by P. S. Power
"No... You're both quite right. I apologize to you all, and you Torrance. I'll strive to not do this again without permission. It's simply that I thought my experience with war might be of some use this day. I did leave the actual fighting to Tor however. I don't want anyone to skip his well earned accolades. Back to my little cubby then."
There was no warning, but Tor was able to speak at least.
"Thanks, both of you. He's been doing this off and on all day. It's annoying. Before anyone asks that grandstanding speech earlier was all him."
Then, as if it were a shameful thing or something, everyone ignored it all and moved to other things. Tor tried to read everyone's field though and oddly enough, it wasn't that they were embarrassed for him at all. They were all scared.
Well, not all of them. Tiera wasn't at all and Timon just watched him, checking to make certain Cordes had really give control back. Terry... it was decently clear that he just wanted to go to bed.
Tor could feel that one himself.
After that he made his excuses and promised to be in touch, not staying to help goad Count Morris or anything like that. Tiera and Timon both did, but he was able to get Terry, Ali and Sara free. It was near eleven, but Terry had a place with the men from Two Bends in the house that had the Lairdgren Group and the others in it. They just had to get him back there, but it meant opening the shield. The Royal Guard was willing to, but actually suggested that he use his fast carriage for it, so they could lift the thing for the briefest possible time.
It was fast enough and only ten minutes later they all walked Terry to his room, which was next to one that was being shared by Sam and Guide, so they could look out for him if the need arose.
"Make sure you all get back in the morning, before Smythe realizes that conscripting you all is a brilliant idea for passing messages." Tor patted the boy on the shoulder, but he collected a hug from Ali and then, a bit awkwardly, one from Sara too. He was still young enough that he thought of girls as a little icky, but was too well trained to make a face over it.
"First thing in the morning. We all have work to do. Well, I have school. I'll probably be made to stand in the corner for missing the last hour today." He grinned about it though, since that wasn't really true. You had to be pretty bad before Jenny the school teacher in the little village would do that to you. Helping to feed people at the site of a battle probably wouldn't count as naughty. Not even if he'd walked out of class without asking permission.
They were headed back after that, and Tor was able to force himself to be awake enough that he didn't start falling asleep while he flew or anything. He was tired, but there had been a lot of times he'd done with less sleep. Sara gasped suddenly, and Ali turned in the passenger's seat to look at her.
"I didn't return that boys clothing amulet! What should I do, we're nearly at Lairdgren, aren't we?"
Tor shrugged.
"We'll be back tomorrow, and I don't think Sam will mind overly. He could make his own, he probably just didn't want to waste the time on it, since he has novel builds to create."
No one spoke for a few seconds but finally the voice came from behind him, sounding soft and a bit amazed.
"He mentioned trading magical flowers for it, but... I didn't get it. He made them, didn't he? He's a full builder already? He looks so young. I heard something, of course, but..."
Tor nodded, but didn't look back, using the now familiar lights of the school at night to navigate, slowing from a good ways away, so he wouldn't miss it. He'd gotten close on his first try, which wasn't horrible considering he couldn't see most of the landmarks. He could feel them though, he realized. It was a soft thing, but there.
"A lot of people here are now. That go to the school. Sam, Guide, Farlo, Mark, and Ali... I think that's most of them, at least the young ones. There are more. Oh!" He wanted to hit himself in the head with a brick, but had to focus on flying, so didn't bother. "Duh, you need to see about making a deal with Ali and possibly some of those others for sales on their items. Some of the things they've been making are incredible. Guide has a deal with Sorvee House, for his magical fires, but I don't know what else. Of course they're all at war right now, so that might not work too well, but making connections with them won't hurt at all. Red and her people too. Lyn Cooper? I think you met? She married Dorgal Sorvee, but we can stuff him in a closet while you two hammer out a deal." Tor nearly laughed at the idea, but Sara didn't make any noise at all. She seemed considering though, inside.
They landed in silence, so that he wouldn't hit the ground and leave a hole in the street in front of his and Ali's house. That would mean taking time to repair it himself, since he'd given all his coin away, which would take time he could use working on other projects. Who knew what might come up, after all? Stupid people, causing unneeded problems, most likely.
Why were they doing that anyway? To get more power? Who the heck wanted that?
Moronic people that didn't realize how good they had it already, that's who.
It took all the energy he could muster to get them all up the stairs and into the bedroom. Sara was willing enough, but Ali seemed reluctant for some reason, which didn't make a lot of sense at first.
"It's... I was wondering if I should leave you two alone? You might have things to talk about, or, that you want to do?" There was a weirdness to it, but when Tor felt her thoughts on the matter it was clear that she was saying what she meant, she simply didn't want to push Tor around.
He kissed her on the cheek.
"I'm pretty sure we're all just sleeping tonight. We will want to catch up and all that, but it will have to be tomorrow. If the evening went on any longer, I wouldn't have been able to fly home. War takes it out of you it seems." He shrugged and tried to smile. "Who knew? Of course I haven't even started to really process all the people I killed earlier. I... maybe I should be alone? I'm sure the crying and shaking won't make me look very good." For once it came out sounding almost charming, which was better than sickly or morose.
