Ambassador tya-4

by P. S. Power

  “Tor! Good to catch you, I was wondering if you could give me a ride to your event site? I could walk, but going through the streets right now, this time of day, is near a lost cause.” He bowed to Mutta gracefully his eyes taking in her form completely but without a hint of judgment.

  Then he said something in a flowing bit of language that Tor didn't track at all. Afrak probably. The woman's eyes went wide, but she didn't speak, instead she took both of them by the hand and moved to a long table that ran along a wall, only about a foot wide from front to back, made of a deep brown stained and finished wood. The work on it was light and elegant. A lot of stuff in the palace was though.

  The Ambassador pulled a small, flat, woven bag of bright colors from under her robe on the right and started setting up a baffling array of things on the table in front of them.

  Then she grabbed Tor’s right hand and stabbed him with a needle, drawing a large, bright red, drop of blood. That wasn't enough for whatever strange ritual she had in mind, so she pulled some hair from his head and used a flat, tiny metal blade to cut off some skin and mixed it in one little jar, then added a green liquid to the mix, put a ceramic cap on the whole thing and shook vigorously. The only good part about the indignity was that she did the same to Burks, who suffered it in silence too, just waiting for her to find whatever she was looking for or finish invoking whatever magic she needed.

  It took nearly five minutes of muttering and putting small strips of paper or possibly skin, in the liquid, then comparing them closely, but in the end she turned and bowed to them both, as if the ritual had made them special somehow?

  Gods and all, Tor hoped they weren't married now. That would be… disturbing. Burks talked to her in another burst of language, which made her mouth open and work at first, then she clapped again in glee.

  “You know, I can't understand a word either of you is saying, but if you want to keep talking, we could do it while going to my house? Mutta needs her rivers and I need to get to my daily running and then be beaten by giants for a while. Well, I don't need to be beaten, I haven't done anything wrong, but that's what's going to happen anyway, so I may as well accept it now.”

  The Ambassador looked like the cat with all the cream as she packed up and allowed Tor to take her by the hand gently in order to lead her out while she jabbered at his grandfather. Finally, as they got outside she saw one of the transports and stopped talking.

  “These fly? I heard… but they're so big! How much power does it take to keep them up? We don't fly in Afrak, well, some of our animal friends do, but the people stay on the ground.” Her voice was hesitant.

  Tor set up the carriage they were using, shifting the color to look official, which made the woman stop talking and start staring, unmoving. She finally touched it, pushed at the gold and cream colored carriage, the scroll work a little closer to the actual royal carriages this time, Tor thought, and after Burks showed her it was safe and had a top to it, even if invisible she climbed in, shaking.

  “Tor, could you make the top opaque? I think that might be easier for the first trip.” Burks held her hand now, his face serene. Taking the hint Tor tried for a similar look, but added a smile to it.

  The ride over was punctuated by gasps, but no crying out or begging to land, which showed a good bit of courage from the lady, since she was obviously terrified. He landed on the stage behind the performers, jugglers this time, who didn't miss a single beat as the carriage set down gently, or even when the incredibly exotic Ambassador stepped out.

  In fact people cheered and stomped their feet on seeing her, so one of the jugglers signaled for them to all stand in the middle of the flying torches for a bit, realizing that a bit of color can’t hurt no doubt. Tor wincing away from the fire obviously and comically, getting some hoots from the audience. He straightened and stuck his tongue out, fingers wiggling in his ears, then finally getting the field they were using just walked out of the star of fire being made without breaking the pattern. Burks followed him easily, but Mutta had to wait for the men and women to let her go, which they didn't want to do, because the crowd had more than tripled suddenly, with her there in the middle. She was just that exotic, and everyone had heard about her already. It was even fashionable to try and dye hair the same color as hers Tor had heard.

  Of course.

  Taking down the carriage was an event itself and caused a happy roar, as if they hadn't seen it before a dozen times. Well, right now almost anything would make the crowd happy. They'd come for that purpose and that always made things easier. Once inside Mutta took a good look at the place. Her head tilted and a smile curled on her lips.

  “Court Jester? This is your house? A castle nicer than that of the Queen? How is that?” Her gaze scrapped the walls, the lovely decorations that looked a good bit more tasteful than the palace did, if what Varley had told him was right. No gaudy displays of wealth, past the polished stone, wood, and silk on the walls. The big staircase in the middle was carpeted all in red now. It had been stone earlier, but Collette took joy in changing things around, since it was so simple here.

  “Oh, it's magic. Don't worry, it's not really here at all. It's like the carriage we came in, a little focus stone amulet. But if we turned it off right now all the things and people would end up in a jumbled pile on the ground, which would be a big mess, so you'll have to trust me on that one.”

  Burks bowed to Mutta and made his way out to the little magic house that had been set up earlier by someone for the school testing. It was directly in back of the large house so that the noise from the festival wouldn't disturb anyone trying to get a scholarship.

