by P. S. Power
"This is perfect. We can do it... Collette, will you help me with it? I still don't really know who to contact." They pulled off to the side to discuss the matter in low tones.
Timon felt a little breathless rather than good about what he'd just done, but it was the right thing to do, even if it did hurt a little.
Not to be sidetracked Smythe set out to find the culprits, starting with the supply Sergeant for the base, who was, surprisingly, innocent. Of that at least. He had been letting some of the kids "borrow" extra blankets and had let one boy with very large feet have an old pair of boots that he didn't think anyone would miss. It was peculation, but oddly enough Smythe pretended not to hear the man admit to it. Neither did Major Godfrey. The kids needed blankets and things after all.
They also needed more food. The military wasn't letting them starve, and that was something that was being paid for by Tor directly, but they didn't have a fraction of the cooks and bakers needed. Godfrey mentioned it firmly to Smythe, clearly expecting that the Military Counselor could do something about it. It wasn't exactly a hard problem to fix. Timon saw the simple answer almost instantly.
"Start a school for it. If the military is having problems getting cooks and bakers, teach some of the kids here to do it, so they have a better shot at a military job in a few years. Claim it's official training so that any of them that pass can go in directly if they want. That gives them a better shot and you the help you need." He looked at Ali and let his eyebrows raise a little. "You're related to a dozen bakers Alyssa. Use your family ties to bring some in to teach. I bet there are others, cooks and what not, that will be willing to do it. They can practice by fixing meals for everyone each day."
Everyone stared at him for a bit, like it was a bad idea, except Smythe who started nodding and moved to stand next to him, clapping Timon on the shoulder. It was with his right hand, which he could feel was made of magic as soon as it connected. That was slightly surprising, but he managed not to jump. It was very good work, which got him to stare at it for a second as it rested on his shoulder. The man removed it quickly then, but Timon shook his head, not wanting the Counselor to feel insulted.
"Just admiring the craftsmanship." He didn't add anything else, so that Smythe wouldn't be embarrassed.
He flexed the hand and nodded, looking oddly content.
"As good as the real thing... at any rate, I find that an admirable solution as well. Lady Baker, would you be so kind as to attend a meeting with the King on the matter? We've struggled for years to address that situation, and this might be the solution we need." The older man looked at them all, one by one, his eyes finally resting on the boy that had been robbed earlier. "You see, the young men and women that have skills to cook and bake aren't normally the kind that wish to join the military. On the other side, when we've insisted that some learn the skills, instead of fighting, they tend to do a poor job of it and leave after a single tour of duty, feeling that the military didn't live up to expectations. Everyone wants to be an elite soldier, or part of the new Flying Corps. Without cooks though, they all starve. Do you think that any of your fellows here would take such positions?" His gaze was searching, almost fatherly in a way however, as if he was honestly going to base his recommendations on what the kid said.
"Sir. Anyone here would take that over an early death in the mines and most would find it pref'ble to whoring. Sir." It wasn't in perfect military style, but it was decently close as far as Timon could tell.
It seemed it was good enough to start with at least.
"Very good Remy. For now I'd like you to stay with Major Godfrey. We probably won't be able to find out who did this today, so please watch him and make certain that no one harms him. If they try, you aren't to fight them, but rather run away as fast as possible and call for help. Can you do that for me?"
That got the kid to look wide eyed and a little scared, but he stood straighter and looked proud at the same time. Trusted. Which he was, Timon realized, since the boy had already passed a Truth test and to do that he'd had to prove he was basically an honest person, not working against the Kingdom. It was as good a way to test a person as any, as far as that kind of thing went.
Then, even though it didn't make that much sense to Timon, they headed back to the palace. They had daylight for more investigation, but Smythe was planning on bringing in a team of people to help do the work of checking everyone. An elite squad that had forty people that could question people at one time.
"It will be more efficient than just going from soldier to soldier asking if they know anything ourselves. We'll get to the bottom of this shortly, I'm certain."
The trip back didn't take long, except for the landing, which wasn't his fault. All he had to do was let the Counselor and the others off, then go back to Tor's house, but for some reason only Smythe and Sam left the craft. The Royal Guards sat as if they were expected back at his brother's place. It wasn't any big deal to him, except that once that was done and he was about to step out, the older guard put a hand out to stop him.
"We could use a favor." He didn't say anything else, since the door was open and the ladies that had come with him were staring at the scene.
It was a strange thing, but Timon nodded.
"Alright. Let's unload first, unless you also need a case of gold to buy some orphans out of the gallows?" It came out rather dry, but he managed to smile as he walked past the man. It took a few minutes to clear everything off, then longer to get the others to go inside first, since Sara was obviously lingering, to try and figure out what was going on. Kara had stayed in the back of the craft, looking like she planned to stay no matter what.
He gestured her off firmly and did the same with George, then touched his left hand to the nose of his craft.
"What do we want it to look like?" It could be that they wanted a word with him about his manners or something, but if that was the case they would have just pulled him aside at the palace, saving them a walk back. He had to think this was something else.