Sara hugged him, but included Ali after a moment and then, without words, they all headed to the bedroom and slept together, holding each other for warmth. Or comfort. He decided to go with that one at about three in the morning, as he lay there like a brick, wide awake. The ceiling was too dark to see, but he tried really hard anyway.
With a bit of meditation he managed to get some rest, if not real sleep, but even in that deep state, one thing kept coming back to him. It was a simple thought, but one that his deepest self suddenly felt certain of. He rose with the sun, leaving the others to rest, since they both actually managed it and cleaned up quietly in the next room. Neither stirred as he changed for the day. The silk sheets were tussled and twisted around Sara artfully, leaving Ali with the top blanket. They were a bit away from each other, and both wearing different types of bed clothing, both magical.
He realized something then. It was a thing that he'd wondered about for a long time, if it would ever happen. Tor actually loved them. Both of them. Ali and Sara. It hit him then, harder than it had a right to, since he'd loved them both for a long time, but he just now noticed it. The words were said to his wife of course and all that, but it had mainly been him trying to do the right thing.
It didn't matter maybe, since he would have pretended to it no matter what, but it was good to know it was true. Sara kind of surprised him, but not that much. She was great, and more than that, she loved him. It made it easier.
Then, instead of watching them sleep like some kind of monster in an old tale, Tor went down the stairs and started making breakfast. He began with some nut muffins, since no one else was awake yet, and they'd be good for most of a day. There were eggs too, and some dried fruit. It was hardly what they'd have gotten in the King's Palace, but it smelled pretty good. Enough so that just as he cracked the second egg, two pretty women walked into the room, dressed and ready for the day.
"Hmmm, food. My favorite." Sara said it with a happy tone, not really teasing him about not
having servants to see to things, even if she would have at home.
"Nut muffins, butter, and in a few minutes, fresh eggs. Over hard?"
"You remember how I like my eggs?" She looked far too happy about that.
"Of course I do. Ali? You'd like scrambled?" He liked his yolks runny, if they were having toast, but scramble worked if he was eating it with something as soft a muffin.
There was a nod in reply, as his wife tucked a small chunk of one of the muffins in her mouth, seemed to be considering something and then smiled.
"This is really good. We should open a bakery. You know, now that we're poor." If the idea hurt her feelings at all it didn't show.
Sara followed suit and waved her right hand, showing that she wanted to talk, but only after the food was out of her mouth. She was polite that way and always had been.
"Ah. Well. It's an idea. Not that anyone that owns as much land, and as many businesses as you two do can ever actually be poor. I know I'd pay for these. What's the plan for the day, back to the Capital?"
That was likely, but in the afternoon. He'd promised to make a template for the larger houses and wanted to restart the build on the new and improved carriages. It would have to be a lot different than what he started, but now that he knew that, having his first steps be less than what would be needed seemed like a waste of time.
"At about two in the afternoon? I hate to run away, since we have a wonderful and lovely guest, but... You know, the magic won't make itself." That was simply the truth and Sara didn't make him feel bad about it either.
"Not an issue. Ali and I will simply go and window shop in town for a while, unless you have to work too Alyssa? If so I can... I don't know, visit the Headmaster of the school? It isn't like I don't know how to waste a day here, if it comes up. I've had some practice."
Ali was, as it turned out, free. So after they ate, Tor was able to set up in the front room, get a set of a hundred fresh focus stone tiles ready, which were all small and a light tan, and bundled them in a brick, wrapped in canvas, so he could move it around. Then he got ten larger pieces for the templates he wanted to make. The work itself wasn't hard at all, since it was basically copying for both things, adding only some tiny portions to make the fields different. He went very deep to get it all done, but he was finished hours earlier than he thought he would be, before noon even.
So, instead of wasting his time just sitting, he turned out a batch of two hundred clothing amulets. That way Sara could have one, as well as a hundred floating trunks. He should have made more, but he actually ran out of tiles and didn't feel like making more at the moment. Probably because he was lazy.
That was the kind of thought that he'd always had, but he realized for the first time that it wasn't true. Anything but. He still worked just as hard as ever and more than that, he wanted to, but with the Green Rhetistics gone he was able to see that he did his share. Before it had always felt like nothing could ever be enough, no matter what he did.
That meant that he had a gift for Sara when she got back.
"Nothing that useful for Ali though, but here... use them as you see fit, dear." The templates got a slight squeal of glee when she realized what they were for.
"Oh, this is great! I'll take them with us and we can give almost everyone one to work with. I'll keep this one." She pulled the top piece for herself, the stack even and flat, about as big around as a tall water glass. They were all rectangles though and only about half an inch thick. The sigil on the top was complex, but ultimately meaningless. The designs and patterns were just there, all glowing in a deep red, so that the people using the template would remember that it was one. The part of it that made the transfer easier to do was built in. This was it looked like it should be easy though and perception mattered.
Sara kissed him, on the lips and with a good bit of effort behind it, but Ali didn't get jealous. In fact she kissed him after that too and seemed not to mind him getting extra attention at all. If the positions were reversed and it was someone kissing her like that, he would have felt awkward, he was pretty sure. Even if it was against the rules.
