A Simple Darkness (The Young Ancients: Tiera)

by P. S. Power

  Pushing away she got her field going again and flew backward as hard as she could, to keep the others from doing the same to her. No one even tried, just hanging in the air, like they didn't know what to do. Of the ten people that had come into the square, only six of them were left. The one on the ground would be back, but for a few minutes she might get to have some fun, she realized.

  She went for them. It wasn't exactly her completely dominating them all, since they learned pretty fast and worked as a team but she did manage to force Havar to fly into Karen at half speed and took Judy down to the ground hard, which was rewarding. Then she closed with David, who was a lot better than the others were, making it harder to keep up with. She did manage to get Karen between them before taking off and not letting them catch her for the rest of the time. It was like playing chase as a child. It was always easier to dodge than recover from a missed grab. Being in the air magnified that.

  Then, without anyone being near her, she landed next to Sir Kolbrin when he waved to her, since she'd moved the game back toward the school already. She didn't have a clock, but the man didn't quibble over moments or claim that her landing a few seconds early counted as a loss. It wasn't that kind of game it seemed.

  In fact the man raised his eyebrows at the sky, not her at all.

  "Work up an assessment." He said the words as if she was supposed to know what that meant, but then he chuckled a little and explained. "Figure out where people made mistakes, add in how they can improve on what they did and make suggestions. Try not to be too rude about it. They did not do well. They know that part already."

  She thought about it and could see a few things that might be topical at least.

  When they got in, all ten of them, Tiera crossed her arms and glared. After all, she was the one that was in charge for the moment, right? That's what you did when you were the boss. Look intimidating and growl.

  "Alright. Sir Kolbrin asked for my input on this. I won't cover the most obvious things in depth, but from now on keep all your weapons and transportation on you, so you don't have to go running away if something comes up. I'm sure I don't have to mention that really?" She let her voice go dry, then smiled at the people that had forgotten their rigs. It was a quirky thing, sudden and cute enough that she got a few sheepish grins in response.

  Then she outlined a few other things, including some critiques of both her own application of Sir Kolbrin's new techniques as well as her own application of them.

  "The initial impact of shield against shield is a problem in the air. It feels different than on the ground and was harder to hold. I think we need to try wrapping the limbs more."

  The bald man blinked.

  "Demonstrate." He didn't bark the word, but he did hold out his arm for her to give an example. It didn't work exactly as she figured it might, but by crossing her own arms over his and holding it to her body at the same time he couldn't get away too easily. It didn't lead to a painful lock, but he nodded anyway.

  Then had her show it again, in the air. She ended up slamming herself into the ground three times, since they were only about ten feet up, but no one laughed at her, just watching closely.

  After that they broke up, with her wondering if she was going to be chewed out by anyone for being too big of a pain. After all, it was her second day, not second decade at the whole thing, what did she really know?

  Karen patted her on the back gently as they walked away.

  "Nice. Just the right amount of making yourself look bad to soften the blow, after you made sure we all looked like fools. No one will have a problem with that, I don't think. You've done that before, haven't you?" She sounded almost like she wanted her to say yes, but it was true enough, she really had. "Oh, sure, in Two Bends we have a game for the kids that's basically the same thing. Only... well, most of the kids there that want to be work for the delivery service, so..." How did she say that most of them were better at flying than these people were? They practiced a lot, but there was no way of saying it without seeming rude. "Anyway, we should get off to the Capital. Are you sure I wasn't too bad at the end there? I don't want anyone to get mad at me."

  That at least got her another pat, to reassure her.

  "For that? No. We might get mad at ourselves for messing up too much, but not at the instructor of the moment. Just, being new, don't give a report like that on anything but flying, and then only if Kolb asks you to. Or if I do, but I won't for a bit. A few weeks at least. We'll start with you going over your own errors, then mine. That way we can work on your delivery as well."

