A Simple Darkness (The Young Ancients: Tiera)

by P. S. Power

  Count Lairdgren spoke quickly at least, correcting her without casting aspersions.

  "Denno is working with us on the Larval problem. There are other complications that may arise in the next decades that he was seeking to address with the buildup of such fighters. Ultimately it was a mistake, but I don't believe he's personally backing an attempted takeover at this time."

  The problem to come was something that Tiera actually knew about, but wasn't common knowledge, she didn't think. There were large groups of special craft coming from space. No one really knew what it meant, but the Ancients seemed to fear it. Except for Orange and Black. Those two just wanted to go and fight. Possibly even if the people coming were peaceful. Just for fun. It was the way they'd been created.

  Timon spoke then, his voice a little bland, as if the whole thing was boring to him.

  "No. I checked him out two days ago with a Truth amulet. He is hiding plans in regards to the Larval, which most likely means he doesn't think I need to know about it yet, but I grilled him for hours about any involvement in trying to take down King Richard. Other than a mild interest in a threesome with himself and the Queen he doesn't seem to have any thoughts on the matter particularly at all." Tim looked around the room, finally locking eyes with her for some reason, as if she were somehow important to this whole thing. "It's true, he might be able to get around the Truth device somehow. If so he can do it without stop under hours of questioning. Short of torture, I can't think of anything else I could have done to get information from him. I doubt that would work either."

  "Ah." There was a mild sound from Lairdgren then, and when she looked the man was nodding, almost as if to himself. "That's probably proof enough then. I don't think he's figured out a way around that yet. Even if he had, his most likely reaction would have been not to test it under such questioning, if he was going to. He would have demurred instead."

  That made sense to her at any rate. Brown was basically the King of Austra and as such didn't have to put up with some child from Noram pestering him. That he let it happen showed a lot of things. One of them was a bit odd, since it had to mean he particularly wanted Timon's goodwill, didn't it? She hadn't realized they were that close.

  The rest of the event was fairly bland, to tell the truth. Count Thomson asked for their aid in putting the coming rebellion down and asked for them to use all their resources to that end. That pretty much meant that she had to do it, since the man was family now. He wasn't even asking for himself, but for everyone. She smiled a bit, covering her mouth so that it wouldn't be too impolite. It got Count Peterson to look at her questioningly, and then lean in again, his large muscular shoulder bumping hers.

  "Is there a jest I'm not understanding?" He didn't seem amused by it, almost angry, as if she might be mocking the effort.

  She leaned toward him to whisper, which seemed to surprise him a little. She was supposed to have lean away, with the man looming over her, afraid of his might. She just wasn't though.

  "I'll throw in, of course, but the grand forces of a schoolgirl might not be all that important. I could throw my books at the enemy I guess." She let him see the twinkle in her eye, but the man's face looked at her as if she was stupid suddenly.

  "Oh? You listed off your personal gear to me earlier, and you think that's the best you could bring to the fight? Besides that, you're a Baker. I think that you might find yourself better able to aid us than just that, if you apply yourself to the task." There was so much seriousness in his words that she let the smile fall from her own lips.

  She didn't answer, but she couldn't fight, not really. Could she? Her one lesson didn't make her a warrior at all and while she had a bit of a temper, it wasn't combat rage. Still, if it made him feel better about the whole thing, she could try. Looking at him she gave a single nod and held her head high, as if his words held meaning for her. Maybe they would, when she had a chance to reflect on them?

  "True. I'll try to keep that in mind, sir."

  He chuckled a little, as if it were all a joke, but he let his hand touch her leg briefly. It was only a touch, not fondling under the table or anything.

  "Raul. If we're to be friends we should use our first names."

  "Tiera then." She made herself smile at him, realizing that he was being pretty proper about it, but was actually flirting with her. Gently, since his wife and her date were both right there. They both pretended not to notice it at least, which was nice of them. She just smiled at him and he took his hand away without making a big deal out of it.

