by P. S. Power
He nodded then, understanding.
They’d both seen things, but only the girl was smart enough to remember anything of it. Dareg could now, but his cousin, while a good fellow, was probably just intelligent, not a genius. The younger boy was startlingly brilliant at a guess, and for all she was hiding it a bit, so was the Princess.
So he explained it all, as the parents both acted slightly scandalized to hear about it so openly.
“You need to know all of that, since the rest of the presents here are a bit different. Armor, and new shields. Those will get you away from the threat. Weapons as well, in case you can’t run. Right now, possibly even with training, you need to run first. That includes you, Count Thomson. At least until you learn to step sideways to time. That’s hard to do. I need to work on it more myself. On the good side, flying away seems to really work well so far. Running might as well, if you start doing it soon enough. Dumas, I know that it will be tempting for you to just jump in and fight, but wear the new shield for now? It will leave me feeling a bit better about things, knowing that you’re all safe.” Safer. There was nothing that would make anyone truly immune to harm. Not that he knew of.
Still he passed things out, making sure that each of them had a new shield, passing one to both Eva and Samantha, since it would let them fly, which he hadn’t even thought to build into them. That was an oversight, but not a huge problem. They could change shape and dress themselves in any way they wanted, which was enough to start with. At least he told himself that. It was incomplete, and in the future should be fixed.
Then they went in to the back of the place, along with the guards, since they needed to be outfitted as well, and worked with things until they all had them more or less down. The Royal Guards that were hidden in the back came out to watch, which got him to pass things to them as well.
“Hey… Sorry, I didn’t get your name?” He was near one of them, a man who was sturdy looking and had a very fit seeming aspect to him. More than was strictly human.
At some point he’d been genetically altered. He wasn’t an Adversary however, or at least didn’t have an implant, so it was probably something that a lot of the guards had.
“Kevin, Prince Dareg.”
“Dare, please. If I get you a box, can you take some of these back to the palace with you? For the King, Queen, Prince Alphonse, and of course the guards and servants, if possible?”
The man smiled then, and held out his right hand, as if expecting the box to be handed over, but the thing with him contained thousands of things. It meant he needed to make another box, but it wasn’t going to take him that long. They weren’t that hard now, having had a lot of practice doing it. The others waited for him to get that done, going off to talk amongst themselves. Seeming shocked when he showed up half an hour later, with two trunks, one of them being for Kevin.
“I included a few Samantha and Eva copies? Please ask Queen Constance to pass those out as needed?” He felt sort of bad, knowing that it meant they’d probably be abused. Not that anyone could really harm then, or force them to do anything. He nearly ordered them to refuse any advances, but they were both capable of it, and could have fun doing that kind of thing, so it really wasn’t up to him. They couldn’t get pregnant, or catch a disease of any kind. It was safe for them, though scary, in a way.
For him.
Kevin nodded hugely.
“I’ll make sure to mention that. Others are going to be getting these then? May I ask who? It may be important. In case of a war, or if we need to summon aid at some point.”
Dareg nodded then, and smiled.
“I was going to take these up to Lairdgren school and see if anyone there is interested? Then possibly go down to Baker, if I have time. The family stuff?” It was a bit rough, but he’d met people from those places. Both Counts and one Countess at least.
The other Royal watcher nodded at the words. She was older seeming, but was also hard, under her clothing.
“Good plan. How many of these can you make? Armor and shields first, if they can get the non-combatants out of the way. It’s a big project, if you’re giving things away. Then, you’re going to be a prince here… We can sell this as being part of a wedding present to Noram, from Harmony?”
It wasn’t a bad idea, so he nodded.
“Not a clue. I’ll see what I can manage as to numbers. I didn’t get your name, however?”
“Wensa. I’m a friend of your father’s. So is Kevin, come to that.”
“Oh? Interesting. I won’t hold that against you. He seems a nice enough person, I guess. Things are… Still a bit rocky there. I’ll do that though. Are you coming along to Jupiter?” He really didn’t know how that was supposed to work, but Kevin nodded, as Wensa shook her head.
She explained that part at least.
“We’re only allowed to bring four guards, and I didn’t win the lots for that one. A bit of a shame, to be honest. I don’t suppose you need someone else for your crew? Not if you can make people. You’re both amazing, by the way.” That was addressed at the girls, who both smiled at her.
Samantha answered however, her smile seeming charming, as well as familiar.
“Most individuals can make other people, I hear? It doesn’t sound that special.”
Dareg nodded at her and smiled himself.
“Yes. That. I could actually use someone to be in charge of the crew. I mean, I’m the Captain, but that leaves room for a First Mate? We have a load of school kids coming from Printer, Samantha and Eva, and myself, so far. Possibly some people from Harmony? It seems like it would be a good plan to me. If you can get the time. If so, meet me at Mars tomorrow morning? People will be coming in soon.”
The woman promised nothing, but they all left at about the same time. The ones going away at least. Oddly enough, Clemance stopped him at the door, and called out to him.
