“So, let’s start with what the usual deal is.” She settled herself in the chair.
Gareth sat behind his desk. “I thought we could start anew, hmm? Why bother with the old trade?”
Rose cocked her head at him. “And how would I know if you’re treating me any better than the clout they last sent?”
“Because I’ve always treated you well before.”
Rose smiled at him, pressed her lips together. He held her gaze. “Gareth. I have the last three trade records. I had hoped you would’ve just been open and forthcoming with me.”
Gareth eyed her and leaned back. “All right then.”
Rose folded her arms. “I was thinking you’ll give me ten percent more for half the price.”
“I will not! More for less coin? What happened to you at the castle? All those aristocrats steal your sense.”
“No. Oh, no,” she breathed. “It’s been a while, but I still know how you operate. I’ll take your last shear. You won’t lose any of your stock to the roads closing for the winter. You’ll give it to me at half the price because the Light Horse will come back in the spring for another order on your first shear. It will save you the trip through the muddy roads to market and all the coin that costs.”
Gareth drummed his long fingers on the desk.
“I looked at the records before leaving. The Light Horse has been ordering from you for nearly a decade for their uniforms. The captain wants new uniforms to supply the incoming soldiers. I want to replace all her uniforms. I’ve checked the stock. It’s worn, old, thread bare. They need replacing. That’s a much bigger order than normal.”
Gareth pressed his lips together to keep from grinning. “You’ll put in the contract that the price is contingent upon the spring order. For my entire stock.”
Rose was nodding. “To be made into uniforms of the captain’s specifications, yes. How much money will you save not having to travel to market in the spring?”
“A lot.”
Rose spread her hands. “See? Have I ever done you wrong on a deal?”
“No, Rosie you have not.”
Rose slumped in the chair and smiled at him. “Write it up and we can go over the finer details tomorrow. Right now, I need to go speak to Alek about leathers.”
Gareth chuckled. “Well, good luck to you. That old bastard has gotten difficult.”
“Glad to see the two of you still don’t get along.”
Gareth stood and walked her back to the front door. “Some things never change.”
“For that, I’m glad,” she murmured to herself.
She’d spent the next day bargaining with Alek for leathers, or rather Alek’s grandson, which had been interesting, but it had been familiar and productive. Her two-day journey back to the castle was simple and uneventful. It had been glorious. She felt rested for the first time in a long time, and she wanted nothing more than to brag about her spoils.
Rose crossed the bridge into the castle and nudged Starlit a little faster. She rode straight up to the stables and handed Starlit’s reins to the boy.
Rose headed into the castle; a quick stop at her room to drop her satchel off and then she headed to the captain’s office. She knocked once, brisk and quick, and let herself in. Sitting in the captain’s chair was a young girl with a head full of blond curls.
“Um, who—” Rose frowned at the girl, who stared right back at her. “Where is the captain?”
“King’s Library,” the girl chirped at her.
Rose nodded, gave the girl one more glance, and headed to the library. The walk was long, nearly on the other side of the castle. When she arrived at the large, double doors she knocked hesitantly and stepped inside at the soft call to enter.
She stopped just inside the doors. “Excuse me.”
The two halted their conversation and turned toward her. King Micah smiled at her. “Have you just returned?”
Rose nodded and stepped further inside. “Yes. I thought to report to the captain.”
“Come in, Rose. Join us for tea.” Captain Sayla waved her over.
Rose nodded and walked over to their corner and slowly lowered herself into the opulent chair next to the captain. “Captain, there’s a little girl in your office.”
“My niece. Archie’s wife is moving to join him here. She sent Clara ahead of her.”
Rose raised her eyebrows. “Archie is married?”
Captain Sayla smiled at Rose’s tone and sipped her tea. “Yes.”
Rose started to reach for the teapot sitting on the small table in the center of them, but the king beat her to it and poured her a cup.
“How was your trip? Captain Sayla told me she had sent you to procure more winter wear.”
She awkwardly held the dainty cup and turned to the captain. “I have a deal for seventy lined winter coats and gloves along with eighty lined winter boots. I also spoke to the tanner and procured a deal for sixty of his leather trousers lined with fur along with thirty more of regular leather trousers. Both were given half the gold for the first half of the order to be delivered within the next two months. The remaining coin will be delivered upon completion of the order.”
It looked like the captain would drop her tea. She stared wide mouthed at Rose before finally taking a breath. “That’s much more than I requested! How did you pay for all of that? I do not have the funds to pay for all this, Rose!”
Rose grinned at her and leaned back. “Take a breath. There is still gold left over. I was able to cut the price of the wool quite a bit when I pointed out the years of patronage the Light Horse has done with him and agreed to a spring order to replace your worn uniforms. That gave me the money to order the leather. And I talked him down as well when I again mentioned the likelihood of return business if the king is satisfied with this first order. Not to mention that I had traded with both of those men for years. I had some pull with them. Let’s not also forget that I am a merchant,” Rose finished and stared smugly at the captain, who just looked dazed. “It’s why you sent me.”