  No one knew what else to do it seemed, other than set spies and make a list of people that might be working against them. Lairdgren did point out that simply not allowing themselves to be questioned under Truth verification didn't mean guilt, since a lot of nobles would have a problem with such things, and might not be actually working against anyone. For instance they could be behind Richard in fact and deed, but still not like the man personally.

  "Things do tend to happen over the years and decades and we should strive to not vilify people without cause. Understanding is important."

  After that the whole meeting was over, though Count Thomson asked that they all be prepared to be contacted over the coming days and weeks and that they all ready whatever forces they might bring to the fight. No one thought they were going to get out of it without battle, for some reason. They had in the last war, but this time it sounded like that wasn't a real option. It never was in civil disputes. People were too close to each other and there was no way to simply ignore a threat when it was lying in bed next to you, was there?

  She kept her mouth shut and made a point of touching Raul on the arm with three fingers, to get his attention before they left.

  "It was very nice to meet you." No one rolled their eyes at her, but Veronica moved in and gave her a warm hug, one that was a bit more than what a sister or friend would have gotten.

  The Princess smiled too, speaking while still holding her.

  "Come visit us soon? When you get time from school? We're at the Flight base, I don't know if you'll be able to find it easily..." There was a moment of thought then, her eyes slightly glazed.

  For her part Tiera just nodded.

  "I know it well enough. I've made deliveries there." It was just the truth, but Count Peterson looked surprised for some reason. Had he not realized that Tor's family had a delivery service?

  From behind her Timon broke in, touching her lightly on the back. It was possessive and after a few seconds she understood it, though she doubted anyone else there did, except perhaps Terlee. He was letting the man know that she was under his protection. Because he was her brother. It was a very Two Bends thing, but Tim would actually fight the giant in front of her if he thought the man was trying to do anything out of bounds. It never came up there, since everyone knew the rules, but this was a very different situation.

  Then again, the giant and rugged looking man smiled slightly and took a polite half step back. Then he bowed to Tim, which got returned, the hand never moving. It wasn't a big thing, but David smiled about it. So, whatever it meant, these people did understand it? Or at least that her brother meant something by it.

  Veronica moved in and touched Timon's arm gently, but didn't hug him. She dropped it almost immediately, since he stiffened a bit at the contact. Then he smiled and bowed to her too.

  "Sorry, issues still. It isn't about you at all."

  The Princess nodded, looking a little pensive, but smiled back and seemed to be working something out in her head.

  "Perhaps we should get together and work on that sometime soon? It has to be faced after all."

  Her brother shook his head.

  "No, thank you, Princess Veronica. I don't think the bloodlines will work for that. We should talk about that soon, but for the time being, I don't think you will want to be... involved that way with anyone from my family."

  It took a half second but the girl's eyes flew open and then her mouth did. "Do you mean... I..." She
stammered a bit more but nothing intelligent came out.

  After a second her little brother gave a single stern looking nod.

  "Nothing certain, but you might wish to stand back there, just for now. The rest of your family should be fine. Count Lairdgren should be able to check that for you."

  Tiera didn't really understand it all, but thought she got bits of it. Timon was saying that they were related somehow? Well, the girl looked right for that. They really could be sisters and Tor could have faked being her, if he grew taller and put on a dress. Her hair was different, brown and red, not black, but... she could kind of see it.

  Well, she'd make certain she didn't sleep with her then, until they knew for certain at least.

  Same sex relationships weren't a Two Bends thing overly, but her mother had flat out told her to make certain she slept with girls too. She also explained that her brothers would probably not be able to do the same with men, given their conditioning. It just wouldn't matter as much for her.

  Then, a little surprisingly, Count Lairdgren came for her, along with Thomson and Alice Orange.

  The Count didn't try to hug her, and also didn't bother to bow, but he did smile, which reminded her so much of Tor she nearly cried for a second.

