A Simple Darkness (The Young Ancients: Tiera)

by P. S. Power

  There was a dark look on his face, but he hid it quickly, with a hug that really wasn't one, more of a simple leaning in and pat on the either shoulder.

  "A few days. Be careful." That warning spoken in a normal voice, he walked away, back into the palace behind them.

  They left then, no one speaking for a long time, the four girls that had come originally the only ones with them. She piloted, Karen in the back with Regina for some reason, Farlo watching her closely.

  "Did you offer to take my grandparents around to try and get on my good side?" The words didn't seem harsh at all, just questioning.

  Tiera shook her head slightly though, smiling.

  "No. Your grandmother... she offered to hide me from the Count, if I needed it. I don't, but it was... If she needs anything and I have it, it's hers, that's all. I'll have to come up with something else to get on your good side. Do you like muffins? I make a great apple spice version." She really did, but for some reason the girl next to her made a face.

  "Not after someone already spit in your food. The idea is out there, I don't want to push my luck."

  That got a gasp from the back seat, Regina sounding like she hadn't known. "That's disgusting! Who would do that?"

  Tiera shrugged.

  "Honestly? I have no clue. Some first year, and he was a boy, other than that I don't know. Not one of the ones I wronged. A friend of one of them perhaps? It really was gross. I won't eat in the dining hall now, but I can assure you Farlo, I'd never do that. Ever. I might yell at you, or even try to hit you, but that... I was raised baking. My mother would be short a child if any of us even thought about doing that. I'd thought I was being poisoned because of that you know. It didn't even occur to me that anyone would be so... crude."

  Karen made a sound that seemed pensive for some reason, speaking a few seconds later, as if measuring her words.

  "The boy, he's already been beaten for it twice. My brother Jerral did one of them. Tor is a friend of his, so the kid going after his sister didn't go over well. Davie had to pull him off and get the weapons section healing amulet. Oh, by the way, Farlo, Kolb wants me to thank Guide for that again. It's an incredible help to us. It means no lay-offs for minor injuries. That sounds like a small thing, but it isn't. We normally have about ten percent of our people down for one reason or another, now we're finally at full force."

  It was a big help, Tiera knew. She didn't think she'd be able to handle the training without it. "Does he like muffins? Or other baked goods. I can do just about anything. It will take a kitchen, but I bet I can borrow Ali's."

  Farlo didn't know, but Regina wasn't going to be deterred from the original topic that easily it seemed.

  "Who else beat that boy?"

  That got a snort, but Farlo knew the answer for some reason and grimaced about it.

  "Well, the kid is a noble, a Baron, if not high ranked. Baron twenty-odd. Gala I think. Anyway, Judith did it. Beat him bloody and made him apologize to everyone in the dining room on his knees. Then she healed him, which worked well enough, since it got rid of his lung infection. That was just for being so gross though, not because he targeted you. Almost no one is willing to eat in there now, except those that have to. I heard that the cook took after him too and banned him from the duty. Threatened to quit if he was put back there. He has to scrub the commons everyday for a month instead."

  It was kind of nice to hear. Not that the boy had been beaten, that hurt enough she didn't really want it for anyone if it wasn't really needed, but that someone had seen to it. Two someones it seemed.

  She needed to get right to dropping the messages off, but the other girls wanted to stay and chat for a bit, until Farlo announced that she had a build to work on the next day and gave Tiera a small bow. Regina got a hug though, so it wasn't saying that everything was totally right between them, not yet, but it wasn't a slap in the face or harsh words, so she decided to take it.

  Regina... Kissed her in parting. It was a real one too, a gentle nibbling of her lower lip while her tongue tickle her. Karen had a blank look on her face and Farlo waved and walked away, smiling a bit. Then her old roommate sighed.

  "Can you come to my room? They haven't put anyone else in with me yet, so we'll have it to ourselves."

  Tiera didn't know how to get out of it gracefully, but Karen did it for her, stepping forward.

  "Not tonight. She has lessons in the morning, and review tonight before we turn in. That's going to be the norm for a while too, so if you two want alone time, I suggest you make plans for before dinner." There was a practical sound to her words, as if it were an actual suggestion.

  It got a little giggle from Reggie, who kissed her again and left, not having said anything else.

  They walked back to the room, with Karen having her recite the book that she'd read the night before to her, asking questions to show that she actually understood what it all meant. It might have been part of a cover story, but she corrected her several times anyway, then explained the text in great detail.

  Once in the room that changed though, as did her clothing. It became black canvas then.

  "We need to wait for true dark, even if it seems like wasted time. I doubt we have watchers, not yet, but this place is full of spies. Figure that of ten people you meet here, two are working for someone or another. I mean, look at us. That's two right there."

  Tiera nearly denied it, and then stopped, realizing it was true. She hadn't really known about Karen, but there were probably a lot of people she worked for. Her Countess, Sir Kolbrin, the King... Who knew how many others? It wasn't a pleasant thing to think about, but it was something she needed to be aware of now.

