Rolph turned to look, a frown suddenly crossed his face. “I didn't realize… Tor, honestly, I didn't know…” His friend sounded slightly panicked, which got the attention of several other people instantly.
Without missing a single beat the Queen stepped just past him and turned, using her own body to block Tor from sight for the moment, a questioning look on her face. Tor couldn't manage to speak, so just shook his head. It was stupid and not consequential at all. Just because Maria had been the one that was there at the most embarrassing moment of his life, that didn't mean anything in the here and now. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“I'm fine. It's not important.” He knew his face had turned red with shame. Worse, he hadn't even known back then that the girl he'd asked out had royal blood at all. No wonder she'd reacted so forcefully to his asking her to that party.
Connie looked concerned and tilted her head at Rolph, who shook his head slightly.
“Um, like with Count Wylde and Doretta? Only in this case… possibly for real? And worse. Doretta was way nicer about things I think, and had greater reason.” The Prince muttered softly, causing a reaction from the whole group standing around him.
No one spoke for a moment as the Count and his young wife approached, but the Queen turned and smiled at them, her arm going protectively around Tor's shoulders. The whole bowing process was done again, except that when all the bowing was done Maria refused to look at Ursala at all, obviously snubbing her. That made sense to Tor, but meant that she ended up looking at the Queen and Rolph. It wouldn't do to stare at the King after all, and that didn't leave a lot of people to look at.
It meant that after a few seconds she looked at Tor. For some reason she smiled and then looked down, then back up her smile growing larger. The Queen didn't let go of his shoulders, but Trice moved in on the other side, closing ranks, with a cold look in her eyes.
The King swept an arm towards the table.
“Let's eat before we begin the discussion, shall we?”
Tor felt faint. Of course not sleeping for a day and a half on top of all the stress might explain it. Then again, maybe it was just his subconscious mind looking for a way to get him out of the room. The idea almost made him smile. That would make him look good, wouldn't it? Pass out over the chilled fruit juice in front of him. Instead he took a small sip, trying to focus on it and ignore everyone else for a moment.
They all made small talk, saying very little for the most part. He felt tempted to go work on the problem of ending the drought the King had mentioned, but he let that idea go quickly. Jumping up and running off probably wouldn't go over very well. At least Maria, Countess Ward he corrected himself, hadn't regaled the room with how he'd foolishly asked her to a party once and had to be publicly chastised for it. Not yet anyway. The night was young. Whee.
For some reason he'd been given the seat next to the Queen, on her left. She and Richard held the top of the table, putting Rolph directly across from him. Tricia sat next to the Prince and Ursala was next to him. Some kind of subtle statement no doubt, about the damage done to alliances or whatnot. Tor didn't get it all and doubted he would even if it were all explained to him. Still, the girl hadn't been put at the far end of the table either, which meant that no one at the palace thought she should fear being poisoned, right? That was a good, if confusing, sign.
Really, it was all he could do to not spill his juice. He didn't jump when the man standing behind him placed a napkin in his lap, but only because the King's man had gone first, then the Queen's woman. They were all matched by gender. Interesting. Behind each of the ten people present stood a servant, ready to do whatever it was they did.
Everyone stared at him, except Rolph and the Queen, who both smiled, amused. The King suddenly stood and bowed to him. “Again you honor us, sir.” His voice was warm and filled with respect. Tor looked down at the cup in his hand, wait, did taking a sip of juice count as the first bite of food? Argh! He hadn't even thought about that. He looked down and closed his eyes slightly. Maybe if he excused himself to go to the bathroom he could reach his flying gear and head out of the Capital before they noticed he was gone?
Next to him, before anyone else could take a sip Ursala held up her own cup, as if saluting with it and took a large swallow. The King bowed to her as well, smiling and then picked up his own vessel, still standing. He took a single sip and sat gently. The Queen stood and went next, and after her Rolph. Then Trice tilted her head at him and took a single sip from her own cup. Other than the King and Queen, no one else was standing up.
Was he supposed to take a sip now again or not? He missed being at home, or even school, where he could just eat and no one noticed him doing it as long as he didn't pick his teeth at the table or spit. Ursala smiled, but didn't look at him, her eyes straight ahead for some reason. Softly a foot caught him in the shin. He took a sip from the golden glass cup, just hoping that's what she meant. It went down the table that way, with Count Ward going last. He actually looked into the vessel as if it were an enemy out to get him, as if it might honestly contain poison.
