by Guy Antibes
Lotto couldn’t help but grin. Even if the man were playing with him, he couldn’t see any reason not to take him up on his offer. Perhaps he could learn to read and that would help him converse with the princess on a more equal footing. “I’ll do it.”
Mander Hart put his hand out, grinning. “Let’s shake on it,” he said.
Lotto couldn’t believe his luck. He had found a job on his first day doing something that would definitely help him improve his mind and nearly in sight of the castle! He gladly took the man’s hand and pumped it hard to show his appreciation. Lotto stopped when Mander Hart pulled his hand out of Lotto’s grasp and rubbed it.
“It seems you have a lot to learn, young man and I’m just the man to teach you.”
~
Reflections from the polished surfaces of dull-edged practice swords sent shards of light into the covered observation areas. The men cheered the swordsman and merely tolerated the presence of the tall woman who fought in the ring. Restella pictured the tableau and ignored the occasional jibe. They wouldn’t be so free with their tongues if her father looked on, but she didn’t mind. She had to win their confidence and her father would only get in the way.
Her concentration shifted from the audience to her opponent. She slid to the side as his blunted sword swept past, fast enough to break bones. She turned halfway around and, with her other arm, jabbed the man in the side with her elbow giving her enough separation to slap the man’s stomach with her sword through the padding both of them wore in place of armor. Everyone heard the whoof from her opponent.
Restella brightened at the raising of the red flag indicating her victory. She raised her sword to polite applause. She shook her head and smiled to herself. She went to the side of the practice field and grabbed a towel to wipe the perspiration from her face.
A messenger stepped up to her. General Piroff requested her presence. Her heart raced with the anticipation of a real posting. She couldn’t think of any other reason for the summons by a General. Stopping at her private cell in the barracks, the only advantage she had as a princess, she washed her face and changed into her uniform. She could still use her rooms in the castle, but that wouldn’t give her the proper feeling of being a soldier.
The two guards didn’t even straighten up as she knocked on the General’s door just inside the castle. She pursed her lips in disgust at the lack of respect and entered into the General’s study.
“Sir.” Restella snapped to attention. She looked straight over the head of the seated general, but couldn’t miss the smirk on the man’s face.
“At ease, Princess. I’m sure you will be glad to hear that Oringia is disputing its border with Earl Louson’s domain. The Earl has called upon the King to dispatch soldiers to bolster his own troops. You’ll be reporting to Captain Shortwell of the King’s Fourth Guards and will act as a staff member during the expedition. That is all, Lieutenant Beecher. The Captain is waiting for you. Dismissed.”
The General didn’t have to be the one to assign her. A normal soldier would have been called to see the Captain directly, but she would take a post anyway she could. Restella shrugged and walked back to the barracks where the Captains had their offices. She knocked on the frame of Captain Shortwell’s open door.
“Come in, Princess.”
She stood at attention for the second time in the afternoon. She would stand at attention for an entire day to get a real posting.
“At ease. You’ve obviously seen General Piroff. From now on you will be granted the title of lieutenant and we will be using your father’s last name of Beecher. There are no princesses in the army. I hope you understand. You’ll be pretty much treated like any other junior officer.
“We will muster at the south parade grounds in two days at first light. Don’t be late. See my aide in the next office to get a list of what you’ll need, Lieutenant Beecher. You’ll be observing and commenting on strategy and tactics, but if the conflict heats up, there will be fighting. I am assuming I can rely on you to fight with real edged weapons?”
“Yes, sir.” Restella would have to cajole the sword maker that she had contracted to create her new sword to mount the Moonstone faster. She tried to wipe the grin off of her face. When she reached her rooms in the castle, she let out a scream of delight and pumped her fists in the air. Her distinguished career awaited.
~~~
CHAPTER SEVEN
~
MANDER ADMITTED TO LOTTO that he had never given the shop a good cleaning for the entire time he owned it. He gave Lotto the task of cleaning the two floors filled with books, taking each volume off of each shelf, cleaning the shelf and then the books before he replaced them. Three or four times a day, Mander called to Lotto and began to teach him letters and how the coinage system worked in short lessons.
Lotto could recognize and call out every letter in Besseth’s 30-letter alphabet after two days and then Mander began to combine the letters into sounds. The numbers came quite easily for Lotto and he could now find the book’s price from binders that Mander kept and make change for customers. He reviewed his little lessons over and over the entire time that he worked in the shop.
Everything made sense to Lotto and in a week’s time he could sound out the titles. He had no idea what the titles meant, but he smiled when he recognized the words that he spoke. Though he could now remember what he saw, he just didn’t have the vocabulary. As he continued to clean the shop, his illiteracy became increasingly frustrating.
He sat down in the little kitchen in the back of the shop, right next to Mander’s office. His boss plopped down a pile of three books. “Thought you might want to start to work with some readers. I don’t carry too many of these, but you can read them when there’s no one about. Now that you know your letters, you can arrange all of the books.” Mander pointed to a folio that contained the descriptions of different collections. “There are thirty-something collections of books, so within each collection you organize them in alphabetical order. Some events have come up outside of the bookshop and I’ll have to spend some time away, leaving you more on your own.”