  They headed to the room first, since it was still a bit early, but they needed to wear something at least a little nicer than student browns if they wanted to get in touch with the right people. You didn't go visiting dressed like a workman after all. Not to the people they were going to see. The easy thing to do was to go with Timon's pilot's outfit. It was sharp, easy to move in and looked expensive without being too flashy. They weren't going to a party after all.

  So black velvet it was. She started to do her hair, then realized it was too short to even brush. On the good side it wasn't a problem to take care of.

  "I need a bath though. I had a full workout before the rest of you got there and I'm going to smell pretty ripe if I don't. I'll be quick." She grabbed her cleaning supplies, and her best towel, since it was dry, then headed off to the girls baths. They had a shower too, which had warm water, so she used that, trying to hurry, so that the whole thing wouldn't take all day. When she turned around in the open space, the walls wooden but with no cracks to let in cold air, she saw someone watching her.

  Regina. The girl was fully clothed, but just in a silk version of browns, which some of the wealthier kids wore. She was taller than Tiera, but had nice brown hair with plentiful curls and a cute face. Soft lips too. Remembering that made her blush a little, but she smiled to cover it.

  "Regina! There you are. I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to find you." The look on the other girl's face seemed horrified, and when she spoke her words had nothing to do with saying hello at all.

  "They cut your hair off? And then beat you bloody? I... I'm so sorry. I swear, I wasn't trying to make problems for you. I..." She bowed, then got to the damp floor, kneeling, tears coming to her eyes. "I... don't know what to say. I was wrong. It..." She shuddered then, and shook her head, then swallowed several times, almost like something was caught in her throat. "I knew that it was wrong, what I told you. I let you do it. I encouraged you to... so that I'd have you to myself. It wasn't right, but I should be the one beaten, not you. I'll... I'll go and tell those monsters that! I won't let them hurt you anymore, even if we have to run away."

  Tiera froze for a second, then helped her friend up. "Oh... I..." She nearly told her that girls didn't feel that way about other women, but stopped, remembering what Karen had said. "Well, there's no reason for us not to be friends then. I have to see other people too and so should you, but I suppose there are worse reasons for doing things like that. You might get an earful from Count Lairdgren though, since he's supposed to come and apologize to all the boys I hurt too. Karen Derring scolded him into it, since he's the Count."

  Regina stood and then bowed again. Then she moved in for a hug, which was both too damp and a little too naked for being in what was close to a public space for Tiera. It was just friendly though, for all that and she let go after a few seconds.

  "I'll go and make them leave you alone now. Who's in charge of the Weapons section anyway? This Derring woman?" There was a coldness to her tone, as if she really meant to do it, even before Tiera dried. She did that first, quickly and then dressed in the black velvet she was planning to wear for the day.

  "No, she's actually a family member of mine. My new main instructor, since they switched me over to the fighters section. One of the giants beating me yesterday? The one doing the best job of it."

  Her friend looked mean suddenly, a thing she did when she felt challenged by almost anything. It
was kind of cute, if you knew her and realized whatever happened probably wouldn't be all that bad.

  "I can't believe that, beating a Conserina like that! Who do they think they are?"

  Tiera let her eyebrows come up, working out what had actually happened. She'd figured that the girls hitting her had just been convenient and close to hand at the time, but there was probably more, wasn't there?

  "Other Conserinas. Did you know that Judith Kerry is a Conserina first? At least until her cousin Countess Printer has an heir." Tiera knew for a fact that her roommate didn't but the girl went wide eyed, suddenly scared again.

  "She is? I thought she was a scholarship girl, here due to her freakish size and ability to hit things."

  "That too, at a guess. Anyway, I think that part is over for now. The rest of the beatings will just be the ones that I earn for myself by not fighting well enough. It hurts, but so far I haven't been crippled or anything." She grinned. "I have to head out to the Capital to check with my brother. I don't know if you're busy, but maybe you'd like to come with us? Karen is going too. She's actually nice, when she's not beating you. She's Conserina first Derring, and a Knight. We could be meeting up with some interesting people, I guess. Or not. It's a trip if nothing else."

