A Simple Darkness (The Young Ancients: Tiera)

by P. S. Power

  "I can't go there! Are you trying to get me killed? Just do it yourselves and no one will care. I'm just a freak, no one will miss me."

  That got a flash of anger from Tiera, in a way that she never would have expected. Not at the man for whining, it was probably just how he felt. He'd been sodomized repeatedly for sport and he honestly didn't seem to care about that, only what had been done to his friend. That kind of thing was rare. Almost impossibly so. Someone had harmed him so badly, for so long, that he didn't think he counted at all.

  "No. That isn't true. You're my brother now and if anyone, ever, tries to harm you, they're fighting me first. The King won't even look at you crosswise. If he tries, I'll scold him myself." It wasn't a great threat, but the man was the King and she couldn't go after him without dying. Not really.

  For some reason that got the tiny man, who was even shorter than she was by half a foot, to go silent as Wensa and George got them into Timon's Fast Craft, the night air showing her breath as she put her own away and then moved into the back of the thing, sitting next to Karen. She was close to her, pressed against her leg. They had the room, of course, it was just for comfort. The larger woman didn't seem to care about it, putting her right arm over her shoulders.

  They were close to halfway to the palace when Trice spoke, her voice so soft it was hard to make out all the words.

  "Thank you. All of you. I don't think I would have made it much longer. We were chained, I'd expected someone to recognize me, so I handed over my amulets without issue. Except my arm. I swallowed that. I didn't want to be left crippled. It worked." She moved her hand a little, making a fist several times. "I didn't know that anyone would have gotten word, to come and rescue us. Or if anyone would have. Did Uncle Richard order it?"

  The female Royal Guard, Wensa, answered from the very back row of seats. There was no real reason for her to be that far back, but George was next to her, so it might have been about strategy. It would be easier for them to kill them all from there for instance, since they'd have to turn to fight. Tiera let herself get sidetracked and nearly missed what the lady said.

  "No, this seems to have been Timon and Tiera's doing. I don't know where the information came from."

  Timon knew and so did Petra, but they didn't explain from where. Karen just sat, being silent, but a few minutes later, as they were settling over the palace, she finally added something. For Gerent.

  "I don't know what you understand about this. I've heard conflicting stories about things involving you. We're going to go in to see the King. He might want to speak to you, or he might not. If he doesn't speak to you, try not to say anything. He isn't a bad person, but Patricia is his favorite niece, and he may lash out. Angry, like you are, except with a large army. For that matter, please don't declare war on Gala yourself. If asked what you intend to do about that, say that you find yourself satisfied with the outcome, for the time being. You can always change your mind later if the need arises. We really do need all of our friends right now and while Gala doesn't have a vast army, it's a wealthy and useful place."

  From the front, settling the craft slowly, more so than a leaf could fall even, Tim continued.

  "We'll watch out for you, just do your best to be polite. Let Trice speak for you if you can, for now. You can rail at the King later, no doubt, if you really feel the need."

  The tiny man didn't deign to answer them, and that made a lot of sense. They were being jerks about it, acting as if the fact that he wasn't a noble born meant he was going to be rude. He wasn't her after all. Yes, he was upset, but he really should have been. Who wouldn't be in his place?

  They had to all be cleared via Truth amulet, including the Royal Guards, which seemed to be new. Trice found it shocking at least. No explanation came and she didn't ask, but her eyes had gone very wide.

  The King was dressed when he came out, and so was the Queen. Prince Alphones was in a blue silk outfit that looked loose and comfortable, as if for sleeping. It shimmered a little, and he padded in wearing soft shoes in a similar color. Princess Karina was in a dress, a pink one that was a bit plain, but looked good on her tall, lean body.

  When she saw Timon, she ran to him, stooping a bit to give him a hug.

  "You got them?"

  Tiera wasn't her brother when it came to getting subtle clues maybe, but when hit in the face she could, on occasion, take a hint. That one was pretty telling. The Princess covered by trying to hug her cousin, which didn't work, thanks to the shield she had on.