  "We need you to run courier duty for us. You have a Fast Transport and won't be missed if you leave at night. Just make certain to attend all of your classes. We have Kyle Hardgrove in with us and he can be trusted fully. He may need your services. If he comes to you, do what he says." He paused for a beat, but then carried on without letting her form any questions. "I asked Timon to do it and he told me no, quite firmly. You can, of course, do the same. It won't be easy, or safe."

  Tiera looked at him and then moved in to hug Orange, since they hadn't spoken in months. There were priorities to things like this after all and family greetings came first.

  "So good to see you, Aunt Alice." She was trying for polite, but the woman picked her up and swung her back and forth a bit, as if actually happy to see her.

  "Hey there, little hellion! I didn't know if these people would be intelligent enough to see your value, but I'm glad to see they're exceeding my expectations. So, are you doing this or not? I don't know if we should trust Green here, but if it's a game I'm certain it's a harmless one."

  That was part of her way, Tiera knew. She had a strong distrust of attractive men. It wasn't that she thought they were all evil or anything, she just honestly believed they wanted to trick her. Normally into bed, but the woman was never angry about that, so it wasn't a huge problem. It did mean that she seemed suspicious at times when it wasn't needed. The lady herself had explained it to Tiera once, so it wasn't like she wasn't aware that it could happen, she just couldn't help it.

  After being set back on her feet Tiera nodded.

  "I'm in. I have a watcher though. Karen Derring? I doubt I can sneak away without her knowing about it. Not often." It was just the truth. She might be able to go to the restroom and not come back, a few times even, but if she did it too often the giantess would know to follow her. She didn't know that she was a prisoner really, but it did seem a bit like she wasn't going to be trusted for a while.

  Instead of debating the whole thing the man gestured for Karen, David and Sir Kolbrin to come over, which happened fairly quickly, as if they'd all been watching them anyway.

  He spoke without hesitation as if they knew a lot more about the whole thing than had been discussed at all.

  "Tiera has agreed to be our messenger inside the kingdom. She still needs to be at classes during the day, but should be able to go without sleep for longer periods of time than a regular student might. Since we have her under guard, one of you should likely attend her when she goes on such missions for us. Is that something that can be made to happen?" He didn't order anything, but didn't seem to need to, the others just looking at each other for a few seconds, then agreeing.

  Sir Kolbrin bowed a tiny bit, his scarred face set.

  "Certainly. Or, if the need arises, we might be able to pass a few things along ourselves. Karen and I were given Fast Craft by Tor and David knows how to fly one. He can borrow mine if he needs?"

  The Count smiled and nodded then, as if it was a brilliant idea, but didn't let her off the hook.

  "Tiera will run lead on it. Don't let her slack off. I hear that she's been alienating some of our best potential assets already, which is fast work. Dean Hardgrove requested that she be removed from the school and the only reason she's still there is that her brother and one of the boys involved, Henry, requested that she not be." There was a blank look on his face, but he eyed her directly, as if this would be surprising to her for some reason. It was a little, since Henry would have had to ask for it before she'd apologized.

  It spoke of character, didn't it?

  Before she could explain anything, Karen did it for her.

  "True, a bit of a mess. She's apologized all around and cut all her hair off in penance though. That and some beatings should set her on the right path. We'll just invite those boys over to see it done, let her grovel a few more times and that should fix it. Really, it's your fault, so you should head over and do some bowing of your own." The woman blushed horribly, but didn't back away from her words, even as the others stared at her as if she were a monster. "After all, it was your responsibility to make certain she knew The Rules and she was trying to protect the young men from you, thinking that they might be harmed for their attentions. If what I've heard is correct, then that was a reasonable thing to think, wasn't it? Her village is like that, more or less. You didn't even sit her down for a talk to reassure her first though, did you?"

  Even as everyone else glared at Karen, including her own brother, Count Lairdgren bowed low, to Tiera.

