Knight of the Realm tya-3

by P. S. Power

  The man laughed again, and so did all the people that had gathered around. It would have been intimidating, except that half of them were still dancing. A woman that was only about four inches taller than he was danced over, following the beat of the drums from an instrumental band across the grass.

  “Look everyone! It's the Wizard Tor!” The woman bowed slightly and handed him a cup with something in it. At first he was going to refuse, not drinking alcohol himself, but it smelled like fruit punch. Digging out his poison detector to the laugh of the crowd, he waved it over the cup, nothing happened, so he took a sip. It was just juice, but tasted nothing like anything he'd ever had before. He asked what it was quietly, which got another laugh.

  “Ah! Right, Master Tor wouldn't know that, would he? It's pineapple mixed with the milk of a coconut. I have to say, you're really going all out for this aren't you? Even flying in like that! Truly an event worth remembering.” The woman said, putting her hands on his shoulders and dancing a bit, looking around Tor got what everyone else was doing, handed off his drink, and put his hands on her hips, then tried to copy it. People laughed again, but most started dancing.

  He didn't get it, not at all. If he told fifty people his name, no one would jump to him being, well, him. They'd just think he had a similar name to the guy that built stuff. Really it had happened to him over and over already in the Capital. These people had guessed without even being told anything and even knew that Tor was named Torrence Baker. There were less than a hundred people in the kingdom that knew that. Most of those related to him. He'd thought that was the case at least. These people seemed to know all about him.

  “Um, where exactly am I?” He asked, his voice carrying as the music suddenly stopped and people bowed all around him.

  “You're in Warden, Master Tor.” A female voice behind him said simply, not unkindly, but not chuckling at him either.

  When he turned he saw her, even taller than the last time, standing next to her eight foot plus tall Count. Maria Ward.

  “Oh.” He said brilliantly. “Of course I am.”

  Chapter three

  Tor just waited, not even bothering to try and fly off. Obviously if he flew directly to the stronghold of his worst enemies, there was a reason for it. Maybe they'd kill him and put him out of his, and their, misery? That seemed like a good enough reason, truth to tell. The woman that had been dancing with him giggled. Then she did a double and then a triple take at the scene.

  “Wait, you're the real Tor? Not just a boy in a costume? I…” She stepped back and bowed low. A lot of the people around her followed suit for a bit.

  Count Ward wasn't just a giant, but fantastic looking too. Dark skin, shining white teeth and ebony hair. Tor would have felt jealous if he wasn't too busy wondering who was going to try and attack him first. Maria smiled at him, ducking her head slightly for a second, a move that seemed almost shy, then she surprised the hell out of him, by bowing. The Count bowed too. Shrugging first, Tor returned the gesture with a grin. This was different. Well, if they wanted to pretend to politeness before lynching him or waiting for whatever poison they put in the juice to take effect, he could play along, right?

  Maria sank to her knees, trapping her skirt, a plain white cotton thing like most of the rest of the women had on, under her demurely. Hands on her thighs she bowed low. Very low. It didn't look comfortable at all. Her head actually touching the ground then rose to speak, just ever so slightly, not looking at him.

  “I didn't know if you would come. Honestly no one thought you would… Let me start by apologizing.” She bowed deeper still, and didn't rise or look up at him at all for a few moments, forehead to grass. The silence grew until even the whispers of the crowed breathing started to quiet.

  “I was cruel to you, who didn't deserve it. I took your heart felt gift and invitation as a spurning from someone else, and acted without grace. Then in my anger and later fear, I maligned your good name. This makes it sound so minor, but… I know it wasn't. I talked to Patricia Morgan about it often and learned things about you that I didn't know at the time…” She took a deep breath one that sound half like a sob. When she started speaking again it was obvious that she'd started crying.

  “How… how my words damaged you and made you think that you were worthless, even as you helped other people and saved lives. How even now you think that you aren't worthy of being loved… because… because of me.” If her crying was fake, she was a master of it, Tor realized. Real tears glistened on her cheeks and her breath caught realistically as she rose just slightly. Not perfectly, but like a person that was actually crying might.