“Seventy coats?”
Rose nodded.
“And lined leather?”
Rose smiled, sipped her tea.
“And you got all of that with gold to spare?”
Rose nodded. “The contracts with all the details are in my satchel in my room.”
The king was shaking with held back laughter, his hand held over his mouth. “Mariah, if you could see your face. I have never before seen you so shocked!”
“Well you should be, too!” she shouted with laughter in her voice, her decorum forgotten. “I’ve never gotten such a deal out of those thieves before!”
Rose couldn’t help but frown. “They are not thieves. They live in a small town in the countryside. Away from the security of the guards and the regular merchant trains. Everything they have or need they must grow or make themselves. Otherwise they face a supply trip; which, more often than not, ends up costing more than they come home with.”
The king was watching her closely.
“If you know that before you trade, you can understand why they ask for so much more. And if you know their background you can offer something else they will accept, but cost you less. It’s all about needs versus demands. We demand large amounts of wool coats and leather boots, they need our return business for the majority of their coin.”
“Very wise words.” King Micah had with an odd look in his eye. “You admire them.”
Rose turned to the king and shrugged. “I respect them. They have always been kind to me when I’ve traded with them. They ask for nothing more than what is fair for what they are giving up.”
He smiled at her. “Perhaps you should broker the trades for all my military branches.”
Rose’s eyes widened. “Oh no, Sire, I d
on’t have the established rapport or—”
“I was merely jesting, Rose.”
She blushed, and the king laughed more at her.
“You did very well, though.”
Rose blushed even more, which infuriated her. “Thank you. I enjoyed myself. It was a long time since I was there. A long time since I’ve been a merchant. I’ve missed it.”
The king was watching her silently with a scrutiny that made her want to squirm.
“I should leave you to your tea. Thank you.”
“And I would like to look at the contracts.” Captain Sayla set her cup down and stood with a nod to the king.
Rose dipped in a bow and followed the captain out. They were silent on the walk through the corridors until they reached Rose’s small room. Rose pulled her messenger bag from her bed where it sat and started looking through it for the various contracts.
“So, your trip went smoothly then.”
“Hmm.” Rose hummed an agreement.
“Nothing . . . uncomfortable happened?”
Rose finally looked up at the captain. “No.”
The captain nodded. “Good. You seem better.”
Rose took a deep breath and sat on her bed. “Yes. I—” she cut her eyes sideways at the captain, “I have been moving and running for so long I let myself forget what I love to do. What I miss. Didn’t allow myself to miss anything. This let me feel normal again.”
Captain Sayla lowered herself onto the small bed next Rose. “You cannot run forever. That life wears on your bones. Breaks down your soul.”
Rose sighed. “You’ve no idea,” she muttered.
Captain Sayla sat quietly next to Rose and waited as she gathered the various papers from her satchel and straightened them.
“I am good at a lot of things. Trading and negotiating is something I enjoyed doing.” Rose handed the contracts to the captain. “Thank you for letting me do that again.”
Captain took the papers and straightened them on her knees. “You did good, girl. You did really good.”
Rose nodded, sniffled, and watched Captain Sayla retreat from her room.
Chapter 26
Mariah looked over the day’s schedule one last time before leaving her office. A headache was already building behind her eyes, which never bode well for the day. Headaches made it harder to focus on her shield; harder to keep out all the voices. Which in turn led to more headaches. Days like these usually end with her hiding in her dark room, waiting for it to pass.
There was only one meeting with the king today; a nice break from the six or seven she had been attending. It seemed he was slowly replacing Anita with her, for which she was grateful even if it clogged her day up with meetings. Anita spent too much of her time complaining. Next, Micah just needed to remove the useless Jacob.
Mariah briskly walked across the courtyard toward the Quartermaster. The sun shone down on her shoulders but the slight breeze was crisp. The rains would be coming soon. And not long after that, the snow. Mariah hated the snow. The cold and the wet made her bones ache and her knee crack. The uniforms were never warm enough for the cold.
This year her people would be outfitted nearly as fine as the cavalry. Those smug bastards always got the best uniforms and the most funding.
Not this time, she thought with glee. Rose really had outdone herself. Mariah couldn’t have asked for a better trade. If she really does stay on Rose might find herself brokering a lot of trades for the Light Horse.
“Ma’am.”
Mariah shook herself from her thoughts enough to nod to the soldier as he passed her. She came up to the supply building and let herself in. The Quartermaster himself stood at the desk.
“Quinton. How are you?”
“Just fine, Captain, as long as you aren’t here to stir up trouble in my house.” Witch is always causing. Creating. Leaving messes for me. Mariah pursed her lips at his thoughts as they flittered through her mind. “I wanted to inform you of some inventory that will be coming in for the Light Horse.”
Gods, now I need to make room. Infantry has supplies moving, too. Light Horse needs their own storage. Not even a real military group. Quinton’s thought echoed through her mind and added to her headache. “How much inventory is coming in?” he asked aloud.