"Hey, can we make one quick stop first? Just on campus?" Neither one had a problem with it, so, after picking up amulets and putting them all, including the new Fast Carriage build, into a floating case. One that he made to looked like black polished stone and sized to be about a foot wide, two long and one deep, with a top that latched close in the front. Then they left for the day, not even bothering to lock the door.
Where he ended up going was a little strange, since he had to find a very soft and ordered field, one that was currently in deep meditation. She was in her class room however, off day or not, sitting on her pillow near the front of the space. A few students were with her, three of them. That meant they were diligent. That or being punished for something, but he'd never heard of meditation used for that purpose at the school while he was there. Maybe it was so they could make up missed lessons?
The polite thing to do would have been waiting, but that could take a while, since Doris was a master of meditation. In every sense of the word too. Instead he just walked over and shook her shoulder for a few minutes, until she opened her eyes. Then he smiled and waved for her to follow him which she did with a very peaceful expression on her face. Her field was completely serene and not even annoyed that he was bothering her.
After he closed the door quietly and walked a few steps away, the women all following him he gave the meditation Instructor a half bow.
"Sorry to interrupt. I only need you for a few minutes and then I can let you get back to your day."
The older looking woman, with her white hair and wrinkles, who was taller than he was by nearly six inches, simply waited, her face pleasant, considering he was being kind of a jerk really.
"Did you genetically alter me and the rest of my family, the Queen and Princess Veronica and possibly others?" It was horribly rude, and probably shocking, but the woman was so good at her job that Tor knew there wouldn't be a lot of internal reaction to what he said. He focused as hard as he could and still keep his eyes open, going so blank he nearly lost track of what he was doing.
Then she spoke, causing almost no reaction inside herself at all.
"I did."
Internally there was so little reaction that she could have been flat out lying to him, and he wouldn't have been able to tell that she was doing it. She could, he realized, beat a Truth amulet too then. So he'd have to make sure she wasn't on the invite list to the King's Palace for anything. Especially since she'd probably leave with someone being pregnant and...
"Wait, are you working with the Larval? They gave Count Ward a powder to defeat most forms of birth control and now Varley's daughter is like us. Immortal I mean. Not annoying and pushy."
Doris smiled at that at least, and it wasn't dreamy looking at all. It would have been if it were him in that deep of a state.
"Not the Larval. I've been attempting to create a new ruler for Noram for several hundred years. This land is badly broken. It isn't the fault of anyone living. Cordes did it, but his division of people into two classes hasn't worked at all. Perhaps it would have, if a strong hand had been there to guide it for all this time, but Green has failed at it." She stopped and Tor figured he was expected to ask another question, since talking a lot wasn't exactly her normal way, but she kept going before he could formulate anything. "He was the King of Noram for a while. It was too hard for him to do that however, his nature wouldn't allow it. After about twenty years he took some of the Cordes Heirs and set them on the throne instead and has managed them to do his will. Over time the noble class has become too powerful. I seek to change that."
It was, he realized, more than he'd ever heard her say at one time. Actually it was close to doubling everything she'd ever said to him, in less than a minute's.
He wasn't finished though.
"Did you ever stop to think that warning me about who I was related to might be helpful? I slept with b
oth the Queen and her daughters. I feel so dirty that..." There was no way to describe it to her, and he doubted that she'd care at all. Nothing changed within her at least.
She spoke anyway, almost as if she was just trying to mess with him. Showing off.
Being all masterful like that, Tor noted it but didn't let himself slip either.
"It didn't occur to me at all. I humbly beg your forgiveness. I can grovel on the ground if needed, but I do mean it. I honestly didn't think that you'd be exposed to them at all, and if you were it seemed unlikely that they'd take to you. It would be very possible that Constance would attract you of course, since her pheromone profile is such that most men would be interested in her. I added that so she'd have a good chance at attracting Richard. When it actually happened and they married, I was forced to step up my plans. Unfortunately I didn't act in time to alter the Heir or the older girl. The youngest won't have a child that inherits the throne, but that wasn't planned, just a happy coincidence. Immortal you say? Did you check her genetic pattern?" There was genuine curiosity to her words at least.
Tor shrugged.
"I had it done. I'm sure if you ask Green he'll be able to get you a copy of the report. I'm not happy with you Doris. Who gave you the right to play with people's lives like that. For that matter, how many have you done that to over the years, hundreds? Thousands?" He leaned in, but she was both taller than he was and so calm the move had no hope of intimidating her at all.
"Three hundred and eleven. Of that number, twenty-six are currently alive. I admit to breaking the treaty at least a hundred times, but of things you could use against me, only you and your family survive. The rest of my projects aren't immortal. Not that it would have helped poor Regina if she had been." Now she waited for a reaction, which came from Ali in the form of a gasp.
"She was genetically altered by you? Before she was born, or after?" She sounded like it made a difference to her, but Doris didn't seemed shocked about a Noram girl knowing that kind of thing, she just answered, refocusing on her to do it.