Strange Land (The Young Ancients Book 15)

by P. S. Power

  The question was a little close. Probing. Especially since the Princess had probably worked out that she was a spy already. After all, there was no other real reason for her to have been in and out of the Palace over the years. Unless she was servicing the King. That would be a bit rude of his daughter to ask about though, wouldn't it?

  Not so much for an old serving woman at the tavern, but still...

  Sara smiled.

  "Honestly? I haven't a clue. Your brother probably suggested it at some point and it was just left on the list? Though I have been making a lot of trips to Harmony, and taken some letters back and forth. That seems more likely really. I wouldn't think the Royal Guard would leave a name on the list by mistake." It was notoriously hard to get on the thing, after all. "Oh! I'll also be bringing Captain Gemma along. If that's allowed, I mean? Gemma Cannor?" That was the right name, Sara knew, but it never hurt to seem like you weren't up on everything perfectly. As long as you really were.

  "That should be fine. I'll set that all up and have one of the secretaries get back to you? Or do it myself. Things have been a little slow here lately. Do you think you could take me to Harmony later today? Gerent was going to, but he was called away for some reason."

  Sara looked at the Princess, and nodded. It wouldn't hurt after all, and would only take about an hour. She should get back there anyway...

  Gemma leaned in, so her face would be in the picture.

  "I can do it, if you'd like, Princess? I have my ship, and your sister, Princess Karina, taught me how to do jumps earlier. If I still have my room there, we can take trips all the time."

  The girl on the screen looked away suddenly, but then back with a small smile.

  "If it's safe? That would be very welcome, actually. I know that Father is most pleased to find that we'll have some space capable craft now. Thank you, Gemma. I'll go, and see who's available for scheduling. Are you at Debri house?"

  Sara shook her head then. "No, on my ship, just outside the port here. We were going to go and see about things in town. Ambassador Smithson is still sleeping. I should probably make sure he has breakfast and time for his prayers. Need anything from the market?" It was a bit playful of her to ask that, but the Princess actually nodded.

  "I do, actually. Can I give you a list? I'll repay you when you arrive..." It wasn't that much stuff, but it would probably come to a few gold by the time it was all collected. That meant getting some from her mother's house first. It wouldn't take too long though.

  The early part of the day went smoothly enough. The market had everything they needed, which was mainly some new and interesting things to take to Harmony for the Debri storefront there, and it wasn't hard to find what Veronica wanted either. The very interesting thing however was that Roget had come along.

  The man didn't buy much, just some sugared nuts from a vendor, but he did share them, as they walked along, and tried not to scowl the entire time.

  As they left the man actually managed to smile at her.

  "This is truly a wonder, I must be considering. What things you have here, collected all to one spot. Truly it is a blessing. Praise be the All High for delivering such to this land."

  Sara was about to say praised be, when a man in black, who was clean shaved and about forty, bowed to them from the side.

  "Yes. We should give thanks to the One. Are you a follower of the One God?"

  The man looked at Roget, who managed a credible bow back.

  "We call Him the All High, but if I have it correctly, it is the same. I'd heard that some in other lands held the faith, but I didn't think to meet any! This is a grand day indeed!"

  The men chattered back and forth for a bit, the other man seeming greatly pleased, especially after realizing that the shorter fellow was the Ambassador from Tellerand. The land of the One God itself.

  "We should speak, later, if you have time for such in your schedule? There is much to speak on, and consider." The man bowed again, and they made plans to meet, at a local religious house. It was the other man's personal residence, but easy enough to find.

  Sara didn't even have to coach them too much to set that up for the next day, rather than that evening, even if they both seemed oddly excited by the chance meeting. She could kind of see it though. For Roget it was, perhaps, a sign that not everyone in Noram was as wanton and evil as she was. For the other man a chance at advancement in the world. Just knowing an Ambassador could open a lot of doors for you. People that would never have known you existed would open their doors to meet with someone that a person like that suggested.