Lotto sat back surprised. “You mean you’d allow me to be alone in the shop?”
“I do,” Mander nodded. “You’ve picked up everything so quickly, I have all of the confidence in the world in you, Lotto. I can’t wait to be able to talk to you about what you read, but we’ll have to put that off until I return.”
He closed up the shop after Mander left, taking his readers up to his rooms. For the first time Lotto wondered where Mander would be spending his time. The man didn’t live above the bookshop, so he had left Lotto with a nice place to live. In fact, Lotto’s quarters were palatial by Heron’s Pond standards. There were two bedrooms, a sitting room, a large kitchen and a study with bookshelves filled with Mander’s duplicates. He had an upstairs privy with a flushing tank and a water pump in the kitchen. Imagine water for drinking and washing delivered up three floors, he continually had to shake his head for his good fortune.
The rooms were furnished, but dusty. Did Mander ever come up here? He had to if he sold one of his duplicate books, but the man didn’t appear to have cleaned the rooms for some time. Lotto began to spend many evenings getting rid of the dust and the dirt. What would the old Lotto think? He snorted. When did the old Lotto ever wonder about his existence in the filthy lean-to he had called home for so long? Lotto smiled at his new fastidiousness. He liked having things in order.
He lit a lamp. Mander decreed no open flames except to light the lamps and the cookers in the kitchens on the main floor and the third floor. That meant no candles.
He began to skim through his three volumes. The books had drawings and simple words. Lotto could tell because they were printed in large type and the words were made up of few characters. He sounded out the words and by the end of the evening he had puzzled out two of the volumes.
He woke at dawn and read them again, this time without pausing. It felt good to open the store in the
morning. Lotto stretched out his arms and felt at peace. He could read, a little, and would find more challenging books. He could feel Restella somewhere close in the castle. Mander’s confidence in him made him smile all morning long. Since he didn’t know where his life headed, he couldn’t think of a better place to wait until he found out.
~
Restella sat up in bed and gasped. She looked out the window and could see the sunlight brightening up the sky. Her uniforms and bags filled up the floor in her rooms. She jumped up and dressed, splashing water on her face to wake up. She grabbed her new sword and paused to touch the Moonstone. It gave her a feeling of confidence, but she sensed something like a thread going out into the city. She didn’t have the time to puzzle it out. Perhaps when she returned from the expedition, she could visit Fessano and find out what it was.
She threw open the door to her quarters. A soldier blinked and stood up to greet her. “Lieutenant Princess!” He stammered and closed his eyes as he stood at attention. “I’m here to help you with your bags, ma’am.”
“Bring the rest.” Stifling an urge to laugh, Restella grabbed one of her bags and walked off down the stairs and through the grounds towards the army stables.
She walked quickly to her horse and another soldier walked up to help her cinch things down.
“I’m to escort you to the mustering field.” He mounted his own horse, already packed and ready to go. “If you’ll follow me.” He rode out smartly ahead of her.
The soldier briskly trotted through the near-empty streets of Beckondale. In a few minutes, they reached the South Gate, the closest exit point from the castle. She rode into the parade field joined by a number of stragglers. At least she wasn’t the last to arrive. Finding her place, in the chaos that confronted her, proved a bit more daunting than the ride in.
“Where do I go?” she asked the soldier.
“Follow me, Lieutenant…”
“Beecher, soldier. Lieutenant Beecher.”
“Right you are, ma’am, Lieutenant Beecher, ma’am.” He took off and didn’t look back to see if Restella followed.
They threaded their way though the aimless crowds of soldiers as a column of officers, headed by Captain Shortwell rode into the grounds. Restella had reached her destination and continued to sit on her horse as the column made its way towards her.
“Good work, Lieutenant. I see that,” the Captain coughed, “Sergeant Silver led you here safely.” The Captain knew her escort. Was that a good sign? She knew so little of what she had to do that Restella really didn’t know.
“Yes, sir,” Restella said. The other officers began to dismount so Restella did the same. The soldier named Silver held onto her reins.
“Thank you for your work, Sergeant Silver.”
He nodded. “The Captain will be issuing marching orders in that tent just behind us. I suggest you follow the officers in there, ma’am.”
“I will. Thank you, Silver.” Well that went nicely and this soldier, Silver, seemed remarkably composed around his fellow soldiers. Restella followed the other officers and stood in the back. This was so far beyond her experience that she suddenly felt out of her element. In the castle, she could do much with the force of her personality, but not here. She didn’t dare. She had lived the last few years hoping against hope for this chance and she’d make the most of it.
“Beecher.” The Captain said. Restella still stood thinking. “Lieutenant Beecher.”
Restella felt her face burn as she stood at attention.
“You will command the supply train. It will be the last to leave. Lieutenant Gasolo will bring up the rear with his company.”
“Yes, sir,” Gasolo said, a tall lean young man not much older than Restella.
“Yes, sir,” Restella parroted the man. A few of the Captain’s officers turned with smiles on their faces.
So she was still a joke among the men, was she? She lifted her chin and vowed she would be the best supply train commander, ever.