  She kept talking after a moment, even though Tor couldn't think of anything else she could possibly add.

  “And then… In my rage over what happened with Ursala Thorgood, I… accidentally set something in motion, which led directly to your being poisoned. I didn't mean for that to happen! You have to believe me in this, all I intended was for you to be frightened, but my friends went overboard out of love for me. I take full responsibility and offer you…” She swallowed dramatically, it was well timed enough that even Tor could tell this part was an act.

  “My life.”

  The audience gasped.

  Tor waited. After about twenty seconds she looked up, her eyes still moist and looking far too lovely for someone that was supposed to be heartbroken over their horrible misdeeds. He had to respond though, so he nodded. She kept watching him, so after a few seconds he shrugged and stuck his tongue out at her. The Counts face clouded for a second, but Maria just looked down, then back up, smiling demurely.

  “Right, so you all know I don't kill people as a rule, so this little game is just to make you look good? Don't worry, I've already let go of the whole poisoning thing, at least as far as I go. But the others, the Thorgood's, Ursala's child, Karen Derring… I won't forgive those at all and I really don't think anyone else will either… It's not a good situation you know?” It was all she was getting from him. Those people were his friends, and there were others that had died, some he never met, servants and grandmothers, innocent people caught in the cross fire.

  “But, we didn't do that.” The Count said in his deep voice, deeper even than Tovey's. “Yes, we admit that the attacks on you were our fault. Wait-” He held a hand up to Maria who'd started to say the blame was hers alone. “No dear heart, I could see what was happening at the time and should have put a stop to it. It was clear that your hurt feelings towards Alphonse were an overreaction to very normal things and your treatment of Master Tor bordered on insane.” He smiled when Maria bristled a little.

  “What? It was, and you know it. So he stopped me and the Prince from fighting? Well good! I was being crude and deserved a thrashing and even if I'd won that particular altercation, what good would it have done me? Ursala was pregnant and I should have done more for her. Yes, she should have taken better steps to prevent it, but that was no excuse… Plus… and, well, I know you were feeling poorly after seeing the Prince, but taking it out on this man was wrong. I should have stood up for him with you more often.” The large man turned to Tor and bowed.

  “The attacks on you were my own fault, but I swear by my blood and breath that neither I nor my lady had any part in the attempts on anyone else's lives, nor did we intend lethal harm to you at any point.” He held the bow.

  Tor shrugged.

  “Well, you look a bit guilty. For instance, what's with the war against a whole kingdom if your innocent? Most people that are innocent say things like “hey, we didn't do it” not, “we declare war” kind of, well, a poor move if you really are innocent, don’t you think?”

  The Count straightened and sighed, then put out a hand to Maria, who took it but didn't rise. Instead she found Tor’s eyes and held them.

  “If I may rise sir?”

  “Um, sure? Why couldn't you?” Tor said, knowing it sounded a little dumb. Ah well. If the worst thing that happened today was him sounding stupid… Well, really, he r
eflected, a wave of bitterness passing through him, too late for that, wasn't it?

  Maria rose smoothly and gracefully. If not for their history it would have seemed lovely to him, he knew. Then he'd asked her out in the first place because she was cute. Probably too good looking for someone like him, since he was a bit of a troll he knew. Ah well. Thinking for a moment Tor shrugged, which felt helpless and more than a little dull witted. Then he sighed hugely, seeking his own dramatic effect.

  “Right, so if you really didn't do it, who did? And more to the point, can we prove it before the invasion force comes and takes out tens of thousands of innocent people? Do you two have any idea as to who it was?” It was a long shot, but maybe they'd have something to go on.

  Strangely they both nodded.