  Twenty-five minutes later they turned the light off and left, hugging the shadows, until they got to the woods behind the school. The Fast Craft was re-colored to be the same as the night sky, and they left by going straight up first and then setting out on their journey. They had a lot of stops, and some of them weren't going to work at all. Count Holden was already in the Capital for instance and Countess York wouldn't see them at all. Tiera didn't know if she could just leave the letter with anyone, so refused to do it, which made the man at the door very angry with her. He rather coldly asked them to leave.

  Karen slept in the back for most of the trip, not even waking to go in with her for some of the safer ones. That was fine for almost all of them. Near the end, on the return trip she ran into a very strange problem that she hadn't even really imagined. It was when she got to County Breen, the Count had to be awakened to meet with her and he came out in his night clothing, which was a loose white gown and a strange cloth hat. He looked ridiculous, his bare feet sticking out the bottom, a candle in his hand, but he invited her in easily enough and called for a drink.

  The man was large, about eight feet tall, plus a bit, but he seemed happy enough to see her. A fact that showed on the front of his loose gown rather plainly. She wasn't knowledgeable on the topic from firsthand experience, but she had brothers, she got what that meant. Except they had always tried to hide the fact. This man saw where she was looking and smiled at her.

  "Early mornings can do that to a man. An attractive woman coming at night can too. Is that why you came? A present for me perhaps? If so I can't imagine who'd send someone. They have good taste though. You're darling."

  Tiera grinned a bit, trying not to seem mean about things.

  "Um, messenger. Tiera Baker. Conserina, if that will let me leave with my virtue intact. Sent by the King, just to deliver this to you." She held out the last envelope she'd be able to get rid of and the man broke it open, reading it quickly, gesturing for her to take the wine that was delivered. She couldn't really drink it, but she sipped a bit. It wasn't good really, but it left her feeling very adult.

  "Understood." He got up, put the missive in his fireplace and burned it with the candle. "Tiera Baker. Do you know a Timon Baker? Most amazing fellow. My people and I owe him a great debt. He found that we didn't have enough food for my army o
n the front lines a few weeks ago and he took it upon himself to see that they were fed. Out of his own pocket too. He said it was from Two Bends, which shows great humility, I think." He sat back down and waited for her answer, still clearly happy to have her company.

  "My younger brother. I'll let him know that you spoke so highly of him. I have to be running soon. I don't mean to be rude, but I have to start fighting practice at dawn."

  The man blew out a gust of air then and laughed a little.

  "Well, that's never a good sign, when a woman says she has to leave to hit things with a sword. Well, we just met, perhaps next time we could do a bit more?" He glanced down at his lap then, which was still in the same state as when he walked in. "I wouldn't want your brother to think I was taking advantage of you, but you really are very pretty. Industrious as well it seems and capable, or you wouldn't have such an important position." He was older than she was, perhaps near forty or so, but looked strong and had a nice mustache. It was dark, at least in this light. "Say, you aren't married yet, are you? I'm a widower. We aren't related, so that might be a good thing to suggest to your mother."

  She went still for a seconds and then nodded.

  "That would be... very nice, really. Have a letter off to Two Bends, to Laurali and it will get to the right place."

  She got up to leave, feeling a little flattered and a lot scared. She'd never really been alone with a man like that before. Not one that clearly wanted her.

  "Um..." She paused at the door and then took a step back toward him. Her chest felt funny, like she couldn't breathe and her stomach nearly cramped but she managed to take a whole breath and carry on. "I really do have to hurry right now, I wasn't kidding about that, but... If you don't mind telling me what to do, I can... you know, with my hands?"

  The man smiled at her and sat back down, lifting the hem of his night shirt.

  "We can do that."

  When he climbed into the Fast Transport about fifteen minutes later Karen was awake and made a tired sound. "Morning. That took a bit. Everything go alright?"

  She nodded, not wanting to be indiscreet, but really wanting to talk about it all too. She described what had happened, if not in great detail, expecting the other woman to yell at her for wasting time, but instead she yawned.

  "Oh? Good. He's a decent fellow too. He's a Count, so he could have ordered you to do it and you would have had to, at least here. He didn't do anything until you offered though and then kept it to that? You should definitely pursue the man then. Even if you don't want to marry him. Mind If I take a crack at him too? We aren't related. I hadn't heard that his wife had passed. I should send him a note at any rate."

  Tiera smiled and felt both adult and like she was a little girl doing something naughty behind the school building.

  "He seemed lonely. I bet it would be welcome if you paid him a visit. I certainly have no problem with it. I wasn't planning on marrying yet." She had forever after all.

  They didn't talk about a lot after that, since Karen fell back to sleep, snoring, until they got to the woods. It was nearly daylight, so Tiera got on the path and started running instantly, doing nearly three laps, so that she'd end up in the training square. She was tired, but it wasn't brutal yet. Really she was kind of excited by what had happened still.

  Karen took the letters back to the room for her, so that she could start right in, and didn't show up for hours while she did all the morning routine she'd been set. Havar was there first, working stones after padding up himself, about two hours later. She was trying to double the number of empty handed blows against the pell in front of her, which was stained a dark red from her blood already. Her skin stung, but she didn't stop, picking up the healing amulet after that. Other people were there, but they didn't pay any attention to her, which meant she didn't have anyone to practice with really.