  They were contacted about noon, hours later than Princess Veronica had suggested, and not by a secretary, but by the Queen.

  "Sara? I'm so sorry for getting back to you so late. I know that it's a bother, but would you be available for luncheon here? We can set up an official greeting later this evening for Ambassador Smithson? It would be helpful to have your input into what would be expected for that. Also, if Squire Gemma is available for the earlier meeting? I know that you don't have a lot of staff..." The woman looked away, thinking, rather than trying to rub that in. After all, who had staff on a jump ship?

  No one at all.

  The real problem was that Queen Constance was more than smart enough to figure out that Roget would be left alone, if both of the others left. That meant she had a good idea of how many people were with them already. That meant the spies had been hard at work, collecting information. It was their job, so Sara simply nodded.

  "I believe we can handle that from this end. Ambassador Smithson, Roget, is a very pious man, and will need to go to his prayers soon, for the afternoon. After that, perhaps we can arrange a tour of the city?" She'd basically shown him the market already, but maybe he'd be interested in temples or meeting houses? The ones that held similar beliefs to his own, at any rate.

  The hard part there was that she had to pretend he wasn't standing right there, his face going hard at first, until she suggested he drop by the place of the one man he'd already met. That got him to nod. He didn't speak however, for some reason. Probably because it would be rude.

  If not for the same reason that someone in Noram would have thought it was. There it would be about interrupting. In Tellerand it would be due to all the other speakers being women. A man wasn't supposed to be involved in their affairs too much. That could lead to lust, or... Possibly seeing them as equals? Sara wasn't really certain she understood why, but it kind of seemed like what he was doing.

  It wasn't until they got back to the ship, walking, that she understood his real issue.

  "I... Do not think I am prepared to meet with your rulers. Not in an official manner and capacity. What if I say the wrong words, or fail to bow correctly? Eat with poor manners, or interject praise to the All High in an offensive fashion? You mentioned before that people here find it unpleasant to have religion spoken of in public?"

  That got the man a quick class on protocol, and reassurance from Gemma, who patted him on the shoulder, if very briefly. The man glared at her, but only a bit, then looked away and forced a smile.

  "Don't worry. You're the Ambassador. If you try to get things right, and mess up, no one will mention it. That could start a war. It's probably best not to try and convert the King and Queen, but simply saying 'praised be' won't hurt anyone's feelings. They know where you're from. I'll get Sara to mention this to the Queen though, so she knows to make things easy for you. That should fix most of it. When in doubt though, bow and don't say anything. It will look respectful."

  Then they spent half an hour going over how to bow. Sara had to scramble in order to find a horse drawn cab for him then, and instruct the driver properly for the trip. The man, who was nearly old, would have to act as guide. She paid in advance, but let him know who Roget was.

  "So, you understand? He's an important person. We'll need him back here by six to get ready for dinner at the Palace." She thought that the man might doubt her for a bit, Roget being so short and common lo
oking, but he turned and looked at the ship, and then nodded. It was nearly a bow, being deep enough his wide brimmed gray driver's hat nearly fell off.

  "It will be seen to, ma'am. He's safe with me."

  Sara doubted that there would really be much of a problem. The Capital wasn't the safest city in the Kingdom, but it wasn't that bad. If the worst happened, Roget still had on a shield that almost no one in two worlds could beat. People trying to pick his pockets or rob him would have a hard time of it, even if he were unarmed. Most wouldn't try. The people in danger were those that looked like mid-level merchants really. Rich enough to be worth the risk of robbing, not so wealthy that they'd have guards or special magics for protection.

  Roget was old enough, and small enough, that he looked like a wealthy commoner here. Not really someone worth targeting for that kind of thing. He also wasn't so good looking that anyone would stop him randomly for sex. That had happened to Sara a few times. Not that often, and never with anyone that wanted more from her than that, thankfully. It was a danger of the Capital, since so many nobles were located in the same place. Worse, her mother had to court such people, so even hinting at saying no thank you had to be done very carefully.