  "I apologize for my part in this. I see that it was an error. I shall be around as soon as I may, to explain this to the young men in question and fix what I can of it." Then he bowed to Karen, nearly as low. "Thank you for your assistance and for correcting my mistake. Know that I will see to this." He didn't wait for her to bow back however, just standing, looking as if he hadn't been humbled at all.

  It was a little annoying, but Tiera got the idea, he wasn't humbled, since he just looked good for what he'd done. The Count wasn't going to be hated for what she'd screwed up, and seriously, as anyone would have really known, it wasn't his fault. He wasn't directly responsible for her, grandfather or not. She was the one that had to take the blame for her actions. It kind of meant that Karen had been doing something else, did it? She'd pushed the man on purpose, and he'd known it too. So he apologized and then acted like she was correct in doing it? Why?

  No one spoke of it after that and while David looked miserable about the whole thing, Sir Kolbrin had a small smile on his face.

  "So Baker, you should make a point of introducing yourself to everyone, if you're point on this mission. Take a place by the door so that no one can get past you too easily." There was a hint of command to the voice, but it was a good idea and she followed it, tugging her date along with her and bowing to the first person she met as they tried to leave.

  "Good evening. Tiera Baker, pleased to meet you."

  The man and his wife both looked puzzled, but bowed back at least.

  "Baron Rene Gala. This is my wife, Celesta." His gaze was searching, and she looked right back at him, trying to memorize the face. He had a nice silver and black mustache, and deep blue eyes. His hair, the stuff on his head, was a dark brown and he was tall, which was only to be expected, pushing seven feet or so. Not as big as some, but clearly a nobleman by birth. His clothing was nice, a blue and red suit, but not magical, she didn't think. That or Timon did his design creation, since it looked real.

  She smiled at them both and tried to remember the mix of silver and gold hair and the slight age lines around the eyes of his wife as well. Then she moved slightly so that they could get past her.

  The next half an hour was the same, at least twenty times, since some of
the people were alone or at least left separately. It would be hard to remember all the names, but the faces would stick. She could see them floating behind her eyes already, which meant she had them. It was a trick, but a useful one. She had a good memory for faces.

  The last ones out were the Thomsons, since they lived there. Terlee gave her a slightly strange look, but it wasn't about her being so pushy, she didn't think, since David got included in it almost instantly.

  "Is this your boyfriend?" The words were playful for Tamerlane, and Count Thomson had to turn away so that his smile wouldn't show. David bowed, smiling, his own eyes twinkling.

  "Our first date. My sister Karen introduced us." It was just the truth, but he smiled slyly as if he was suggesting there was a deeper connection.

  Tiera nearly scowled, but remembered what Karen had said and tried to play along, so that his feelings wouldn't be hurt.

  "I'm working on that. We really did just meet today, but he's been a true gentleman and a wonderful companion. It would be foolish of me to not pursue something like that, wouldn't it?"

  Oddly her sister smiled a little and touched David's arm slightly.

  "Yes. I hear good things about you, David. Both Tovey and my brother, Tor, have spoken very highly of you in the past." She took her hand back instantly, so it wasn't very flirty, but it was enough that David smiled at it and bowed again.

  Then, thankfully they were allowed to leave too. She had her own craft, but Timon and Petra stood outside, waiting for them along with Sir Kolbrin and Karen. After they piled in and started back toward the north, David turned on Karen and growled, a low and deadly sounding thing.

  "What the hell was that? Are you trying to make sure I'm next in line for the County or something?"

  His sister didn't even make a face or ask what it was he meant, she just answered her voice steady.

  "Not everyone is Father. I challenged the Count so that he'd know that I was going to protect Tiera, no matter what. Notice that he did the most graceful thing possible, without hesitation? He got what I meant. More, he said that he agreed. He's sending his granddaughter into potential danger, but he loves her well enough. I had to know where we stood that way. It would be too easy to think that he was Tor, and we can't assume that. They're not the same person." She stopped talking suddenly and Kolb cleared his throat.