  Both the Ducharina and Gerent looked horrible under the magical lights. Beaten and left unhealed from their wounds. That got a gasp from the Queen, who ran to her niece and called for medicine, but Timon shook his head and held out his healing amulet.

  "I knew that you'd need to see them first. The jailers in Galasia raped them both repeatedly. We were too late to stop that. Tiera had Gerent and Trice cut off their arms legs and manhood, then ordered the Baron to stick them in a whorehouse at a copper a turn. One died during that. The lucky one. We cleared the Baron and the men said that they'd acted on their own. It was a common thing for them, from what they said." His voice was flat and old sounding. A thing that didn't fit at all, and while the Royal Family clearly seemed worried, they just watched as the two were healed.

  Even for the King there wasn't a lot else he could do. Patricia told her story, explaining how she led poor Gerent, who'd found a box of Tor's old style amulets on the side of the road, probably having come from Count Ross, after the fire there, into pretending to be Tor. She made it very clear that she'd actually made the claim that he was a noble, not him. It was a good plan, but the short and lumpy faced fellow corrected her.

  "That... It isn't true, your Excellency, erm, Highness, I... It was me. I did it. She didn't meet me until after. Don't... It isn't her fault. Only I should be punished for my crimes. Please, don't let her be hurt anymore." The last was said so softly the giant leader actually leaned toward him.

  Tiera saw the King's face fall, and Timon grimaced at the words. Once said they had to be considered, didn't they? While Baron Gala might have been willing to pretend with them about who Gerent was, the King had actually met them all, and probably memorized the names or something. There was too great a chance that any one of them could turn out to be an Ancient.

  Trice started weeping softly, tears running down her cheeks. The whole room went silent for a while no one really sure what to do about the situation at all. It was a big deal and too many had heard him say it.

  Even Timon didn't have a way out for them. The King started to speak, his voice raw suddenly, almost like he felt close to tears, even though it didn't show on the surface otherwise.

  "I... That leaves me with no choice. I have to sentence you to death, for the crime of impersonation. I'm very sorry. I can't think of any other way..."

  For half a second Tiera decided to fight her way out with the little man. She didn't know if anyone would help her, but in her sudden rage, she lost all fear too, like always, and started talking. At first she thought that she was about to scream at the King and call him names, but instead she just sounded snotty and a little bit like everyone else in the world was stupid.

  "Well, he is a noble. A Countier. Count Lairdgren has adopted him. Ask him if you don't believe me." She stomped her foot, but the King just let his mouth drop open instead.

  Gerent tried to speak, but Trice held her hand over his mouth for a bit, muffling the words. After that he was silent at least. It took a few moments for the communications device to come out and even longer for anyone to pick it up, but the woman that spoke sounded awake at least.

  "Hello? This is Bonita Coltress, may I aid you in some fashion?"

  "Hello Bonita, is Burks around by chance? This is Richard, I have a rather urgent matter for him."

  There was a shuffling of bodies it sounded like and a low murmur or two, but a few seconds later, a voice that sounded exactly like her brother, Tor, came on.

  "What's needed
?" There were no pleasantries, just Count Lairdgren going straight to business. It probably had to do with him being too old to care about stupid things. Tiera kind of had to agree with that plan too.

  "We have an... issue here, Burks. A rather dire one. We have a young man named Gerent that apparently was pretending to be Tor. Tiera Baker asserts that you've already adopted the man, is that the case?"

  The odds of him waking up and helping her, just because she wanted it done, seemed slim, so Tiera slowly got out her weapons, not able to hide it from anyone in the room at all. Timon followed suit and while Trice didn't have anything on her, she moved in front of her friend, to protect him, if she could.

  "What?" There was a pause while Bonita murmured something in the background. "Oh, yes, that's right, thank you dear. Yes. Out of the line of note, but yes, my new son. I remember that now. Some ten years now, or was it more?" He clearly yawned, but turned away from the device, so that it wasn't too loud. "Has he been getting in trouble? He does that sometimes."

