The Porfian Princess: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 4

by L J Dalton Jr.

  The only reason that it succeeded here was our support and Baron Michael’s training.”

  “Yes, my brother-in-law does know those things, fortunately for us. It’s not something he’s fond of doing, which is also good. Although knowing him, he would have killed Duke Skelous himself if given a chance. Things like what Skelous did simply infuriate him. Well, it does me as well.”

  Mathias and Petor had a similar discussion. “Petor, we’ve got to get the little books that describe how you built that village so quickly into Duke Harlold and Prince Arken’s hands. The state of these villages is simply unacceptable. I’m sure that the two of them agree wholeheartedly.”

  “Do you think that the book is enough? Should I walk them through the process?”

  Mathias thought about it. “We’ll have to think about this. But I’m inclined to agree that you might need to do that. As much as I’d like you to get to work on some things in Sudlund immediately, this is a more pressing need. Let’s discuss it with our wives. They usually have good insights into things like this.”

  When they finally got to Koronus, they found that the Guard and Harlold’s men were very visible. They walked mixed patrols throughout the city, ensuring that the city was safe.

  When they got to the palace, they were greeted by Prince Arken, Elizabeth, Alla, Duke Harlold, and Noria. Noria was especially pleased to see her family. The wedding was getting close, and she was nervous. Alla’s mother and the other women in the harem had been filling in, but they knew that her own mothers would be much better at handling a nervous bride. They had Alla to deal with, and two nervous brides caused them to pray a lot for calm and wisdom.

  Pinar and Sheelia looked at each other. They’d heard the stories about nervous brides. Tina, Marta, Sheelia, and Pinar had decided that they would share the same quarters on the trip. That would give them some freedom. Pinar and Sheelia were hopeful that they could claim that they were too young to be involved in planning the wedding.

  Just like the girls, Brandt and his friends would share quarters. It made sense. Space would be tight in the palace, and they had work they needed to do. This gave them a place to sleep and also to meet and get their work done.

  As they were heading towards their quarters, Brandt grabbed Roddrick and Christiana. “Roddrick, Chris, I’m going to need your help with some things. I want my friends to be able to meet with the various merchants and have some support from the Duke and Uncle Arken. More importantly, we’ve been discussing it, and this wedding feels like a perfect place to try and eliminate either Harlold or Uncle Arken. I want Rolf to help with the security; he knows what he’s doing.”

  Before Roddrick could answer, Christiana spoke up. “Yes, we’ll make sure that your friends have the proper introductions. Your cousin will make sure that Mathias adds his voice to this as well.

  I hate to admit it. You and Rolf are right to be worried about this wedding is an excellent place to try and kill some important people. Look at what happened at our wedding. Roddrick and I would both be dead if Michael didn’t insist on some precautions. I agree Rolf has been trained by his father, Duke Marvon, and has gotten every bit of knowledge on this type of thing that Michael is willing to share. He might well see things that others here would miss.

  Tina was thrilled to see her parents and her older brother. They all hugged, and once they gotten settled in the apartment, they talked over what had happened. Amora started talking to her daughter. “Tina, I see you with that boy; what’s his name?”

  “Oh, you mean Rolf. Yes, he’s very nice and a pretty good dancer and an excellent kisser and other things.”

  At that, Harlold and his step-father tried mightily to keep straight faces. It wouldn’t do to laugh at Tina with her first real foray with boys.

  “That’s very nice. Those are all good qualities for a boy, especially at your age. What else can you tell me about him.”

  “He’s Prince Brandt’s friend. I’ve heard Prince Roddrick say that he’s part of the Prince’s advisors. Rolf has security. Prince Roddrick thinks that wherever Prince Brandt goes and the others in the group will follow.”

  Arturo questioned his daughter. “Security, isn’t he a bit young?”

  “I don’t know about that. His father is Major Steedman, who handles the security for all the big events. He and Duke Marvon handled the security at Prince Christiana’s wedding, where they were attacked. Rolf has been studying under them, and he’s learned a lot from Count Michael. Prince Roddrick and Princes Christiana think he’s very good.”