  "Hey, Havar... I know it won't be much of a challenge for you, but do you want to do some double club work?" The man looked at how she was dressed and shrugged.

  "Alright." He seemed a little tentative at first, but didn't spare her overly when she missed her blocks. His did keep his blows to her arms mainly, that and her middle, he made swipes at her legs but missed most of the time, since they were too far down for him to easily reach. For her part she managed to abuse his legs enough that he was limping by the time Sir Kolbrin came over to watch them.

  "Havar, bend at the knee and use your lead weapon to parry. Tiera, use your speed, he can't start or stop as fast as you can, and you need to counter his reach." The instructions kept coming even as they both took damage. He finally missed her arm and managed to hit her in the face, pushing a tooth through her cheek. They didn't stop though, even after she retaliated with a nice solid backhand blow to the groin. He teared up, but didn't slow at all.

  Those were mistakes though, not blows done on purpose. They hurt bitterly, but so did everything. After ten minutes or so Sir Kolbrin stopped them.

  "Healing amulet and then come see me."

  The large man made sure she got to use the thing first, but as soon as she was healed she pressed it to his arm. He smiled, even as the pain hit him again. It wasn't completely comfortable after all. It beat the heck out of doing it the old way though, with weeks of slow healing needed to repair their abused bodies.

  When they got to Kolb he covered every single mistake she made, which was a list that was a lot longer than she'd expected. She'd never even thought about her foot position before for instance. The Head Instructor showed her what he meant and then had her do it, over and over again, just walking that way, so it would become habit. She had to avoid the others sparring with each other to do it, but the man wasn't ignoring her, calling out new variations every few minutes.

  When Karen finally ran up they were both motioned over, before they had a chance to do anything at all. It had to be close to ten o'clock and Kolb didn't look happy at all. With his Instructor. He actually stood with his hand on Tiera's back.

  "So, Karen... A bit late, aren't you?" His tone was so mild that it sounded almost friendly. The larger girl just nodded, seeming ashamed.

  "We were out gallivanting all night. Sorry, sir."

  He still didn't sound angry, but he did look at her very directly then.

  "Oh? We who?"

  "Tiera and I. We... Well, went visiting and making contacts, but lost track of time."

  The big man shook his head then, the first hint of real disapproval coming then.

  "You and Tiera? I think not. No, she was here since before I arrived, working to improve her skills. It couldn't have been that, or you would have been out here with her. I expect my Instructors to hold to very high standards, even if it means going sleepless. I expect a full work out from you. Take the afternoon class. Tiera here will work with Judith and for the remainder of this session." It was an order and sounded like a punishment, but it was just her regular job, wasn't it?

  It was the disapproval that did it, Tiera could tell that, but why exactly she didn't know. Maybe it was an act, to cover what they'd been doing? Sir Kolbrin was probably in on it. Tim had said she should follow his orders in her current task at least, hadn't he? That had to mean something. They really needed to talk soon, someplace where she could actually ask questions.

  Judy was set to attacking them both, while wearing a shield. Tiera and the Head Instructor didn't get them, and had to try to find ways to subdue her. It was harder than it sounded like. The only thing that worked at all was when she used her whole body to wrap Judy's left arm and managed to force it back, while the large man did the same with her spine. It took both of them though. When he tried it alone she just shook him off. It was harder to do it with her arms, but by pushing on them she could slide out eventually. Tiera got more than one boot to the stomach that way.

  When they finally stopped Sir Kolbrin rubbed at his scar and nodded.

  "Tomorrow it's you two against me. No shields for you. I suggest you both think about it, since I noticed a half dozen
tricks that Judith missed using." Then he walked away, making the other girl's eyes go wide.

  "We're in for it then, aren't we? Did you see anything?"

  Tiera had, but not a half dozen things. They worked on it for a bit, trying to find ways around them. The easy way was to just cheat, and blast the ground at the shielded person's feet, but that was kind of hard on the paving stones. They didn't have a lot other than that.

  At noon she ate in her room. She was running out of food and would have to make another run to the store later if she could. Otherwise she was going to start being even hungrier. Tiera was starving, since she'd missed breakfast.

  The rest of the school day was normal, even though the singing class was a little rough, having only had one lesson and the teacher, who was a thin man called Instructor Crane, clearly wasn't happy with the students that day. Some of them were still hung over, so he had them sit to the side, sipping cups of coffee, while the rest of them worked.

  "Alright. The good students that showed up ready to work, please review the new song." He turned to glare at the others then, the ones that were sitting. "The rest of you, I expect to come in ready to perform it for us all tomorrow. It had better be good too. Don't make me give you a black mark."

  No one seemed that worried about whatever a black mark was, so it probably wasn't a huge deal. She knew it meant a mark in a book in the headmasters office. If you got ten of them the school kicked you out. Hardgrove had shown Tiera her sheet, which already had seven. One for each boy.

  Luckily, he'd also explained that they only lasted for a year. If she was a good girl for that long she wouldn't be in any real danger.

  When she got out of that class, at nearly five, she headed back to her room, really starting to drag. Regina was standing right outside, waiting for her, holding a single flower that she handed to her sweetly.