That of course was stupid. This was way too small a group for anyone to try it. The King would be blamed, or possibly the family of Ursala. They couldn't spread the blame around enough that way. If there were hundreds of people it could be anyone, right? Here that wouldn't work. Unless they blamed Tor of course. That could work. After all, he might have considered slipping the man poison if he knew how to do such things. For him to have been so irresponsible with Ursala made Tor more than a little angry. If he wasn't a Count Tor would have punched the man, even if the guy would kill him in a fight.
Dark thoughts spread themselves across his mind, like they had during his first year at school, when he'd almost left, because of how bad he felt after the thing with Maria. If Rolph hadn't been there to prop him up and help him move past it, he'd probably be getting the shop ready for the next day before turning in early. Bakers got up before the dawn each day by several hours, especially in the heat of summer. He turned away from thinking like that and tried to listen to what everyone else around him said.
The Countess Thorgood, who sat several seats away from him, but on the same side of the table, mentioned how delightfully cool the room was, a miracle, given how hot the day had been. Everyone made polite speech about the weather for a while after that for a while, which came back around to the temperature of the room again. Maria spoke softly, her voice sounding pleasant enough, kind even.
“Oh! Is it one of those new room coolers? We've an order for several in to Debri house, but there's a waiting list, even for Counts. It makes sense that the palace would have some, I suppose, but I have to admit to a bit of jealousy nonetheless.” It was a throwaway line from the way she said it, but the Queen answered her anyway, her voice soft and pleasant sounding as well. Almost like the way velvet felt against the skin.
“Yes. I've heard from sources that the new Tor-shields and flying devices are being given priority since those are needed for the common defense. Luckily for us the devices to cool this room have been loaned to us by Tor himself. Along with virtually priceless devices to keep our servants cool when they leave to get our next course. A gesture of grand magnitude.” She turned slightly to address the man standing behind the King, about six feet back. “How are they working Quavel?”
The man stood straighter and smiled.
“Perfectly mum! Even standing next to the ovens they work to keep the wearer cool.”
The Queen nodded subtly to Tor. No one else seemed to notice, except Trice who gestured to him slightly. She mouthed the words “I want one.” at him, which made him smile. He nodded slightly. He could make another few batches after he had some sleep. Then he'd need to figure out how to transfer rivers of water across the countryside.
The courses passed one after the other, almost seamlessly. His server offered more fruit juice instead of wine, which he took gratefully. If anyone noticed they didn't remark on it. Then again, given the people sitting around him, those that didn't know him might just think he was a child. Tor knew he didn't look old for his age and when everyone else loomed over you like they all did, it could be easy to get confused. It was good juice though. Some kind of apple peach blend he thought. Tart apple too, the way he liked it.
For sweets at the end they had chilled fruit with cream over it. The cream had been sweetened and was still liquid, but poured over the cut strawberries slowly. It was very good, but then everything had been. He noticed that the serving sizes for him had been smaller than for everyone else so that he could eat each course. Catching the Queen's eye he nodded his thanks. It was obviously her doing. She'd probably noticed that he couldn't eat his dessert the other day. Not his fault that he wasn't a giant, but her making sure he didn't feel uncomfortable about it was nice. She was probably that considerate of everyone, but it made him feel a little special anyway.
When everything was cleared from the table drinks were brought out, water for him, and he was fairly certain, for the King as well by the look of the glass in front of him. Everyone else got wine. It seemed like a less than brilliant idea really, letting people drink at such a potentially volatile meeting, but if it was the tradition then they kind of had to.
Then the conversation started. Or rather the argument that rapidly devolved into a screaming match between Counts Ward and Thorgood. It seemed to center around who was responsible for the pregnancy, rather than seeking to find a workable solution. Ward, for someone that held enough interest in Ursala to have sex with her, apparently on numerous occasions, didn't seem to hold her in very high esteem anymore. He continued to heap more and more abuse towards her over the whole thing, as if he had no part in it. Tor may not know a lot about sex, he knew, but no one seemed to doubt that Ward was the father at all, so arguing over responsibility now seemed… insane.
Ward did, as Rolph had mentioned might happen, suggest that the baby simply be “gotten rid of”. Tor had to swallow his anger, but managed it. Barely. After all, short of dying, what else could he do? Ursala sullenly shook her head no at the suggestion and Marigold took her hand and patted it, while glaring at the man who'd despoiled her little girl.