  Taking her hand again and walking slowly so her robes wouldn't trip her up, Tor led the Afrak woman up the stairs, the gaze of nearly twenty royals following them as they went. Well, she was certainly worth looking at, given her exotic coloration. The red hair alone, bright like a birds, not copper like Rolph's, but true red. Brighter than blood even. The dark skin looked like polished stone under the magic lights, dimmer in here than the sun outdoors.

  At his door, which had his name on it, he pounded and then waited for a few seconds before entering.

  “It's my room, in my house, but the last time I just walked in there were four nobles on my bed doing… stuff. Really, I think if I described it you may have to run away in shock. Then I'd have to find you again to deliver the rivers.” Tor mock shivered.

  “Giant hairy red butt.” He said, fake fear in his voice.

  It earned a big smile.

  Inside the room he went right to the rivers and earth moving rigs, explaining which was which and how to set them up, activate and control them by tapping different sigils. She nodded along, looking at the bed several times. Finally he got it, the restraints used on Ridley were still there, attached to the headboard and the bed was unmade. Ooops. And he'd told her it was his bedroom too. How embarrassing. She didn't say anything but did give him a faintly wild eyed look.

  Probably wondering if it was just polite to be tied up like that, and if there was any way to decline without being rude.

  He handed her the amulets that let the boxes, decorated as lovely wooden chests with brass work, in a golden colored wood, follow her. That made her stop in the door as they rose into the air and came along.

  “Are these… are they truly the desalination systems? I… Can we set one up? I know that it's an imposition, but…”

  But the idea of her “Court Jester” even having something like that wasn't something she could grasp, not really.

  Tor got the gist of what she meant. Well, why not? He wanted to learn Afrak anyway. He'd grab some of Kolb's people and… Karina, and make an outing of it the next day. The fighting instructors had set one up before, and it should take less than a day to make a loop. They could raise it somehow and use it as a decoration for the big party the following evening maybe? No one else would be expecting a decorative river, would they?

  He was later for his run than he liked and didn't find
Kolb until after he finished, nearly three hours after he should have. The huge bald man thought it the height of rudeness to make anyone wait, Tor knew, so he wasn't surprised when he held out his large hand for Tor’s shield, then set three of his largest men after him, making Tor start unarmed again. The fight was brutal until he managed to get one of the big blades from the men and started swatting at the weak points in the armor at their knees. It wasn't very effective really and they killed him after a while, then interspersed drinking water with going after each of the giants three on one as well, Tor with only a stick about his own height for that part. It was the very first time that Tor had ever worked with the combat giants, rather than just being their target.

  He tried to focus and cooperate with them, remembering what had worked on him in the past. It was a little strange, but no one seemed to think he sucked at it totally. He even made a single kill himself. The huge mean looking Baron. The other two men managed to pin him to the ground while Tor pantomimed hitting him in the head with his stick until, laughing more than a little, the Baron admitted that even his hard skull wouldn't have lasted through the beating.

  When Kolb came over he had Petra with him. Along with a serious look that was caught halfway between bland and giddy. Tor didn't trust it at all.

  “Petra, if you would?” Was all he said.

  Tor half expected her to start beating him, but instead she had an analysis of all their performances ready. All of them. It was excruciating in its detail, down to the times his feet had been slightly off position and when he dropped his blade tip while leaping back a few times. At first he felt bad about how he'd done, but he realized that everyone else was getting the same treatment.

  Right…

  This was part of how they got so good. Focusing Tor memorized what was said, then moved off to the side to try and practice it all.

  After a few minutes Petra came over and watched, calling out suggestions which he followed pretty well, at least she didn't scream at him for doing it all wrong. Finally she stopped him and handed back his shield.

  “Good. Keep that up and you may actually make a fighter some day.” Then she hugged him. It wasn't the typical “warrior's hug” being too soft and smooth, but it was nice.

  Looking down and feeling about five feet high, he blushed.

  “Petra? If you don't have anything to do later, would you like to spend the night with me? And Karina and her friend Ali?” He was going to spend the time with the Princess, but having Petra there would be fun too. She nodded.

  “I'd love too, just remember, Karina and I are related, distantly and we're both girls, but you know, doing anything too close would be… off putting.”

  Ah.

  That hadn't really been what he'd had in mind, but he nodded seriously. Who knew what they'd get up to? He got it set up without hesitating. The communications device was nice for that. He actually got to talk to Karina and make plans, which made her sound a lot happier. Ali got on and jabbered at him about her day, as if they didn't have all evening for that. She even told him about the baking parts. Tor smiled and listened, making appropriate noises until the King himself intervened, sending the girls off on an errand. It seemed the plan, instead of cosseting the girls was going to be keeping them busy and working for the time being.

  It made sense. It was avoiding the pain of the situation with Yardley, but they couldn't do anything about that. Sitting around and crying wouldn't make them any better either, keeping them busy would be no worse. That and making sure they weren't left alone at all. Not that Karina would kill herself, thank all things good in the world. No, but she might torture Lilli to death. Even without reading her field Tor could feel the ideas coming off of her. They were strong and starting to influence the world around her with their intensity. If the field for it got too powerful, she'd do it. That or someone else would. But that would be cheating Yardley's people of their own vengeance and Lillith Degray of justice. Everyone deserved that. Even an insane monster.