  She got the newly minted space captain to set her ship up, since it was currently on an amulet around the girl's neck, and made a point of closing the doors of her craft carefully, making them vanish into the tan sides of the thing. True, someone that knew what they were doing could make a door form and then simply run off with it, but that took a bit of focus, and most really didn't think that way. Magic was, for most applications, a thing that stayed the same. Very few even had access to clothing amulets in Noram. The vast majority of those people were wealthy, or noble. That meant they'd steal from someone that owned a ship like she had about the same time they wanted to stop living.

  Not that she'd kill over that kind of theft. Tiera just might though, and it was technically her vessel. She'd never said that specifically, but then she'd also never told Sara that it belonged to her either. So she had use of it, for now.

  For the first time in her entire life, Sara wondered if she, the daughter of a merchant, could actually make one of them herself. That was supposed to be really hard to do, she thought. Only the very best builders had ever managed it at all. She knew that they were grown, however, like plants. Somehow. Really, the person she needed to ask about that was Tor.

  It would give her an excuse to see him again.

  She felt her face warm, thinking about the last time they'd met. He'd held her hand, and been nice to her. Loving, when he didn't have to be. It was nearly like he actually liked her. Of course, doing that once could be a temporary thing. She really needed to check it all out, and make sure it was how he planned to be from then on. Smiling, she decided to go that evening and do it. Veronica had wanted to go, and really, even if Gemma piloted, she needed more than just one jump under supervision. Especially if she were going to be taking the royal family back and forth like that.

  That got her to nod though. As far as Sara knew Queen Constance had never been to Harmony. Tilting her head, she looked at the Squire and smiled.

  "If you can make your craft small enough, we should be able to take it through the streets? It will be faster than walking." Not that they didn't have other options. Still, the girl needed to practice, and no one above a certain rank used Tor-shoes in the city. It was considered a very juvenile thing, in polite circles.

  "Yes. I can do that. I think. I've never driven something like this in the streets before. Out of them either." She seemed nervous, which turned out to be a good thing.

  They didn't hit anyone, or anything, thankfully. It was close a few times though, since the girl tended to let the craft's speed pick up on the straights. It was really too dangerous though.

  "Try keeping it at about a horse's pace. People can, and will, just jump out at us." Almost as if she could see the future, a woman in a plain gray skirt stumbled, and nearly dropped her bundle of goods. That meant she wandered directly in front of them, as Gemma squeaked. Still, she did exactly the right thing and let go of the controls, which made the craft stop dead in place, instantly. There was no sense of motion to it, so Sara smiled.

  "See? Well, you have that one then. But slow and steady. I hate having to tell families about how I ran over their children." Not that most of the people doing that were young. It was actually the older crowd that had the most issues with it.

  It was like they didn't really see the things floating at them most of the time. They just hadn't ever had a chance to get used to things when they were young enough for it all to make an impression on them.

  Gemma nodded, but didn't seem to relax at all as they drove along. She didn't go fast after that though, so it seemed like she was picking things up pretty well.

  "Is this how fast I need to go when landing? On Harmony or docking with a ship?"

  Sara tilted her head back and forth.

  "Half this speed? Slower at first. You don't really know what you're going into, so it's always better to be careful when you can. The ships are pretty hard to hurt, but there are sometimes people in the docking areas, especially on Harmony, since they may be coming to help you unload. No one actually knows if a person would survive that, even with a good shield on. I figure there's no real need to try it. So, you get my meaning? Go so slow that people start wondering if walking would be faster. You'll make up for it on the jump, and even in orbit."

  It was her job to teach the girl these things, so she made a point of going over everything several times before they got to the front gate of the Palace. She was just covering how to use working material, which would probably tend to be dirt or water, given where the Squire was planning to work from, and how to turn it into food, air and water.

  The girl had those down though.