  “Laval.” Maria said shortly, through her teeth. “He wasn't normal at all. When we heard about the attack on the Queen’s day celebration we knew it had to be him, so we… Well, we'd been hosting him hadn't we? Everyone here suspected that he'd gone after you those times, but he was here when the big poisoning took place, so we knew it couldn't be him, right?” She gestured around and one or two people in the crowd nodded.

  One man stepped forward from behind a table with food and drink on it off to the side, slightly closer to the band then they stood.

  “It's true my lord, I mean Master Tor sir. He was at the Postern celebration here in this very section the whole night. Near on twenty people talked to him, danced and ate with him too, he was here.”

  The man was dressed like everyone else, but seemed older than most of the others, gray haired and slightly heavier. Not fat, just like he'd been well muscled when younger, and now had gone a little softer.

  Well, at least he hadn't turned into a stick like Tor had.

  “But,” The Count said quietly. “That's why we declared war. We knew that we couldn't prove any of that and when we heard of the attackers on Queen’s day, we knew that they'd run a line directly to our door, so we took a firm stand first. It was my idea. I should have just gone to the King and thrown myself on his mercy instead. Better my head than the blood of my people on my hands.” His head drooped and his expression looked truly sad. Maria took his hand gently.

  “We… We've decided to turn ourselves in, which is why we invited you to come. We didn't know if it would be now of course, but people knew to expect you, we've placed pictures of you all over town. Only…” She pointed at his face. “We didn't know about the beard originally. It makes you look quite fierce and manly however. We had to color in all the pictures when we heard, it wasn't well done I have to say…”

  The woman he'd been dancing with touched his arm gently.

  “Please sir… don't let them be killed. They're good people. I know that things look bad for them, but I swear, they're both innocent of what's been said about them!”

  Then both the Count and his Countess, dressed in their white party outfits, with blue belts for the men and red for the women, mainly, knelt again, still holding hands. The Count lowered his head.

  “We are in your custody sir.” He said loudly enough that everyone could hear him in the whole square. A little slow on the uptake Tor finally got it. He was being loud so that no one would stop him from taking them? Or… Tor looked around and saw people watching, but no one taking action. So probably not a trap then? One by one they all started kneeling too.

  Right, like he could take anyone in? He wasn't a guard or even in the military. Or, for that matter, in good with the King right now even. If he ever had been.

  “Ah, well, might as well get up everyone. The first thing we need to do is call this stupid war off then. Sorry Count Ward, but out of everything that was the worst move made so far. And I say this as a guy you've both admitted nearly getting killed, so you know I'm not saying it lightly. We can fix that part though. I think. Is there somewhere we can work on it, without ruining everyone's party I mean? I guess I can run it back in the morning, if you want. Though things…” Well, to stop a war, Tor could suck up his own hard feelings, couldn't he? It had to be done, even if he felt like a moron doing it.

  After they got up the Wards led him back to their house, large, a palace nearly as big as what the King had, but open to the public, at least as far as the grounds went. Hard to tell in the dark. No wall around it at all. In fact, what he'd thought of as a park, turned out to be their garden.

  Only about one in ten of the people there were people that worked for them. Most were just people that came for the party, everyone was welcomed it seemed. Why they were doing this instead of getting ready for the invasion he didn't know, but he was careful not to ask either. If he was supposed to make peace somehow, then he couldn't allow himself to be used as a spy, even by accident. Noram had too many people well versed in intrigue for him to take chances or say the wrong thing.

  As they walked he told them about the events of the day to pass the time. They gasped in the appropriate places, as if he were telling a story to amuse or entertain them, instead of going over how badly things could suddenly go around him. He did not look forward to trying to deliver the letter the next day, but stopping a war was far more important than him looking good or even avoiding prison for beating up several hundred people. It sounded stupid when he said it out loud, but Maria put a hand on his shoulder.

  “That is so… I apologize once again Sir Torrence. I've done you more damage and harm than should be borne by anyone and you ready yourself to go off and make peace for us, who have done you no good turn ever? I…” She started crying again, which got the Count to comfort her with some awkward looking pats on the back. Too bad he couldn't have met this Maria first. She actually seemed halfway likable, if a little over the top with the fake dramatics. She was trying at least, and right now that counted for a lot with him.