  The recitation of what had happened got the Count to quickly say he was coming and the device turned off without ceremony. He was really old though, so no one could say anything about the rudeness of it. Or, they could, but it would be considered being rude on their part too.

  As soon as the Count got there, about twenty minutes later, he took over with a will and had everyone hopping around in short order. Tiera needed to leave however and walked over to Karen, trying to gesture with her head subtly, indicating the door. That got her whispered at that they couldn't just leave. Their friends had been hurt and they were at the palace, you had to get permission to get out of there, it seemed. That was a new thing, but she shrugged and walked over to Trice, who wasn't, in all truth, her friend.

  She was holding Gerent's hand at least and funny looking midget or not, he was a decent seeming fellow. She didn't know what to do or say. She couldn't just say she was sorry that evil people had raped them, could she? Was she supposed to dance around it though? It had happened and it wasn't their fault. She ended up just standing there then, and made an excuse.

  "I have to get back to school. A punishment thing, for missing classes. I... do either of you need anything?" That was a thing you said, at least according to her mother. Then it occurred to her that they probably needed a place to stay, one where they could come and go as they pleased. Trice could stay almost anywhere she wanted in the Capital, no doubt. At the palace or at Tor's. Where was Gerent supposed to go though? "I don't own a house, or you could stay there, I..."

  She looked around, only to find Timon walking over efficiently, as if he knew what the conversation was about already. Tiera knew for a fact her hearing was as good as his, so it couldn't have been that.

  He looked at Gerent first, then gave the six-foot four or five tall girl a steady nod for a few seconds.

  "Gerent, as family you can stay with Tor of course, but I have two houses outside the wall, side by side. I made them and the rent on the land is paid for a year. Would you like to stay in one of those for now? The cleaning lady, Mona, already takes care of both, so it won't be a problem for you that way."

  He waited for an answer, since that was the polite thing to do. The tiny man looked down and shook his head. "That's really kind of you to offer, but I can't be a hardship for you."

  Tiera rolled her eyes and then crossed her arms at the man.

  "Yes, you can. Not that you shouldn't pull your own weight, but I don't doubt you'll find a way to do that part of things pretty quickly. We're family now, did you miss the part where the Count adopted you ten years ago? Are you calling him a liar?"

  It wasn't a point that she would have, if it were her life it saved, but the man just made a face and kept looking away.

  "I'm not fit for fine people. I didn't know that Patty was really Ducharina Morgan. I thought that she was just a pretty girl that was willing to talk to me, because I said I was a famous wizard. Now I have to go back to being what I was." He didn't say what he used to do, but from his tone of voice it wasn't anything as comfortable or fun as being a starving farmer or anything like that. "I'll be fine. I can go and work with the low players again. Sleep in the barn like an animal..." He'd started mumbling and Trice started to look angry.

  "Or, and just consider this, you could realize that not one, but almost ten people stood up for you tonight. Tiera helped us cripple four men and kill another. Do you think she did that for me? The last time we met I thought she was going to punch me in the head. Timon is offering you the use of a magical house, that he made himself. He's very possibly the youngest builder in the whole world and he came to help you. Did you catch what Princess Karina said earlier? 'Did you find them'. Not her, not Trice. Them." Her right hand made a fist, but then she let it relax. Then she whispered to the little man, just loud enough for Tiera to hear. "Did you notice the part where a girl stood in front of the King himself and told a bald face lie to him, that he clearly knew was fake, to save your life? That the King of Noram did everything the law allowed to make it real? Or how a Count backed that story up with his own word, and still is? I think what you need to do is thank your new little brother and sister and take their family welcome as being heartfelt."

  The man nodded, which they all took as being good enough.

  Tiera took a breath, trying to figure out how to speed things up just a might.