“There will be a total of 310 items, but half will be delivered in two months with the rest following in another two.”
“Gods, woman! Your troupe isn’t even close to three hundred large! Why in the heavens do you have so much coming in?”
Mariah held back a growl. “First off, its three hundred items total between all the coats, gloves, trousers, and boots. Second, and this is the last time I’ll remind you of this, I am a Captain and you will address me appropriately. Thirdly, my officers are not a troupe, not some ensemble or cast of misfits as you imply, but a recognized military branch by the king.”
But they are a cast of sorts. Cursed sorcerers and witches and the like. Mariah took a deep breath through her nose. “My apologies ma’am,” Quinton said. “With winter coming everyone is bringing in winter clothing, and the space is getting a bit tight.”
“You’re the Quartermaster. You’ll figure something out.” Her headache was pounding and every stray thought that snuck through her defenses added to the pounding.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mariah ground her teeth. “Thank you, Quinton.”
Back outside Mariah walked faster than she meant to trying to burn off her irritation. She detoured and found herself at the pasture, watching the horses. Not long ago, Nico would’ve found her here and said something that made her laugh or something sharp about Quinton to make her feel better. Mariah didn’t have time to think about his loss, but in moments like this, when it was still, she felt the throbbing ache in her chest. The loneliness.
A shadow fell over her, and Mariah wiped the tears from her cheek. She turned to who had stopped next to her. She cleared her throat softly and vaguely recognized the B’leakon as D’ray from the trade delegation. “Can I help you, sir?”
“No, ma’am. I was wandering the castle grounds. They are so beautiful.”
The captain waited to hear more but his mind was quiet, and the silence was startling after the afternoon of noise. “I’m glad you are enjoying them. The groundskeepers take a lot of pride in the grounds. It must be very different from your island.”
His eyes glowed and matched the sun, which Mariah found beautiful and unnerving all at the same time. “Yes, very. I heard the king is particularly fond of rose gardens. I was trying to think of an appropriate gift. Perhaps you might help me.”
The breeze picked up and stray strands of her hair flew across her face. Mariah tried to tuck them back into the bun while she spoke. “A gift for the king?”
“Yes, to thank him for the invitation. We so rarely interact with your king. I thought the moment should be recognized.”
“Speak to his secretary, Ben. He should be able to help you.” The hissing sounds of his speech made the hair stand up on her neck. Too much like a snake, the way these people spoke.
“Very good. I wish to show my thanks for his generosity.”
Mariah started walking back to the castle and D’ray fell in step with her. “He would appreciate that.”
He smiled, and Mariah had to crane her neck up to meet his face.
“Thank you, captain.”
With that he turned away and left. Mariah stopped walking and stared after him a moment before she continued. The B’leakon people unnerved her and she understood why they stayed on their island. His people’s eyes were...strange. The changing colors and wide set in their faces. The strange glow that seemed to be behind their eyes. She knew many in the castle were enchanted by their colors but not Mariah. She had a guess they changed color according to their
moods, not that she’d been able to match any one shade to a feeling. And their minds were silent to her.
At first, she thought it was just D’ray, but as more began arriving for the ball Mariah discovered all of them were as stone walls. All her life Mariah had dreamed of what it would be like to not hear people’s thoughts or know their feelings, but now that she’d met someone she couldn’t hear . . . it was strange. Conversations with D’ray and the other B’leakons left her feeling off balance. As if half her senses weren’t working. Until meeting and speaking with the B’leakons, Mariah had never experienced the quiet of a normal mind. She’d never realized how much she’d come to rely on the background sounds.
Mariah drowned out the noise of the castle people as she made her way to the audience room, the thoughts and feelings of everyone she passed becoming nothing more than background noises of a crowd. That background noise used to nearly drive her insane. In fact, when she was younger it nearly had. Now it was part of the normal.
Mariah came up to the already open doors and knocked. Micah looked up from his desk and waved her in. “How’s your afternoon been, Captain?”
“As expected.”
He glanced up from his paper at her tone. “Have you expected it to be good?”
Mariah situated herself just behind and to the right of his seat. “Not particularly.”
“Well, at least you haven’t been disappointed.” He motioned for his steward to bring in the visitor.
“No, we wouldn’t want that,” Mariah drawled just loud enough for him to hear.
Micah gave her an understanding smile before turning to the entering pair. They bowed as they neared the King, the younger of the two trying his best to appear unfazed by his surroundings.
Lots of guards. Swords. Weapons. That’s the king! Gods, that’s the king. Look smart. Brave, older. Calm down. Breathe. Calm. Breathe.
Mariah sighed and tried to ignore the panicked ramblings of the Lord’s son. Thoughts thick with emotions always came through louder, quicker, jumbled together in a stream of sounds and feelings. A knot started at the base of her skull and Mariah resisted the urge to roll her head against the tension pain.
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