  Tor assumed they were fake at least. He kind of had to. But as long as they weren't trying to play him for a fool and use him in their war somehow, he could live with that. He'd even put up with the crying. Really, Petra had told him several times that Maria was a bitch, and so had Collette Coltress, but she seemed all right so far. Maybe she was only normally mean to women? He'd met a few people like that at school. For instance Dorgal Sorvee was really only mean to the scholarship kids, and mainly that was only really Tor, come to think of it. He was polite enough to everyone else. Maybe it was something like that?

  When they got into the house, the luggage followed them, much to the fascination of the Count, he stared openly at the cases as if it were something amazing and not just a different form of the flying field. Just inside the door Tor hit the amulet under his shirt, which turned the follow along field off. Really it was just the signal that got turned off, but that wasn't a real point, the cases all had to be turned off one by one if he wanted them to set down. These were his new ones, so when activated they rose about eighteen inches into the air on their own and sank slowly when shut off. They landed one at a time with a little clunk on the pale wooden floor.

  Pointing, the Count, Martin, Tor knew from Petra, the man's youngest sibling, asked how much they cost.

  “The follow along lifts? Oh, no one is really making them yet, except me. Dorgal Sorvee has some he might part with soon, but, I just gave him a load of stuff today, I don't know what the price will be. I have a few extra sets though, if you want them? I have some other stuff too… Um, let's leave off on any military gear for a bit though, until we can at least get the war stopped, this one at least?”

  Maria looked at him hopefully.

  “So you believe us? That we didn't attack the Queen or poison all those people?” She sounded young and a little like she was playing him for effect. He got it, but that didn't mean they were guilty. Tor decided to just be honest.

  “Not really. There's a lot of evidence showing guilt, still, if you are innocent then we need to prove it and if you're guilty and trying to play me, well, if it stops a war, then play away. I know what’s coming here, I made most of it, and really, if you're not w
orking directly with the Austrans and don't have a large amount of super weapons laying around in secret… Well, I don't think your County will survive. I've tried to keep my contributions non-lethal, but with something like forty thousand people coming at you with class five shields, air chokes and the new force lances, they don't have to be turned off, like the ones I told you about earlier? Ten thousand or more people with Not-flyers coming over land, or even water, at eighty miles an hour and all of them out for blood… well, I'm not going to ask what you have, in case they try to force me to tell later, but it seems that stopping this peacefully is the best course by far. Even if it means we all end up dead ourselves.”

  Stiffly, Maria nodded, with tears in her eyes.

  Well what did they expect? They declared war! That simply did not look friendly. Tor tried to think of something that would seem more like a declaration of guilt to everyone in Noram and couldn't. If they'd said, “ha ha, we attacked you good” in a letter to the King it would only seem as guilty, not more. Tor had them sit down and write out the whole thing themselves, explaining everything, then sign it in front of him. He wrote a line saying that this was written by them in front of him personally, without duress, and had them initial it.

  Then he wrote his own letter and got them to sign that they read it as well. Neither of them liked what he said much, but both put their signatures to it. It was more than a little surly and pissy on his part, but as he mentioned to them, he was tired and already knew that he wasn't getting any sleep that night. He couldn't rest there after all. Maria seemed hurt when he said that, looking around as if he was saying their place wasn't good enough for him, that made him laugh out loud. Really laugh. He had to cover his mouth and tried to explain since she looked very put upon about the whole thing.

  “Oh, no, it's not that, I normally live in a single room focus stone shack with three other people, this place is great. Really at least as nice as the King’s palace itself in a lot of ways, which reminds me Martin…” He hadn't used the counts name before, he was older than Tor by at least twenty years, but he didn't blink at it now, so they were either friends or the man really just didn't care about titles that much.