  "I don't want to be impolite, but we should get you all situated and then..." It was hard to do all the right social things, wasn't it? Luckily a handy Count came walking up then and invited both Trice and Gerent to stay at Tor's. He wasn't shy about it at all.

  That got her off the hook, though Gerent did allow that he might feel more comfortable in a more humble place. They left, taking a regular magical carriage, letting her get Karen and take off, after making a point of finding the King. She needed permission and all that.

  "So... I should invite you all over for dinner one of these nights. You don't mind sitting on my dorm room bed and eating dried fruit and meat, do you?" She meant it as a joke, but the Prince walked over then and smiled.

  "Sounds great. Tomorrow evening?"

  She had to think about it, but after a few seconds she nodded. "That would really work pretty well. You can meet my friend Regina too. I might even be able to do slightly better than that for dinner, if Ali will let me use her kitchen." She could cook after all. Her family was too large for anyone not to know how to do that.

  They set the time for nine at night, and then, with a small hug, oddly from each of them, she was finally let go.

  It was so late when she got back that it was early again, and even though she was really tired, she just went to the practice square and started for the day. No one else showed up for a long time, well past morning and then, finally, David and Sir Kolbrin came, the Head Instructor looking around with a slightly less than amused look on his face.

  "No Mitchell?"

  She hadn't seen him, which, she realized, was kind of her responsibility, wasn't it?

  "He's due in at noon, I'm supposed to go find him, I think. Noon to night for him, first light to mid-day for me. That way someone will be here most of the time. Did you two want to do some drills? I don't have new ideas but we have to find some way of improving shield combat. Turning them off is only going to work so long and... Have you two learned that one yet at all?"

  It was harder to do in an active fight, but the two whole days of meditation hadn't hurt at least. She couldn't win against Sir Kolbrin, but David was taken unaware once or twice which showed the technique had some practical application. They worked on that for hours and thankfully, at eleven, Mitchell came dragging in.

  Very drunk.

  It was such a brilliant plan that Tiera almost had to beat the boy herself. After a few seconds she decided to do just that, since she looked pretty bad suddenly, she realized. Sir Kolbrin had asked her to see that the punishment got done. Maybe it was really the fact that she hadn't gotten any sleep, or that she hadn't used
the healing amulet, so still had bloody knuckles and her head hurt from slamming it into the pell, but she really just didn't feel like putting up with this kind of crap for some reason. Instead of doing anything too violent she forced a deep breath and then made herself relax, clearing her mind as best she could. It helped a bit.

  Then she spoke, growling at the kid.

  "Mitchell, why are you coming in drunk?" It sounded mean enough that he sneered back, which was a bit of a mistake, since it caused her anger to flare again.

  "Why are you such a bitch? I didn't do anything to you and you had them take all my free days for nearly two weeks! This is my time. I'm just a student here. No one else made a big deal of my being gone for a few days. Just because I'm not insane like you all are..." He didn't hiccup, but rather kind of surged a bit, like he was going to get sick, but hadn't realized it yet. Sir Kolbrin and David both moved back and seeing that, Tiera did too.

  That didn't stop Mitchell from yelling at her though, his words slurred enough that he sounded nearly cute, in an abusive way. It was a weird thought, so she focused on what he was saying, which wasn't fun to hear at all.

  "At the tavern they talked about you though, we all did. Everyone hates you. Even your girlfriend thinks you're a bitch. She wasn't even drunk. Doretta..."

  The boy reeled a bit, but the words made the other two look a lot different suddenly. Suspicious, rather than hard or like they were ready to beat the boy, David made a fist though.

  "My girlfriend?" That information kind of hurt. The only person in the whole world that fit that name, in regards to her, was Regina. She'd thought they were close. It didn't make sense. Not at all.

  Which, happily was just the case. She realized it when Mitchell kept talking, running his mouth with that blissful lack of awareness that only drunks and children had.

  "Yeah, Sandra Morris? She said you were a bitch and that you thought you were worth more than you really are. Other stuff too. That... that was the bad part. So there. Show you for getting me in trouble."