"As close to unseen as possible. The color of the twilight sky, then shifting into night black. Can you do that while flying?" George looked at him blankly, not giving anything away.
"I can. It's a bit early for that yet. Am I allowed to know the destination? If not, then I'll need one of you to know exactly where we're going. It's harder to do at night."
The woman nodded, smiling a bit, her frame relaxed more than it had been.
"Perfect. I think I can get us there. The King asked us to try it. Prisoner extraction, technically Ill-"
Timon held up his right hand and glared.
"If it's something I don't need to know about, then don't tell me. As far as I know, you and your boyfriend here want a romantic midnight getaway. My job isn't to ask questions about things like that. I'm not following you into the woods to see what you get up to, you understand?" He tried to look bland about it, but it was something that the guards both understood and seemed to approve of.
At least this time, when it served them. They probably wouldn't like it later, when someone hired him for something they wanted to know about, only to find that he didn't have a clue.
Of course they weren't going to pay him for it, since technically speaking Royal Guards didn't make enough for his rates. He was doing it as a favor, based on... Well, honestly that was harder to figure out. He didn't know them and while he might suspect that this was for the King, he hadn't been asked personally, had he? Maybe they really were just going to have a midnight romp. It didn't seem likely, but what did he know? Well, it wouldn't hurt to be on good terms with people like them, would it?
Kara seemed to pick up part of what he was thinking from his face then.
"Thank you. It means so much that you're supporting us in our love." She batted her eyelashes and the man put his arm over her shoulders possessively.
"I thank you too. So few understand how hard it can be for those in our position to make solid long term connections."
That de
cided, Timon went inside and managed to convince the head cook that a picnic lunch instead of dinner would be most welcome. Oddly the woman, Glaren, seemed happy enough to oblige when he hinted it was for a secret meeting of two lovers.
"Don't tell. Our secret." That was the rule for such things after all. You didn't give away what others were doing if you didn't have to.
She patted him on the arm, her face still pretty even though she was older than his mother. Not that his mother wasn't good looking. All the women in his family were. Most of the men too. Lately his ma had taken to only looking about nineteen or so, which meant it really wasn't a fair comparison.
She bustled for a few minutes, getting two other cooks to help prepare the two baskets, one being for him, since he just needed food, the other with a large and soft blanket strapped underneath, a red and white one used just for that purpose, and filled with candles as well as a bottle of wine. His little basket started to get one too, but he shook his head.
"Sorry, can't. I'm piloting." It was a rule after all, for his new business. You couldn't let yourself be impaired and fly. You could end up on the wrong side of the world that way. It would be embarrassing.
"Oh? Indeed then, we have some nice apple juice, would that be suitable?" Her voice was questioning, but he nodded. He liked juice alright. It was a child's drink, but that wouldn't stop him. He'd had wine and cider before, several times, but this was about work, not him getting to play at being grown up.
"Sounds good, thank you. Small bottle, if it's all the same." He was just one person and if they were gone too long he'd finish it all, out of boredom.
The rest of the food was basically a modified version of what dinner was going to be for everyone else. On the good side, as soon as the baskets were ready, he was able to put his things in one of the upstairs rooms, the red carpet of the large hallway broken up with gold tables every fifty feet or so. Collette took him up herself, walking ahead of him a few steps the whole way.
"That was a nice thing you did, giving those devices to be sold like that, for those children. Not everyone would have thought of it at all and most that did wouldn't have sacrificed anything to make it happen. Alyssa is a... I think she doesn't really feel like she's married yet. There were some hard things in her past. It really isn't an excuse, but she wasn't trying to force you to do that."
Timon blinked and tried to think through the whole thing again. It had never seemed to him like she was. Why would Collette even say that now? To plant seeds of doubt? To what end? If Ali had wanted him to do that, if she thought he even had the means, she would have simply asked, wouldn't she? They were family...
Which was a thing that she probably didn't trust in nearly as much as he did.
Then he got it. Collette didn't understand why Ali had done it either. Not really. She would have gladly used Tor's funds for the project and not thought twice about it, even if she wasn't his wife. That Alyssa hadn't didn't make any sense to her.
"My brother isn't here to care for her right now, that means that the rest of us have to. You too. I mean that the rest of the family is here for you as well. Don't forget that. I couldn't name where you'd come in on the list of family members, but I know that you count." It was real enough but the woman looked at him with a look that was both baffled and slightly pleased.
"Oh? Aren't you a little young to be caring for me? Not that it isn't appreciated, but shouldn't it be the other way around?"
"Certainly. Which is why you're setting me up with a room."
It was a deflection, but thankfully it worked, so she just smiled a little at him.
Timon knew he was strange, and that only a few people got parts of why he was like that, but a big portion of it was simply that he felt older than his years. His intellectual ability was pretty high functioning, which meant he understood things faster than a lot of people did. Not that he also didn't have gaps in knowledge. Everyone probably would, since new things were always coming into being, but he could learn and did, really fast, which meant that his body's age didn't really express what his mind was doing at all. It hadn't for years.