Trice didn't say much and what she did say tended to be fairly helpful suggestions, such as the need to look for a solution, instead of placing blame. The King eventually told both men to shut up, he did it bluntly and with a bit of force behind it, which got their attention pretty well.
“We have two problems here gentlemen, neither of which your bickering has addressed at all. First we need to see that Ursala here is not abused in this case. Second, we need to see her married to a suitable individual within the month. Start naming candidates. Now please.”
Ursala's father went quiet at least, but the younger Count decided to take the opportunity to cast aspersions on the lady again. Tor watched as Rolph went from red to white, and stood stiffly, turning to face the Count, his eyes looking a little dead. As he did sparks started to manifest around him, an aura of power. Trice slapped at her chest.
“Damn, I don't have my shield on!” She pulled back, scampering with almost everyone in the room towards the other side. The Royal Guard suddenly appeared in the room, looking deadly in their black and purple, heavy cloth that had to be uncomfortable, but that didn't look too different from what Tor had on at the moment himself. They all just stood around though, once they realized what was about to happen.
Rolph flipped the table out of the way with a casual gesture, not touching it at all. It left Tor sitting in his chair with no table in front of him, the only one left. Everyone else had the sense to get out of the way of the rampaging royal. Except him and Count Ward, who was looking at least as enraged as the Prince. Pulling out his shield amulet Tor activated it carefully and then tucked it back into his shirt. That way it wouldn't flop around if he got hit. It shouldn't anyway, but better to be sure of it.
He stood slowly and walked between the two men then just stood in place. As if sharing a single thought, both men pointed both hands at each other. Nothing happened until Rolph moved two steps to the left, causing a single chair to flip towards the Count. It stopped when it hit Tor's shield, his right hand extended to keep it from flying past. The way the chair flew… It seemed familiar somehow. As both men ran towards each other, with him in the middle he suddenly got it. The force moved in a line, the energy inside the field being organized so that it all suddenly wanted to move in one direction! If they'd kept dropping more chairs into the field, they all would have flown too. It was like the flying field in effect. Only totally backwards in how the mechanism worked.
Chairs got caught in it and flew along the path set up in advance, which was different than how he had people flying, which held a single object in place relative to the field, the field giving the instructions moving along with it… It made sense! If he could set up a path, the ocean water could be sent along like a stream or a river. If he filtered it as it flowed into the line the water would all be fresh. It would take massive work, but it could be done. Tor thought so anyway. If building the fields in the first place didn't kill him. But hey, everyone died eventually, so wasn't it worth a chance?
As he stood the Count rushed him from behind and started pounding on him, causing the floor beneath him to make massive popping sounds. Rolph didn't hit him at least, moving around to strike at the other man. As a blow moved to hit home against the Count, Tor stepped into the path of it, distracted by the project at hand.
Then after about five minutes he realized that the real project at hand, Ursala's problem, wasn't being attended to at all. They were just wasting time on that one for sure. He looked around and finally saw the clutch of people standing by the door.
“Hey, anyone have any male relatives of, or at least near, marrying age that could be passed off as noble enough for Ursala?” Tor asked, his voice slightly abstract and distant as he tried to figure out how many devices he'd need per mile to carry enough water to make the whole thing work. Hundreds at least. Or did he? God. Making that many field copies would take forever. Weeks or more. Maybe they could hire the work done, as long as he got the initial template up? That was generally the hard part, coming up with a field that could be copied and passed to other plates or crystals. That many plates would be dangerous though. What if someone moved one by mistake? An unending flood of water popping out of the line… He needed to find some other way.
No one said anything for a bit, but finally Ursala's mother called out a name.
“Howard Turnbull?” She said, getting a groan from the room after a few moments.
Even the two men that stood hitting at each other stopped then. Rolph stood back and after a few seconds Count Ward did too. Both looked baffled for a second, then realized what must have happened. Well Rolph did. Ward stood there looking confused until Maria gently explained things to him. The girl wasn't rough with the man, but clearly led him more than the Count realized. That probably explained a lot about why the Count had been so cruel towards Ursala.
