped forward and bowed low to her, while she fumbled at a curtsy laughing.
“My lord,” she said through the chuckles.
“Princess Abbie.” The Prince returned.
Mutta was trying to wrangle a marriage with Rolph, which, as big a surprise as it seemed to Tor, was working. She really was approximately a Princess, though they didn't really have those in Afrak, as it had been explained to him, but she was the third person in line to rule. The first one was an Ancient, Tor's grandmother it turned out, so Abbie would never gain any more power there. Here she could be a Queen, but really, she just seemed to actually like the Prince. As a reason to get married, there were worse ones.
Tor gave her a familial hug.
“Great niece, how are things going?” She knew what he meant, even without his very direct and obvious look at Rolph, a gesture that made her smile.
“Very well. I'm here tonight for a reason.”
“A reason?” Tor said, smiling. “Sounds important.”
She just nodded and kept looking at Rolph.
Nothing was said except for small talk at dinner, a rule at the royal table, Tor looked for Karina, but she didn't attend at all, which was a little strange, since the rest of the royal family was there. After the meal was over she walked in, wearing a plain black outfit that didn't highlight her athletic figure at all, her hair straight, short and black now, instead of the near red he'd last seen and had look on her face that seemed dark and sullen. Tor stared, but she didn't look back, and didn't even wave to Ali, who was one of her best friends. Tor reached out to her, trying to find out what was wrong, but she just moped and sat looking at the table, barely noticing the room. Waves of depression came off of her. Crap.
It was Tor’s fault.
Not that she was depressed, that was the situation, her friend Yardley had been murdered and the murder had gone free, back to a life of luxury and fun. That was beyond his control. But he'd left her. He was her friend and Tor had gone off to school and just left her to sit and stew in her own salty tears, not even bothering to visit, just because he was too “busy”. He hadn’t even contacted her on the communications device, which, he realized, wanting to kick himself, he could have done daily. All her friends had left at the same time too, Ali, Sara Debri and even Trice. That had happened because they all had to follow Tor for one reason or another. Double crap.
No one talked about it or looked at her overly, as if ignoring her obvious pain would make it better. Even Ali paid attention to the King as he announced something.
Prince Alphonse was to wed Princess Abumanintali Mutta. That was good, but not the most important thing at all. Tor made himself smile and so did Karina, so at least there was enough left inside her to try and fake being polite. The wedding was to take place in a year, which was quick for a royal… anything really. If there was no reason to hurry, they just didn't.
The King smiled and welcomed Abbie to the family, and she smiled back, gave a humble seated bow and thanked him. For her that was huge, given how little the Afrak thought of men in general. She was definitely trying her best. Then if she didn't, Tor would have to take her to Two Bends so that his mother could yell at her. The rest of the evening was subdued, going into more small talk. Denno stayed with the King most of the time, but flirted with Connie too when the chance came. Finally, working up his courage, Tor approached them all seriously.
“Your majesties? If I may have a word with you, in private?” Tor said so seriously and quietly they stiffed and stared at Denno Brown as if he was suddenly a threat. Denno just looked at him as if interested.
The King didn't smile at all, not even a polite grin, “Of course Tor, at once.”
They all went to a room through a hidden door in the back of the dining hall, the heavy thing nearly sound proof, Tor figured. Looking around he reached out to touch first Connie, then Rich on the arm to stop them a little over ten feet into the space, it wasn't a huge place, but had chairs. Tor didn't need a chair though, he wanted to not be heard instead. He openly hit a noise canceling sigil on one of his consoli
dated amulets and explained what he was doing to grim nods.
The King spoke first once it was done.
“Is there a threat?” He said, ready to spring into action.
Tor nodded, but held the hug mans arm to keep him from running off.
“Yes. It's Karina. She's… not in a good way. I want to take her back to school with me. We can add guards and put her in with the special school kids, but…” He readied for the fight to come, the arguments, all good ones, about the school not being safe enough, about their desire to protect Karina and hold her back in case something happened to Rolph. That logically meant keeping her in a different location.
The King sighed, stopped for a moment and then gave Connie a look.
“Alright. It's clear that she isn't getting any better here, it hurts to watch her suffer and I can't do anything to help. Maybe you, and her friends, can? It's cowardly of me to send her away, I just don't know what to do any more.”
Connie nodded, tears in her eyes, make-up running slightly.
“I've tried and tried, but nothing works. She's so angry about Daria Serge walking away like that. If this goes on I fear she'll run away to Austra to try and find her on her own.”
And kill her, Tor filled in mentally. No one doubted it, not for a second. It would be a bad plan for the kingdom at the moment, but who could blame her? Tor may not be able to bring himself to seek the girl’s death personally, but he wouldn't cry at her funeral either.
The whole conversation took about four minutes, then another two for Connie to fix her make-up with the help of a man that ran out of the wall, a panel that opened quietly, holding a brown lacquered case, who's hands moved to reapply things so fast that Tor nearly reacted as if he was trying to hit the Queen. Tor actually found a weapon in his hand and nearly tapped the activation sigil before the whole picture made sense to him. Connie had her eye closed and the man with the makeup was too busy to notice, but Richard saw and after Tor put the white piece of stone that looked almost like glass, eight sigils shining on it, back in the pocket on his right side, nodded somberly.