  Harlold then started asking his sisters some questions. “You say they are Prince Brandt’s advisors? Who are the other boys, and what do they do?”

  “James is Elizabeth’s cousin and a grandson of Doctor Jorgenson. He’s the science advisor. The other three all know about business. Delvin’s father is a successful trader. Starl’s father owns a couple of large dry goods stores in Nordia. And Gabor’s father has a factory and has worked with Count Michael on things.

  Prince Roddrick and Prince Mathias think that Prince Brandt has already assembled an excellent advisory council for when he has to go someplace and rule.”

  Amora stepped in to save everybody. “You’ll be staying with the other girls that came with you?”

  “Oh, yes. We’ve become good friends, and we have lots to talk about. Marta likes James, who is an excellent dancer.” She then went on to let them know a lot about the boys' and the girls' interactions. She did leave some of the details out. Not things to share with her brother and father. If her mother wanted to know, they’d talk later.”

  While Tina was going on, Harlold couldn’t miss the things that he’d need to do that it seemed that Prince Brandt already had underway. He would have to assemble such a group of close advisors he could trust.

  As they were going down to dinner, he ran into Dedessus. The two of them noticed Princess Christiana, Prince Roddrick, Prince Mathias, and his wife Anneette talking with Prince Arken, Elizabeth, and Alla. Dedessus realized this didn’t look like a family discussion, so he grabbed Harlold, and they went over.

  Prince Arken looked up. “Ah, just the people we need. My niece, her husband, and Prince Mathias were telling me about my nephew, Prince Brandt’s, job while he’s here. I think you should listen. Christina, could you please start over?”

  “Thank you, Uncle. My grandfather and father have sent my brother here with his young friends. This is their first foray into the adult world. He has three advisors who cover all the aspects of business. James, who is Baron Morton’s son, and Elizabeth’s cousin, covers science and engineering. Finally, there is Rolf, who is the son of Steedman. Steedman sets up our security with some help from Duke Marvon. Rolf is quite competent as well.”

  At that point, Harlold interrupted. “Security, Princess?”

  Arken leaped in. “Yes, Harlold, my sister's family has been attacked three times. First, the ambush by Bart. A second attempt at the Ducal Palace in Midport and finally an attempt at my niece's wedding. My young nephew has killed two of the attackers and probably three. I would not recommend getting in a sword fight with any of my nephew or his friends.”

  Roddrick added. “Count Michael has also taught them hand-to-hand combat and fighting with a knife. He has taught me as well, and I’ve had enough bruises to prove it.”

  Harlold nodded, and Dedessus took over. “That’s very interesting; what can we do for you, Princess Catrina?”

  “James will consult with Elizabeth and head home with a list of things that the duchy could use. That’s not an issue. We want the three young men who are here to scout business opportunities to be given a good introduction. Finally, I think you might want to consult young Rolf about security. If we could be attacked where we were in Nordia, then this is a bit riskier.”

  Mathias agreed. “I know at my wedding, Steedman and Duke Marvon set up the security. Then they had young Rolf draw up his plans. There were only minor differences between the two. And as Duke Marvon said, they c
ertainly weren’t wrong, just different.”

  Colonel Dedessus thought about that. “I’ll have to bring Petronas and Sobor in on that. But I think they’ll listen.”

  Arken then started to talk about the guests. “You know, niece, that King Menounos is due here in about a week. We’ll have a large reception. We’ll invite all the local businessmen who will be staying. Those are the ones whose families have intermarried with the Tantulusians. Plus, those we’ve tentatively identified as logical people to take over. These are mostly heirs. People who were barely my nephew's age when they fled the city. I’ll make sure that the appropriate introductions are made.”

  “Thank you, Uncle. That will make my brother very happy.”