After all, he already couldn't marry the girl and no one was even suggesting that. No one had even said he should pay her money for the child or anything. The worst he should feel was embarrassed about how he'd misbehaved, but instead he'd reacted as if wronged somehow. If Maria was behind directing him that much…
Looking down Tor noticed that the stone under his feet had been cracked in a circle around him. A small path of lines followed the path he'd walked. Like the line of a river, shooting off into smaller streams moving outward. Like he'd need to do in order to water crops. Well, to get water to the crops. The farmers would have to control the actual watering. He'd helped in the garden at home, they all had, but that wasn't large scale farming at all. That part should be left to the pros he decided.
He stood staring at the floor for a minute, until a man in a Royal Guard uniform came and shook his arm gently, not really touching him, because his shield was still on. “Sir? Are you alright sir?”
“Oh! Sorry, yes, just thinking about something. Where were we? Howard Turnbull? Who's that?” The cracks didn't move or change so he looked up at Marigold and smiled.
Howard Turnbull, it turned out was everyone's idiot relative, a joke of sorts, not an actual person. It meant that one in the family tree that people hid away on isolated country estates. In this case, it could mean a sham marriage to someone that didn't exist. They would, in short, invent a person no one else had ever met for Ursala to marry.
The Queen nodded, obviously seeing something that Tor missed.
“Yes… Then in a couple years, he has a “horrible accident” leaving Ursala a widow, free to remarry without social stigma. It could work. Not ideal, but…”
No one was really happy about it, but everyone agreed it would be better than waiting and letting the child be born out of wedlock. Even Count Ward agreed with the idea, though Maria sat very still and looked angry for some reason. That there was no real father seemed to matter less than what other people thought.
Who was going to play with the child though? Or teach him how to hunt and fish? Or if it was a girl, fend off inappropriate suitors? Tor held his tongue. Maybe they could find someone in time still. There had to be someone that would work, didn't there?
The Royal Guard evaporated as quickly as they appeared, leaving everyone else to hash out the details. Tor didn't want to run off, in case he was needed to stand in front of insane nobles bent on killing each other again, but he really wanted to sleep now. The day had just been too much for him to take easily.
Another two hours passed before they had a plan that everyone agreed with. Ursala would marry a man named Baron Hyrees, since that title stood empty, then in a year he'd “die” and she could turn and marry Rolph as she was supposed to have done. The child would be cared for and yet never in the line of succession. He or she would even get the Baron's title when “Hyrees” died, even though it wasn't landed. Better than Ursala being publicly disgraced, if just barely.
When the Counts and their wives left, Ursala with her parents, Trice ran over to him, hyperventilating slightly. “Tor! Are you alright?”
Everyone else came over as well, looking scared, except for the King who just looked slightly amazed. The giant man shook his head.
“That shield you're wearing, it blocks out the battle aura too, doesn't it? How did you come up with that?” The King looked impressed when Tor told him. And a little embarrassed when he told him why.
“So, I have to try and protect myself from Wensa, just in case. I don't know what I'll have to defend against. I still haven't figured out poisons, so don't tell her that one, alright?”
Tor assured them several times that he was fine, then after taking a deep breath, asked the King if he could see him in two or three days about the drought problem. It would take at least that long to make sure he could do anything useful anyway. The King just bowed a tiny bit and stated that they'd have luncheon in three days, if that would suit.
That… should be fine.
Rolph was at least as tired as he was after his combat rage episode, which he assured him wasn't a common thing. Tor reminded him that he knew it wasn't, obviously, having lived with him for years.
Rolph looked chagrined, “it's just, that guy, Ward, made me so angry. Sure, people have sex and sometimes things like this happen, but for him to act like he was the victim and worse, claim that she was a slut… it was too much. Even if she was a slut, which a half dozen lovers a year doesn't make her at all, you just don't say such things in public like that. I'm kind of surprised her father didn't declare war right there. Really, the only reason he didn't was probably the fight itself. Ursala's honor was defended instantly and then, what you did…”
His friend yawned and led him back to the guest house, so that they could both sleep. It was before midnight, but the morning would come early, Tor knew, somehow it always did. He headed off to bed as soon as he got changed for it, laying the nice clothes out on the table, so that he wouldn't accidentally ruin them. The room, thankfully, was cool. He'd left the servants with all the remaining personal heat exchangers he realized. No big deal, he'd make up more in the morning before he started on the other work that had to get done.
His head hit the pillow and he slept until he heard a soft knock coming from his door. He blinked awake, dim light coming from the curtained window of the large room.