He didn't really think that anyone understood that about him, not yet. Even the other Ancients had treated him as a smart child, rather than as a person that merely wasn't that old yet. On the good side they'd done the same thing to everyone under a few hundred years old, so he hadn't been alone in their disregard that way. It had made his mother less than pleased, to say the least.
The woman sighed and smiled, not unhappy it seemed, which was a good thing, as far as it went. Tim couldn't do much for her really, if she was feeling bad. Still, he'd meant what was said. She was, by some method he didn't understand, family. If he could help her, he would. They all would. Even if they were fighting and mad at each other at the moment. It was what you did, after all. The odd thing there was that she didn't seem to understand that it should apply to him just as much as the other way around. Of course he was just as responsible for her that was the only way such things worked. It was most likely the age thing again.
"You're a lot like Tor, you know that?" She opened the door to his room, after touching it with a hand for a second, making his name appear on the outside of it in fine, but large, handwriting. "That's the kind of thing he'd do, giving away his entire fortune to those in need when he needed it for something else. I admire it, but it also makes life harder if you aren't careful." There was a message in the words, which he picked up on as she walked in, waving for him to follow.
"I'm not my brother." His feet scuffed slightly on the deep brown carpet under then as he followed her. She was still in the black outfit from earlier, which showed that she had a nice figure. He was too young to have relations, it was true, but not so much so he couldn't tell that she was very well put together. Blushing he looked away, knowing that this was his brother's...
Something or other.
To cover he kept talking, as Collette spun, her face slightly shocked at what he'd said.
"I was six when he left home. I remember him, but he's changed a lot over the years. He was always nice and kind, but..." How did he explain it to her? It almost sounded like a story to him and he was part of it. "I guess it's the whole Ancient thing. He was built to be Green's replacement. A caretaker for Noram. I'm just another of my mother's children. I got the trait that will make me live for a very long time and a few other things that are nice enough, some extra intelligence and some physical things that are useful." Like the fact that he couldn't get sick. Brown had told him about that one evening at the summit a few months back.
There would be no illness, he was most likely a lot harder to poison than most people and there would be some improvement in strength or speed, though it would be hard to tell which for a while, until he matured. Out of all of them it was Brown, his "Uncle Denno" that had told him the most. Green might be his grandfather, but the man hadn't been that interested in visiting with him. He hadn't been rude, but was distant and really focused on other things. It wasn't a huge problem for him, thankfully. Tim didn't really care about the man much at all either. Yes, they were family and he'd help if it was asked of him, or needed, but other than that it wasn't worth worrying about.
It wasn't lost on Tim that Tor and Tiera both had been offered positions at the Lairdgren school, but none of the others had been at all. Maybe it would have happened for him, when he was a little older, so he could let that part go, but what about Terlee or Todd? They were both smart. Terlee was a good percentage of the way to being as smart as anyone in the world, even if she wasn't going to live forever. Not having her to the Counts school was a waste.
No it had only been offered to the "special" ones. The favorites.
That wasn't how you treated your family. It wouldn't even have cost the man much, since he owned the place. That was part of the reason he was insisting on going to Printer. There were other institutions of course, but it was about as far from the man's control and influence as he could get and still be inside Noram.
He kept speaking, his voice dry and with most of the emotion suppressed.
"I'm different I think. Not special, just... I guess I'm whatever I can make myself into, like almost everyone else. It isn't a bad thing, but from the little I know about Tor, he didn't get a lot of choice in the matter, until recently."
She nodded, knowing that he was talking about the thing on the ship, which was something the woman shouldn't have known about at all. No one in the world that was there for it should have told her. Only one of them really had the chance. Ali. She'd agreed that it would be best to keep it secret however and that part didn't feel right.
Unless of course Green told the King, and he'd mentioned it to her for some reason? He could only think of two possible circumstances for that, and while they could be lovers, that seemed a little farfetched.
After a few seconds of thought, watching her walk around the room, lingering and fluffing pillows that were always perfectly plump, being magical in nature, Timon sighed.
"So you're a spy for the King. Anyone else? You get what I mean about family, and a lot of the nobles kind of pick and choose that way... So is it a family thing? Are you working with Sara too?" It came out in a rush, sounding younger than he would have liked, as if it was just silly speculation. It all was after all, until she stiffened and spun on him again, her eyes wide.
"What do you mean?" The words were right, the body language all wrong. It practically screamed that he was right and that she was lying.
"What I said Collette. It isn't a debate and I'm not wrong. What I'm asking is, what conflicting interests do you have? You're clearly working for more than one person and have a lot of other things going on in your life. So tell me, are you a danger to my family?" Waiting, he held his breath. He had on a shield and it was a good one, but she could just scream and claim he attacked her, or even tried to molest her in some way, which would have him kicked out fast enough.