  While the adults were talking, Tina had invited a couple of her friends from the village over. Their parents would hopefully be reclaiming the family businesses. She introduced them to the boys, having previously mentioned that Kelvin and Gabor hadn’t female companions. One of the girls had looked at James, and Marta smiled sweetly at her. Basically, it was female for ‘back off bitch. I saw him first. Mess with me, and I’ll scratch your eyes out.’

  Arken had let Brandt know about the reception for the King. He’d asked his Uncle for a list of who would be attending and some details about them. Arken gave him that list at dinner. After an appropriate dalliance with the young women, they went to their quarters and went over the list. They discussed who would be there and started to solidify what they wanted to talk about.

  The next morning after breakfast, they did their workout and, after toweling off, headed to the practice area in the palace for some swordsmanship practice. Prince Mathias and Petor joined them in this. They’d decided not to go through the rigors of their workout routine.

  The young girls assembled to watch the boys practice with swords. Prince Roddrick and Arken were watching them. Arken nudged Roddrick in the ribs. “Why don’t you go out there and mix it up with them?”

  “Mathias and Petor are barely holding their own. I’m not particularly enthused about getting slaughtered by my sixteen-year-old brother-in-law. At home, I work out with the swordmaster a couple of times a week. That’s all I really have time for. I do a modified exercise routine, not what they do. Wait until they have all the work to do and see how much time they have.”

  Christiana, Annette, Alla, Noria, and Elizabeth stopped by to watch for a couple of minutes. “By the Gods, you can almost smell the testosterone in this place.” Exclaimed Christiana. Then she looked over the girls watching the boys. “Well, the girls are watching them, which should be an extra incentive for them to show off. Marta still seems to be tied to James.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “I think she has my cousin firmly in her sights. She’s done the sums, and he’ll be about ready to find a wife when she’s looking for a husband. And by some miracle, she’ll be right there. He won’t have to look that far. They’ve already passed the ‘kissing test,’ as my mother says. And from what I hear from her sister, Marta is very pleased with the results. How James is responding, he’ll never say. But if she’s around, he’ll be there right at her side.”

  The young women all nodded. Yes, Marta was showing the kind of forethought that spoke well of her.

  Colonel Dedessus, Colonel Petronas, and Lieutenant Sorbor came by then and stopped to chat.

  Colonel Dedessus took over, introducing the men to Prince Roddrick. Then he asked. “I see they’re practicing with the sword today. Prince Mathias and Petor are out there. How are they doing?”

  Arken replied. “Managing to hold their own and not getting slaughtered by my nephew and his friends.”

  Sorbor nodded. “They look very proficient. I think my sergeants would be quite impressed with how good they are. I don’t know if I’ve got anyone who would do any better than Prince Mathias, and most would do much worse.”

  Roddrick replied. “If you think that’s something. You should see their morning exercise routine. One day this week, they’ll practice hand-to-hand and knife fighting. My brother-in-law, Count Michael, taught them. He’s been trained to kill an armed assailant while unarmed. They’re not at his level, but any brigand that runs into them, we probably won’t need to hang them.”

  Lieutenant Sorbor thought about it. Two days later, he brought some of his sergeants and officers to watch them. Afterward, he asked them what they thought. Sergeant Tabor replied. “Sir, our men would be puking their guts out before ten minutes was up. Then they do all that and come back and practice with the sword as they do. None of our lads would be able to touch them.

  You say that they worry about attacks. That seems right as that foul spawn Leonades had them attacked. Of course, that’s why we’ll get our country back. I can think of a few people who I’d like to be foolish enough to take them on. That would eliminate some problems.”

  “I’m afraid I agree with you, Sergeant. Do you think that there are things that we can do with our men? Just think about it, and we’ll discuss it at our next meeting. Let’s also hope that nobody in this city is stupid enough to attack a Prince of Nordia and his friends.”

  Exploring the City

  After their morning sparring session, the boys discussed exploring the city. They all thought it was a good idea. The girls were right there, and Tina’s two friends, Niki and Lorine, were familiar with the city. They all agreed that after lunch, they would go exploring.