“Coming.” He called out struggling to crawl out of the bed covers. Tor's feet didn't want to work right and he stumbled a little as he walked across the floor. Brushing the sleep from his eyes he opened the door, to find Rolph's sister Karina standing in the hall. She didn't wait to be asked in, ducking past him and closing the door to keep the cool in.
“Good morning! Sorry to bother you so early, but I heard about the temperature control devices that people can wear and wondered if you might have another that I could borrow? I know that I have no right to ask or anything, but I'm going to be out all day and…” She looked hopeful and gave him a cute look that he recognized as wheedling. He had sisters after all, it wasn't like it was lost on him. He held up his hand to stop her, then yawned, covering his mouth with his other hand.
“Sorry,” he spoke quickly before she thought he was being mean to her or something. “All out. I don't even have my own anymore, or you could have that one. Gave them out to the servers last night. It will take me… Oh, at least another couple hours to do up the next batch. I have some plates I can put them on, but I don't have anything to etch them with. If you could find me some sand paper we could get it done quickly enough. Acid would work too, if you can find some strong enough?”
She looked surprised, but not put out.
“I suppose I could find something, two hours? I wanted to leave by noon…”
It turned out that it was only nine, so he assured her they could have something before then, if he hurried. She ran out and he got right to work, sitting on his bed, making the transfers from the template. It seemed easier to do this time for some reason. Maybe he was finally getting used to doing it? Could be the simplicity of the field itself too. Either way it worked for him.
He managed to get his teeth brushed and if not a full bath, a good scrubbing down, before the Princess got back. She had a bottle of acid with her and some natural fiber brushes that would simply dissolve if they tried to put it in the bottle. Her face fell when he mentioned that, but he smiled and assured her that they could use it anyway. Taking the plates out into the garden with a large bucket of water, he put the heavy paper on the metal, making sure it was flat and then carefully poured the stark white paste onto the metal, using the glass of the bottle's lip to spread it around. Then they had to wait about ten minutes to rinse, this acid being rather stronger than the stuff he could get at school, but once that was done, they were ready to go.
He handed her a damp piece of copper and had her test it. Standing out in the heat like they were, the effects were instant. He took one himself and did the same thing. The sudden sense of comparative cool took him for a moment. Delicious.
The thought reminded him that he should probably eat before getting back to work, if he could find food. He mentioned this to Karina, hoping she'd be able to point the way to the kitchen, which she did, even going as far as to walk him to the door of the small light colored outbuilding. Then she kissed him on the cheek and blushing, ran away.
He touched his cheek. Heh, kissed by a Princess. Wait until he told the folks at home. Then he realized they either wouldn't believe him or would misunderstand how innocent it really was. As she scurried away, a quick walk rather than an undignified run or playful scamper, she looked back over her shoulder and smiled. Her red hair swaying as she walked. Tor kind of wished she'd stayed. Having someone that belonged there next to him would have lent a lot of weight to the idea that he wasn't just some beggar that had slipped past the guard or something.
Looking down he realized that his old brown school outfit might not work for him in this situation. They'd probably grab him and set him to scrubbing pots or something, it didn't look that different than what a lot of the people in the kitchen wore he'd bet. The only problem really being that he had other work he needed to be doing. Instead, as he stood in the door, an unfinished wood frame, no one noticed him for a long time, almost five minutes. Finally a large woman, tall, not heavy, with gray and silver hair cut short, spun on him.
“Help you sir?” She said, her voice friendly if hurried.
Tor asked if they had a spare crust of bread or some fruit lying around that he might have, the woman chuckled and had him sit at a low table apologizing for the heat. She bustled and grabbed half a small loaf and cut him a slice of light yellow cheese, which she laid on top of the brown crust, to this she added a stack of apple slices that had been dried. They had an odd, almost crisp texture that melted in his mouth when he took a bite of apple. One of his new dryers had been used on these then? The effect was interesting, if not identical to regular dried fruit.
The woman smiled at him as she scooted him out the door by waving at him, he had to carry the new heat exchangers under the bread, but managed it without dropping anything. Thinking for a second, Tor rolled his eyes. Seriously, he was a moron sometimes.
“Excuse, ma'am? Um, here, they don't have cords on them, but they might help with the heat.” Holding out half the pile of copper plates got the tall woman to stop and stare at him for a second, as if he was trying to give her a burden. Maybe she didn't like magic or…
“Oh! Are these some of those cooling devices the servers got last night? I've been trying to cage one all day, since I heard about them…” She took one from his grasp and hit the sigil, closing her eyes briefly as she did.