  What is it Davie had said? They could put her on trial first, find her guilty, and then kill her? It seemed a pretty good plan to Tor at the moment.

  Organizing everything took time and Tor was supposed to try and eat at the formal diner each night at his house if he could. People expected it apparently. Something about him being the host and all that.

  The service was a bit weak, compared to the palace, but they had more guests and fewer servants, all of whom were pulling out the stops to make the meals special and unique each night. The food was good, at least as good as the King’s table would be without Laura, the head cook that ran their kitchens before she died. Part of it was that the facilities at his house were simply better, and the kitchens bigger. The other part was all these people the Queen had sent them. If they weren't professionals he couldn't tell. They were flawless most of the time and the few small errors he noticed were fixed so fast it was like magic, even though they used skill for it. That and cleverness.

  The seating arrangements were a bit confusing, they had several full Counts and countesses each night, usually coming at the last minute, which meant that things had to be changed so that they were near Tor at the head of the table. Collette played hostess, so she was next to him the whole time, no matter what, but he had a lot of close friends that he wanted near him at table, but who ended up halfway down. Tonight he had Rolph to his right, as if Tor were the King or something, which made him smile, feeling more like he should have been working in the kitchens himself than up front. Across from the Prince sat Karina. The seating was boy-girl after that, so Burks sat next to her with Bonita on his left, as his date. She kept smiling and touching his arm which half filled Tor with panic.

  After all, he doubted many people in the world could compete with a good looking, fantastic looking, he admitted to himself, three thousand year old man in bed. But… if she liked him and he liked her back, well… Burks was a sitting Count and wouldn't die. That meant Bonita could be a Countess for the rest of her life if they married. It hurt a little thinking of it, but it would be best for her. Shouldn't he want that for his friend? Not liking it at all Tor decided to investigate the idea later. Even if it meant losing her for himself, he had to try, right?

  Ali was next to the Prince, and to her left was Count Ross and his wife, the sitting Countess. If they minded being sat next to a sixteen year old girl that had basically been a whore and a thief for the last several years, they didn't show it. Then, Rolph saved the day on that point rather gallantly, when Count Ross, clearly meaning no harm, asked after what Ali did.

  The Prince stepped in nodding.

  “She's currently Master Tor’s ward and personal assistant. In the next term she'll be attending Lairdgren school, one of the finest academies. She's to study domestic management I believe.”

  From across the table Burks nodded, it was his school after all, so for him to chime in wasn't only not rude, it was expected.

  “That's right. The arrangements were made today. One of the twenty slots left open for the Capital. The competition is fierce this year. We also have several promising building talents thanks to the new testing Tor devised and arranged. Special scholarships from the County Lairdgren Special Fund. That's what I like to call Tor's account with the kingdoms treasury.” The man smoothly held up his right hand and looked at the Countess Ross with a charming smile.

  “He volunteered the funds for that. His idea in fact. However Ali is going as Tor's ward. I believe he's has already petitioned the King and Queen to adopt her formally himself, which will make her a Counserina, what is it, twelfth?” The Count lied smoothly, as if it were a preplanned speech.

  Either incredible skill on his part, or it really was planned.

  Well, Tor wasn't planning to have sex with her, so why not? Besides it made Karina glow suddenly, the happiest look he'd seen on her face in weeks and Ali, Alissa he decided, if she was to be a noble, nearly clapped her hands, stopping just before she made a scene. He couldn't bring himself to di
sappoint her then, could he? He nodded to her.

  “Thirteenth. More specifically I plan the formal presentation on Thursday. Count Lairdgren offered as well by the way, but I won out in the end, since this will put her in line for Lairdgren. We all have great expectations for Alissa.” He didn't say any more, because there was a stirring at the far end of the hall. Nothing bad he saw, just some musicians coming in. They were strolling all over the city, paid for the task of making the whole place sound bright and cheery after all. These were the first to brave the “scary wizards house”, so that worked to their credit in Tor's mind.

  Like he was scary? Ridiculous.

  They played well, the tunes tripping from their fingers with clear long practice and skill greater than the vast majority the city had seen in the last few days. Really they were so good it was surprising they weren't playing in the palace.

  Then Tor got it.

  These weren't professional players at all. They were party crashers. He recognized two of them as they moved closer to his end of the table, Dorgal Sorvee, and his fellow bully, Marco. The others were all of the same look. Smug.

  Great. Just what he needed.

  More problems.

  Chapter eight

  That these guys had actual talent kind of amazed him.

  Dorgal had never seemed like more than an irritant, full of bluster, insults and vague intimidations, usually, but not always with Marko standing by to add bulk to the matter. Neither was huge, merchant class, not true royals, Tor reminded himself, his stomach lurching a little.

  They could mock him, but if they tried to hurt him now, he could fight back, or even call them names without worrying about being kicked out of school. It was his house after all. Besides, he outranked them both now. It didn't leave him feeling any better, but it was true, and he had friends here that would back him up if need be.