  The group set out right after lunch. If Mike saw them, he’d think typical teenagers out for a walk with their girlfriends. There were some differences: no Daisy Dukes, tank tops, and bare midriffs for the girls. The guys didn’t have faded jeans or shorts, muscle shirts, or team jerseys. Instead, they all had swords and dirks. They also had derringers. At least one of the girls did as well, Marta. There wasn’t quite the attitude that US teenagers would have. That was a bit more muted on Cornu, and Brandt and his friends were trying to transition into adulthood. Both of those tamped it down. The girls were happy to be out with the boys.

  The first place they went was the shopping district where all the merchants had their stores or stalls. As they were walking, Kelvin observed that the place wasn’t nearly as clean as the northern cities.

  Niki, who was with Kelvin, explained. “Kelvin, it’s better than it was. Duke Harlold has been emphasizing cleanliness. It cuts down on disease. Under Duke Skelous, it was apparently much worse. When we first got back to the city, there was filth everywhere. At first, we thought it was because of us taking back the city. We found out that this was normal.

  In our village, Haven, we did keep it clean. Our houses weren’t the greatest, but that was by design. We didn’t want to stand out as being too different from the other villages. We were hiding from the Duke and his men.”

  They passed a public bath and commented on it. “As Niki said,” explained Tina, “my brother is trying to raise the standard of sanitation. He’s establishing public bathhouses and toilets all over the city. This is one of the ones that’s been built so far. There’s only two now, but more are on the way.”

  As they ran into groups of people, they stopped to talk. Brandt introduced himself and his friends. They asked questions and were very polite. That impressed people. After the third stop to talk to people, Tina noticed that while Rolf was polite and listened, he seemed alert and was looking around. She asked him about it.

  “While my friend Prince Brandt is being Prince Charming, it’s my job to make sure that nobody is about to try and do something to him.”

  They came to a large dry goods store, and Marta wanted to go in. Niki and Lorine weren’t so sure. “They don’t like people like us.” Was Lorine’s reason for being hesitant.

  Everyone else convinced them to go in. Starl was very interested in the store and how they operated. His father ran a similar store in Nordport and one in Randport. He told Sheelia, who was with him, “My father tries to have all the merchandise marked as to how much it is. It makes it easier for the shopper and cuts down on haggling. Sales are faster and a
bit more honest.”

  Brandt, who was following with Pinar, said. “Yes, that’s why Michael likes to shop there.” Pinar gave him a quizzical look, and Brandt explained. “My brother-in-law, Count Michael, is from a country on the home world where they don’t do that much haggling and bargaining over prices in stores. Though he’s learning.”

  They were looking at a bin of scarves. Starl saw an employee and asked him. “Good day sir, my name is Starl, and this is Sheelia her mother is the Duchess of Sandford. My father owns a similar store to this in Nordport. I’m impressed with your merchandise. How much are these scarves?”

  The owner was nearby, and he came up. He looked at them, and they could all sense how unfriendly he was. “Starl, Nordport heh. Well, for most people, that depends on what they’ll pay and if we agree. For people like you, we don’t want your business. That cursed Prince Arken, may the gods take him, is going to take away my business. This is all because King Leonades supposedly attacked those scum that makes up the Nordian Royalty. Those sluts and their low-life children.”

  He said it loud enough that everyone in the store heard them and looked at them. Brandt’s friends started moving the girls into the middle of them and refrained from putting their hands on their swords yet. Prince Brandt moved up.

  “Let me introduce myself. I am Prince Brandt of Nordia. Prince Arken is my Uncle, and those ‘sluts’ as you call them, are my mothers. So far, in a few words, you have disparaged almost my entire family.”

  He stopped and let the words sink in. The owner's mouth dropped open. You could hear a pin drop in the store.

  Once he knew that he had their attention, Brandt continued. “Now in Porfia, such statements would earn you a slow, painful, and very public death. Your family would fare little better. You should thank the Gods that I’m not Porfian, or you would soon be dead.”