“Ah… OK then, I can see what all the talk was about.” She tried to hand it back, but instead was met with the other half of the pile.
“For you in here. I know that it's brutal, the heat in here. Let me know if you need more and I'll try to get some to you?”
The woman blinked for nearly ten seconds and then nodded, taking the things slowly, as if unsure.
“I…” She didn't finish the statement though.
Tor looked at his food hungrily and shrugged after a bit, it was getting awkward. He didn't expect thanks for it, but the woman didn't seem to know what he wanted, since that had basically already been taken care of, Tor smiled and made sure the food didn't fall.
“Um, thanks for this.” With that, he walked out quickly, the rest of the people stopping to stare for some reason.
Then Tor sat on the grass next to the guest house, in the shade, hopefully out of the way enough so that no one would notice him. As he did his mind turned back to the problems he had to work on for the day. Getting water to the drought stricken area and heavy lifting cargo devices. Reluctantly, he decided that he'd have to wait to build the full fields for either of them. After all he didn't even know if he could move water yet, or take salt out of it. He knew he could do the other one just being a larger version of something he already had, but it would take three or four days of work for the template, and he had an appointment with the King about this other thing first.
So, the afternoon would be spent on seeing if he could control the flow of water at all. Tor thought it would work, but… without testing it he didn't want to tell anyone in case he proved wrong. It turned out that the idea, once he got past the initial three failures of concept, was pretty simple. He had to define the movement on a curve to test it in the bathtub, turning it into a kind of fountain for a while, but it worked. It would also, he realized, work for any kind of water pumping, not just long transfers over land. Tor wanted to try pumping water hundreds of feet into the air, but didn't have a big enough body of water to test the idea in. The bathtub just wouldn't do at all.
When Rolph found him he saw the activity in the big ceramic tub and clapped his large hands several times.
“Going to make an ornamental fountain? That could go over well this time of year. Especially if you do it in the pond garden. Even a temporary water feature would be good. My mother loves things like that and she has some of her friends coming over later. Royal types and high society women. So, you know… catty and unpleasant? Anything we can do to distract them would be a boon, I think.”
Excitedly he made his friend take him there and then, over the next four hours, they designed and built an elaborate water feature that ran a steady and rushing stream of water through loops, spirals, plummets and raised it as high in the air as Tor could hold in mind while building the motivation field, which turned out to be about two hundred feet he found. The only reason he didn't make it larger was that they'd already had about half the pond's water hanging above the ground over the pond at any given time. He was afraid to take any more out, lest the fish end up dying of thirst. The field would probably only last a week or two, but that would be fine. As it failed the water would just not be taken up as well and finally just stay in the pond itself.
It worked well enough as a proof of concept for half of it.
Now all he had to do was build a salt water filter. He didn't know how he'd do that. Oh, the filter made sense to him, a simple field that put salt on one side, pure water on the other. But how was he supposed to find salt water to practice on? He asked Rolph, who blinked several times.
“Say, Tor… Have you ever actually seen an ocean?”
He hadn't, of course, this being as far from Two Bends as he'd ever been. That got Rolph to set up an outing to the coast for the next day with Trice and Sara. They'd fly, so the three hundred mile trip wouldn't be a problem. Instead of a day trip, they could take it in two legs, giving them an over night stay. Rolph really seemed excited about it, since it meant that he could spend time alone with Sara. He winked at Tor when he talked about it.
The next morning, early-ish, but not too early, they set out, taking the mandatory carriage ride out of the city itself, so that they could take off and actually make decent time. Tor was really starting to dislike carriage rides. They were bumpy and slow and you couldn't feel the wind on your face.
They had to get the girls on the way, which took them all over town, since Trice lived on the opposite side of the city from Sara. It took a while, due to all the people in the streets early in the morning. It was still cool, for this place in summer at least. That, of course, made it the time to get things done. Everyone swore that the very mild and wet winters made the summers worthwhile and that they didn't even have snow to contend with most years, but Tor wasn't convinced overly. It was a pretty place, if crowded, but no snow? That didn't seem right. Like they were cheating somehow.
The dwelling that they picked up Trice at was large, but actually held some passing resemblance to what Tor thought of as a real house. It wasn't a miniature palace and didn't pretend to be. Debri house kind of did, but lacking the size looked a little funny. For that matter the palace actually looked a little funny to his uneducated eye. This place looked more like what he always dreamed of having when he was younger. A place to raise a family and keep them comfortable and safe. It was nice. Oh, it still probably cost more to build than he'd ever make, but compared to the official residence of the King, it seemed like a good place to be.