  "It was my job, on the Moon, during the emergency. I had ten thousand people on my ship, so... That, how to make bathing facilities, and handle waste. We just turned that all into stone, for working material? It's a bit gross, if you think about it, but makes good sense. If you ever go on long trips, I bet that's what everyone will have to do."

  Eat their own waste. It was pretty close to true, but they had good magics for it now, so it didn't really matter.

  Sara let her head list to one side, before answering. "Well, that's true enough, but we grow plants in dirt and have you ever seen how pigs are raised? It's pretty much what we do already. Just faster. I wouldn't dwell on it too much."

  Then she had to stop talking, since the gate guard moved in front of them, and held up a hand, to get Gemma to stop. When he came to the side the fellow, who was in his lovely purple and black uniform, which he filled out very nicely, smiled at them. At the driver at least.

  "Gemma! Learning to drive a Tam-car? This one looks pretty good. Does she have a new model out?" The man stroked the side of it a bit, which was a little familiar, given he was a guard, but also better than the scowls that Sara was used to getting herself. From the same man even.

  Kevin. He was cute, but she'd only seen him like this a few times, when Tor had come through the gate with her.

  Gemma winked at him, "Nope. This is a jump ship. A real one. I'm in training to be its captain. Noram is getting four of them, I hear. Two of those will take a while, since the slated Captains are too young for lessons yet. The Countiers Thomson? Queen Tiera is letting us use them, as long as we promise not to go to war using them."

  It was a lot of data to give a Royal Guard, but, Sara considered, that kind of thing might be why the man was smiling at the girl. Plus Gemma was cute. Not gorgeous, but she had a pleasant face and a decently fit body. There was probably more than one reason for these two to be friends.

  Just being around enough would probably do it.

  The man whistled softly, which was a thing that Sara had never heard a Royal Guard do at all. She hadn't even known they were allowed to. Then again, from the look on his face after it happened, they might not be. />
  "That's... Huge, Gemma. You can handle it though. Really, we should have had you doing something more than answering the communications devices here for a while. Training at least. Say, have you ever gotten in touch with your Knight? I've been a bit out of the loop for a while. Work, you know."

  The girl's smile got bigger then.

  "I did! I actually got to scold her, very subtly, for several days. You understand the way of it. I just stood there, reminding her of her failings with my presence? She got it though. I could tell." There was a more somber look then, and she actually glanced around, then leaned in to whisper. "She actually knelt and apologized to me, the second she saw me. It was embarrassing for both of us, but she promised to do better. Plus, I have this job now. I get real training too. The Harmony weapons master, Sir Kolbrin? He's teaching me weapons work. I have to go there pretty often for it, but I can now." She patted the front column of the ship, then held out her hand for the Truth amulet they were going to need to use.

  That got Kevin to laugh again, then hand it over making the girl turn a decently bright white and gold. The colors looked different to Sara now, but she could tell it was a real device. It just felt like it was seeking honesty.

  "You know the rules. So, tell me your secrets..."

  That actually got the girl to shake her head.

  "What? That I think you have a cute butt? I'm sort of willing to bet you already know that one. Still, I'm me, Squire Gemma, and everything I've said to you is true. Also, I'm loyal to King Richard and Noram." It was a bit firmer than most people were in stating their allegiance, Sara noticed.

  Without waiting for Kevin to tell her to do it, the girl gave the device to Sara. For the first time she actually felt the magical field tickling across her skin. Then her mind. It wasn't an instant thing at all, taking most of a second.

  "I'm Sara Debri. Ancient of the Martian Circle. Or at least that's the job I've been given. It doesn't exist yet, so, you know how that is. I'm..." She nearly said she was loyal to King Richard, but stopped, realizing that she probably couldn't work for him directly anymore. Not and hold the power she did. So after a second, she shrugged. "I consider King Richard a friend and would protect him and his whole family with my life if asked. I can't swear loyalty to him anymore I don't think. I still feel that way, but it isn't mine to promise anymore." The field didn't change, but saying it left her feeling a bit dirty, inside.