“Hey… Wait!” Then he ran off, not explaining, as a small magical vehicle appeared in the front of the big house, in purple and gold, which drove off instantly, without waiting to see what anyone else was doing. That got Allison out of there, and the guards, though the Count was standing in the front of the place with him.
When Clemance came back, he had a small satchel with him, and looked at his father, with a bit of a smile.
“I can go and deliver transport pods to Baker and Lairdgren this way. If that’s all right with you Prince Dareg?” It wasn’t really being said to him, being for the nobleman who was looking at his son like insanity had suddenly appeared.
“I don’t know. It’s getting dark soon. I suppose you’ll want to use your space ship?”
Dareg was a bit surprised, even though he knew the boy had one. Mainly because that hadn’t been his own plan, even though he had three of the things with him at the moment himself.
“We can use the flight component of our shields? It won’t take much longer, and I don’t know if Clemance has done that yet. We can go up into space, and drop from there over the targets. It’s faster than just flying. You might want to use the restroom first however. For that matter, would it be all right if I do that?” He didn’t have to go badly, but he would, in half an hour, if things weren’t taken care of.
The Count looked at him, and then his son, and sighed.
“All right, but I expect you to be safe. Use the pod to come back, and if you can’t do both places before dark, come back here anyway. You can always try again in the morning, after your lessons.”
Clemance tried to look serious, and mainly made it, though a fine line of giddiness leaked out of him. It was strong enough that Dareg was nearly certain that Count Thomson was picking up on it too. Then it was clear that the man wanted his boy to be safe and responsible, not to ruin all of his fun or to kill his spirit.
“I’ll do that father. I promise.”
Then, very carefully, they moved to the front gate, and Clemance started to rise a few inches into the air.
“We’ll have to fly to the north gate. By the port?
”
“Or… We could go through the pod, to the port, and leave from there directly? We really are going to run out of light, if we aren’t careful. Really, we should do Baker first, since it’s closer. Come on.” The trip was a bit choppy, but they didn’t have to really go into space to get to Baker, either. The trick there was that he didn’t know exactly where to go, once he was on the ground. Finally, hanging in the air above the city, a nervous seeming Clemance not too far away, he turned on his handheld, which was inside his tunic pocket. It took focus to find the right name, not seeing anything, but when the man spoke, he announced himself, right off, which was helpful.
“This is Count Baker… I… May I enquire as to whom I’m speaking too?
“Hello! This is Prince Dareg. I’m hanging in space above you, which is why there’s no image right now. I have some gifts to deliver, and Countier First Thomson wishes to know if you’d like one of the new transport pods set up? That… Will pretty much let you travel to anywhere that has one, instantly, whenever you want, so you should do it. We don’t know where to go however. I’m afraid I’ve never been to visit before.” Which was an oversight, given that he was, literally, in the man’s line of succession.
“Dareg! I’m currently at my main palace. It’s the large, walled compound in the center of the city? I can change the roof to be a nice blue color for you? No one else has that around here. Will that work? We’d love to have you come visit.” He sounded like it was meant, and even welcome, which was a better reception than it could have been.
Below them one of the buildings, a huge place by anyone’s standards, not only suddenly had a blue roof, but glowed enough for him to see it clearly, even from several miles up.
“Ah! There you are. We’ll be there directly.” That meant diving toward the Earth, and while it was terrifying for Clemance, he did it, and while he slowed much further from the ground than Dare had, it wasn’t badly done, considering it was his first time flying that way.
When they got down, inside the courtyard of what he hoped was the right place, his cousin leaned over toward him and whispered.
“I am so glad I used the restroom first. I thought you were making fun of me.”
“Nope. Not that I’m above such things, but not about that. I won’t even tease you about the fact that Allison was clearly there earlier to feel you out about marriage. Going through your mother first, so that’s pretty serious. You should say yes, and make things official as soon as possible. In case you missed it, she’s incredible. Plus, you both get a few years to be single first. How old are you anyway?”
He thought twelve was the answer but the boy smiled at him.
“Only thirteen. Well, in three weeks. I haven’t really thought about marriage before. Do you think she’s serious?”
He shrugged, and waved at the men that were coming to meet them. One of them was the Count, who had nicely dark skin, and a sunny smile. His face was a bit round, but he wasn’t fat or anything. Just well fed. The guards were mainly younger men, and there were four of them, surrounding their leader. Just in case he was coming to attack, or even more likely, in case the call had been fake and it wasn’t really them. There had been no picture, which had to be a sign that something was up.
There had been, but it was only what he’d told the man about.
“Count Baker! This is Countier Clemance Thomson. We should set up the pod outside the wall here, or a bit away. That way anyone can use it, without bothering you. I have other things, too. New shields, ones that will carry the wearer away from danger, as well as protect against most things. Armor that will stop anyone that can get through shields, weapons and some new family members? Samantha and Eva.”
The whole thing went very politely, and the man was kind about having new people dumped on him. It was clear that he didn’t get the point of having magical women around, though figured that they at least looked and sounded nice enough to bother with, regardless.