  The girl in front of her clapped a few times.

  "Oh yes! I've never been to the Capital. I don't have anything to wear..." She frowned then clearly about to back out. They walked from the showers then, just as Farlo Ross came in, smiling. She had to stop that to glare at Tiera, which got her to chuckle a little.

  "Farlo, there you are. We're headed to the Capital, to make some arrangements for Ali's party and see about schedules for the Council of Counts. Do you want to come?" It made the girl take a physical step back and glare at her again before speaking.

  "With you? I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been staring at you with an angry look for days now. Clearly I'm upset with you. Perhaps you missed that?" She waved at her face, which looked pretty mean and unpleasant, demonstrating what she meant.

  Tiera grinned again and touched her arm. After all, if she flirted with the girl, The Rules would kick in, right? Then if she wasn't at least polite, she'd be the one in the wrong.

  "I did see that, but we should be friends. I've made some mistakes, but I was hoping that you'd be willing to let me try to fix them? I understand if you don't want to come, due to that. Or if you're busy, but we'd all love to have you, if you have the time?"

  Regina smiled prettily and nodded, as if it was perfectly normal. She even seemed to mean it, not feeling jealous at all. If that was a real issue. Tiera hadn't noticed it before, but she'd just said it might have been. It seemed strange, since the girl might have said a little more if that had been the case. She waited as Farlo clearly tried to find a way out of it, but finally nodded.

  "I can visit with my grandparents at least. Sure. I'll go, half an hour?" She hefted her shower supplies in explanation.

  "That should be fine. I need to find a clothing amulet for Regina, I think." She had a second one in her trunk back in the room, but Farlo surprised her, pulling one off of a chain around her neck and handing it to the other girl, her chin coming up.

  "A gift. Wear it in good health. I made the copy, but it's a Tor design. On focus stone, so it should last a good while." Then she walked past, bustling a little.

  The girl next to her looked down at her hand, eyes going wide.

  "This... These cost about a thousand gold each I hear. Can I take this? Do you think she means it as a courting gift? Or a bribe? I can't think of anything I could do for her though. Well, not outside of the bedroom."

  Shrugging, Tiera looked at it, and saw that it was neatly etched on the surface but didn't glow on the sigil portion. "I don't know, but she seems nice enough. Mad at me, but a lot of people are these days. Hardly something to hold against them really. Maybe you should ask her? Later though. Right now we need to get you a chain for that, or at least some string. Tor always wears his on simple string, did you know that?"

  It took longer than she'd planned but the four of them were flying south about an hour later, which was just past noon. There wasn't a lot of talk, but Regina sat in the plush passenger's seat staring out the window, looking a bit tense.

  "We're very high up." She didn't seem panicked, so Tiera nodded, the other two girls, both larger, sitting in the back seats.

  She was going about as fast as the thing could fly, which had the world under them moving in a bit of a blur. At least compared to regular flying. She actually liked that better, but this worked too. It was faster, but it kind of took the fun out of it for everyone else, since they just rode.

  "We can go places this way though, that would be hard otherwise. Austra and Vagus. Maybe even the far south. I hear Soam is lovely."

  They chatted about trips then, with the general consensus being that it might be interesting to visit a few of those places, if they could soon. School was the big obstacle, since they were too far for good day trips, but when they got a week off later in the year... They'd spend it in the Capital. It was kind of important for her to be available to take messages and all that. Her job now, even if no one else was allowed to know about it.

  She needed to work that all out as well though, didn't she? How was she supposed to get in touch with anyone at all?

  They landed about half an hour after that with Regina trying not to gape at the Capital, pointing out the window. "Is that the King's palace? It's incredible."

  Karen looked over her shoulder, her head very near the other girls, so that she could sight in the right direction. "No, that's Tor's place. Are we headed there first?"