~
Raindrops blew against the window, as Lotto spotted Mander rushing across the street and holding onto his hat in the wind. He ran through the door that Lotto opened for him.
“It’s like a gale on the ocean.” Mander said, taking off his dripping coat.
“Is that what a gale is? I’ve only seen the ocean in a dream,” Lotto said, watching big drops of rain splash on the puddles growing on the cobbles.
“I’m sure you didn’t imagine anything like this.”
“No, the ocean rose and fell in a rhythm with the sky dotted with white clouds. Enough wind filled the sails to push the big boat on.”
Mander laughed. “On the ocean there aren’t any big boats. There are boats, but anything of a good size is called a ship.”
Lotto nodded and smiled back. “The ship, then.”
“That’s a pretty accurate dream. Did you dream of anything more?” Mander walked to his office and Lotto followed. He didn’t think that there would be anyone coming to the shop in weather like this.
“Nothing more on the ocean. I had a few sales while you were gone—students from the King’s College.”
Mander looked up from the sales page that Lotto had kept. “They paid full price?”
Lotto smiled. “They asked for discounts and I told them that I couldn’t give them any because I didn’t know how to calculate them. They offered to make the calculations, but I’m sure they would have taken advantage.”
“Indeed they would. Nice work. How far have you gotten into the reading books?”
“I’ve read five. The three you gave me were too easy once I read through them three times each, so I found that any books with larger print were easier to read. As I worked on the shelves, I found a couple and read about the princess and the highwayman and another about a knight who fought his way to be king.”
“Good!” Mander seemed pleased and that made Lotto even more content.
“Let me tell you where I went since you’ve been reading your novels. I can tell you of some real life adventure.”
Lotto looked up. “She’s gone. I hope she’s in a carriage.”
“Who?” Mander furrowed his brow.
Lotto gasped. “I have a story, too. I know where the Princess Restella is.”
Mander shrugged and walked into the little kitchen, but Lotto noticed that Mander’s eyebrows went up a bit when he mentioned the princess’s name. “Oh, good. You’ve got a fire in the stove. I’ll fix some tea and then we can trade stories. Something good to do on a slow day.” Mander rubbed his hands.
Could Lotto trust Mander with his story? He looked at Mander’s back and decided that with the opportunities that his employer had given to him, Mander wouldn’t throw him out on the streets if he learned about his magic.
Lotto blew the steam away on a mug of tea that Mander put in front of him and began.
“Have you ever heard of the Moonstone? I found it. I can tell where Princess Restella is at any time.”
“So, you are the village half-wit of Heron’s Pond?” Mander Hart didn’t seem surprised by the information. That disappointed Lotto. “The Princess said the finder was a boy. You’ve grown quite a bit since the Princess came back.”
“So you’ve heard the story.” So Mander had taken him in because of the princess? “You took pity on me?”
“Not pity, but I admit to curiosity and I did need assistance at the shop. I’ll be honest with you, I do some work for the king. I’ve heard the story and I’ll believe anything you say because Princess Restella is presently riding in that rain to the east with a unit of the king’s army to make sure the Oringians keep to their side of the border. Quickly point to where she is!”
Lotto closed his eyes and pointed towards the back of the shop.
“Very good, Lotto. I’ve heard Restella’s story more than a few times, but I’ve never heard yours. The princess fancies herself as a great warrior, yet she is currently sopping wet, riding along with the supply train. Your Moonstone has found a ne
w home in the pommel of a sword she’s had specially made.”
“It has?” Lotto said. “It knocked me out when the princess took it out of my hand. I could feel the power come from the stone. I fainted again, overcome by something and woke up to find the princess and her guards gone.”
“I believe you. Did you know that she and others could touch it without feeling a thing? What happened after that?”
“While I was under, I had a dream of my parents coming from across the sea. My dream of the ocean?”
Mander nodded. “Continue,” he said urging Lotto on with a wave of his hand.
“I lived behind the house of a healer woman and after I told her about my dream, she thought that my parents were nobles from the continent of Zarron. They brought the Moonstone with them. Highwaymen or more likely assassins, now that I think of it, took their lives shortly after they arrived. Perhaps wizards threw spells at them, because my vision had them holding their hands to their ears. My father gave his boots to the driver, who tossed them into Heron’s Pond. He did that because he slipped the Moonstone into one of the heels. My mother died giving birth to me.
“I didn’t grow up right, stunted and not thinking straight. Once I touched the stone the first time, I began to grow. When the princess took it out of my hand I fainted and when I woke my mind had cleared up and it only took a few days to grow to my current height.”
“I’ve always suspected that you were affected by the spells that had stopped your parents and the Moonstone might have reversed its effects. The Moonstone gives physical and mental strength to a linked pair. You know Restella also grew a few inches and put on muscle like no woman I’ve ever seen. She’s still not as tall as you, but she can wield a blade rather well.”
Lotto sat back amazed that Mander Hart had already known of his background. He felt relieved that his burden had been shared with Mander and that he had already known much of the story. “My goal is to see the stone again and the princess. She is what drew me here and now she’s gone. But I can wait, now that I have a job, thanks to you.”