The man wanted them to stay for dinner, which wouldn’t be for several hours, since they lived on what was essentially Capital time. Dareg was starving, but if they wanted to get a pod set up at Lairdgren they needed to hurry. It still took better than an hour to show everyone how to use everything.
In the end though, he managed to get away, and into the transport pod again, to cut out an extra bit of travel time.
“Now, off to Lairdgren. We can go really high this time.”
Even better, he actually knew how to get there, for once. It was the town not too far away from the space training center. Which needed to have the transport system as well, he decided. It made sense to him anyway. Hopefully Alice Orange would feel the same way about the matter.
Chapter ten
The school that Count Lairdgren ran was tidy and efficient seeming. The buildings were older, and made of real stone in places, but parts of them had the sheen of focus stone on the outside, giving them a strange half modern appearance. At least as far as he could tell. The bustle of energy made the whole thing seem lively enough, and given how far west they were, there was still more than enough light to see by.
Landing in what he hoped was the central courtyard, a nice, very open space with several younger people walking across it, he felt a bit out of place. Watched, at the very least. Observed on a level that left him feeling strange and like he was about to be attacked. None of the individuals were either aliens, machine people, or Adversaries. There were no implants that he could find at any rate. He didn’t know where to set anything up, but his chest, floating behind him, got several people to smile at him, and one of them, a tall girl that was dressed in real student brown clothing walked over and waved at them.
“Hello! Are you new here? I could show you to the headmaster, if you want?” She seemed polite enough, and oddly helpful, so he nodded.
“That’s Count Lairdgren? I’m bringing some gifts for him. Um, Dareg Canton. Pleased to meet you. This is Clemance Thomson. He’s in charge of setting up the new transportation system. At the edge here seems about right. Out of the way, but inside the school itself?” He glanced first at Clem and then the new girl, who seemed to be about sixteen, if not older than that, and had lovely red hair that reminded him of Karina. That thought got him to nod to himself, but not mention that he needed to at least call her soon. That evening, if he could pull that off.
“Avri. Avril Stans. Baroneta. Not that I make a big thing of that. I’m in homemaking here. So you aren’t a new student?”
“Hmm. Nope? I’m starting in at Printer after Noram day. At least that was the plan as last I heard it. I would have started earlier, but things got in the way. You know how it is.” He didn’t really mean anything by that, but the girl nodded, knowingly.
“Coin can be scarce at times. Anyway, this way? I think that the Headmaster might still be in. It’s not that late. I was going to go into town, for dinner? Do you want to come with me?” She was clearly speaking directly to Dareg, but did glance at Clemance and smile, since he moved to the side, away from them, and set up what had to seem like a magical hut to her. She blinked at it and smiled.
“That’s… Different.”
He nodded, and smiled.
“Right. Here, come with us for a second? About three minutes, actually. It’s fun.” That could have sounded sinister, and he nearly offered her some candy as well, but she just smiled at him and nodded, then glanced at the younger boy, and shrugged.
“How old is he?”
Clemance sighed and shook his head a bit, understanding the hidden meaning there.
“Twelve.”
“You can watch?”
It was fairly bold and not what Dareg had in mind for her, so he winked at the tall redhead and then shook his head.
“You’d think, right? Invite a pretty woman into a tiny box like this… It would have to be for that. Not this time though. Here…” As they got inside, he tapped the star to close the thing, and then found the Capital, using the Thomson Residence pod, since his cousin neede
d to be getting back as soon as possible.
“Just so you don’t get scared or anything, we just moved to the transport pod near Clemance’s place. In the Capital.”
The door dropped on command, and the other boy sighed a bit.
“Which is my signal to leave? Fine. I know when I’m not wanted.” He was joking, which was interesting.
“Hey, give me one of the pods first? We should get set up at the space training center as well. I’ll ask Alice first, but I can’t see her saying no. If she needs more than that… I’ll go back to Mars and get them from there. We need to return Avril here. Plus, I still need to chat with Count Lairdgren. He wants me to go to his school, but I don’t think I’m going to be able to.” The man, and King Richard, wanted to use him as a spy against Queen Tiera, which wasn’t going to be happening.
He had a better reason now at least than the last time he’d met the man. That being the fact that Dareg was immortal now, and would be around for a long time. So would Tiera, which meant angering her wasn’t going to happen lightly.
Avri stepped all the way outside, and spun in place, and started laughing.
“I… Was not expecting this. I honestly was pretty impressed when you just had your own little magic hut, to tell the truth. This is the Capital? I’ve never been this far south. My family is from the far North? The cold lands? We need to get one of these up there. That would go over well. I have a younger sister I can sell you, if you want? Other than that I don’t have anything to trade, unless you want to get married? To me, I mean? Either one of you…” There was a bit of amazement, and a little bit of blaze teasing in her tone.
It was clear she didn’t think anything would come of her offering, but Dareg nodded, and winked at her again.
“I’m betrothed, but Clemance isn’t yet. Though Princess Allison has been around, asking after him. So if you want to get in line, I suggest doing it fast.”