  Tiera was going to land in front of Timon's little cottage, which was next door, but Farlo chimed in from the back, not getting up.

  "My grandparents are staying there, since they don't have a Capital house. We can stop in. Ali gave it over to them for the next few weeks, but if she wants to hold a party there, they may need to change their plans. Do you think they might be invited? Alyssa didn't mention that. I... ohhh, this could be awkward." She went quiet, but it was a good point. Karen answered as if it were already established though.

  "Ali told me that she wanted them to come, yes. Close friends of hers and Tor you know. Practically family." It was a strange thing to say, but sounded proper enough.

  She still settled in front of Timon's in case he was there. Tiera didn't make everyone else get out though, just jogging over to the door and knocking. A few moments later a rather plain looking woman in drab clothing came to the door, smiling. Then the woman, who had very standard straight brown hair, blinked a few times as if her eyes wouldn't focus.

  "Uh, may I help you..." After a few seconds Tiera realized that the woman couldn't tell if she was a boy or a girl. It was the hair throwing her off no doubt, since she looked too cute to be a boy. She didn't growl at the lady, since it wasn't her fault really.

  "Is Timon in? My brother. I'm supposed to help with pilot work for the council coming up, but we need to get a schedule around for that." It sounded like she was giving too much information, but the woman smiled again and seemed positive about it all.

  "You should check with Baronetta Coltress. I think she's at the ice manufactory today. Master Timon mentioned that he would be out until late, but didn't say where. He gets all over the place. I was just doing some light cleaning and making some sandwiches up for him to eat when he gets in. I think he tends to forget otherwise."

  "Oh, thanks. Sorry, I don't know your name, I'm Tiera." She held out her hand, and it was taken if awkwardly. For all she looked the part, if a bit too tall, this was a city woman, not a country housewife.

  "I'm Mona, the housekeeper here." She said it as if it were a good job and valuable, so it probably was. She didn't know what it paid, but Timon wasn't stingy, so it was probably better than most people made doing the same work.

  That got her to scurry over to the Fast Craft, rolling her eyes as she looked in the back. "Ice
manufactory first..."

  She didn't explain, but they were there in a few seconds, since it was just on the other side of Tor's. She found the right woman, she thought, which got everyone else to crawl out, with Karen giving her a small hug when they met. Farlo bowed, but not as deeply as Collette did and Regina did as well, going deeper. She was from a wealthy enough family, but they were only minor nobles. Her father was a Baron or something, but landless, so it didn't count for much in social circles. About the same as a high merchant really.

  "Hello! So nice to see you all. I'm not certain of all the names. Karen of course and... Conserina Ross?"

  The words told Tiera a lot she realized. Collette Coltress knew Karen and considered her a friend, but she was unsure about Farlo. She also looked at her a bit blankly, but like she was almost certain she was familiar. They'd met in passing, but she'd looked different.

  She grinned.

  "Next to me is Regina Helmsley, who's a good friend of mine. I'm Tiera Baker. Come to check on the schedule for the Council of Counts and see about arranging a party for Ali. She couldn't come down herself so asked Karen and I to do it for her." The words came out a bit firmer than she meant, but that was just due to the woman not recognizing her.

  "Oh! You changed your hair! I love it. A very daring look. Is it for a reason?" The pretty blonde winced on the last word, as if she'd made a mistake asking the last part.

  Tiera nodded though, because there was a story with it, wasn't there?

  "Yes. I was very awful to some boys, because I didn't know The Rules well enough, so I had it all cut off in penance for what I'd done. A portion of it at least." She stopped there, and Collette, clearly being a nice woman, didn't ask for more or comment.

  "The schedule is in the main house. Would you give me a lift? I generally take care of the party arrangements for Alyssa, so unless I'm being set aside, I might be useful there?"

  Karen snorted in a good natured fashion and patted the woman on the back.