Trice saw him looking at the house and flushed brightly.
“It's… you know, our second house. No one else is really here, except the servants, most of the time, so…” She seemed nervous about something.
The other two smiled and looked away, so no help there. Tor shrugged and hoped that he hadn't offended her. Sure, her house may not be as nice as the palace, but what was? Some other palace in a different part of the world maybe? It really didn't seem like she had to worry about that. Not with her friends at least. Tentatively he clapped her on the shoulder. She'd done that a couple of times with him, so it probably wouldn't seem improperly friendly, he hoped. She leaned into him and put her arm around his shoulders in a half hug like the Queen kept doing.
Sara stared at her friend after about half a minute, eyebrows raised, which just got a lifted chin and a look away, off into the distance, from Trice. Whatever it meant, she apparently had decided that it was alright if Tor treated her like he would his own sisters. All to the good, they were friends, right?
He wondered if she'd a betrothed already arranged or not herself too. Was it all royals that had that or just the firstborn, or maybe just Rolph? No, wait, Karina did too… He'd have to ask later. Their world was such a mystery to him. On the good side, it went the other way too, he thought. Oh sure, they had money, connections and knew who was who and all that, but he could make bread and winter cakes with the best of them, split firewood with an ax and darn his own socks. Totally equal in the grand scheme of things. Really.
Tor sighed a little and had to resist shaking his head, because he couldn't match fine people like this in any way. For a few seconds he kind of wondered why they bothered keeping him around. Entertainment value, probably.
Dance Tor monkey, dance?
Well, they were more polite to him about it than that at least, if it was the real case. His dancing could probably be a source of amusement though, if he tried hard.
Rolph helped him get Trice's heavy trunk on the top of the large brown carriage. Metal bars on the top made it so they could tie it down for the trip using a thick rope the carriage carried for the purpose. They all had a trunk with them, even though it seemed like overkill for a one night trip, still, it wasn't a hardship for them with the floats, so why not?
They rode in silence for the most part, everyone still a bit sleepy or maybe saving up their stories for the camp fire later that night. Tor knew he didn't have any stories to tell that the others wouldn't know, not that they'd want to hear, but it gave him a kind of comfortable feeling. After all, your friends were the ones that knew you and what you'd done. Mainly at least.
Unless they were living a hidden life for years that they weren't allowed to tell you about… No huge thing. Who was he to demand answers from people like them? Yes, they were his friends, but also royalty and important people. Great that he knew them, but Tor didn't delude himself into thinking their tolerance of him meant he was their true equal.
It took less than two hours to get to the beach, where they were going to stay at the “little cabin”. For once that wasn't too much of a misstatement, at least not for Rolph and his family. It was a house, not a cabin, one with running water and flush toilets. No servants though, and only two bedrooms, so they'd have to share. That wasn't a real problem, since they shared at school anyway. They had only one bed in each room, but the beds were huge, even compared to the giant wonder he had back at the guest house. Everything was done in light, fresh colors and soft fabrics that could breathe, giving the whole thing a more open feeling than he'd expected from the outside. It was very nice, but not as opulent as the palace or the King's guest house. In all Tor had to wonder if it would be alright for him to stay here instead. The idea was relaxing at least. For one thing, way fewer people.
The first thing they did was go to the beach. Well, honestly the first thing everyone did was use the facilities and clean up, but then they went to the beach. Tor couldn't believe what was in front of him even as he stood looking. He'd seen it from the air, sure but that had been so far away, just an expanse of blue-green on the horizon, here he could walk right up and touch the water. It wasn't just salty but so salty that he could taste it in the air itself. Subtle but actually there.
It was a wonder for sure. A thing he'd heard of, learned of in school even, but hadn't really believed in until he saw it himself, not really. The whole thing just sounded so unlikely, a giant lake that was bigger than the entire continent they lived on? Vast waves, the scent of wet sand and water in the air, along with an almost phantom taste of it on the back of his tongue. The waves were more green than the water behind it and light passed through showing little particles and debris inside, with white tops that turned to foam on the beach in places.
Everyone else played in the water, but he hadn't come to play. Tor was there to work. It took hours of focus, made harder when Trice came and dumped a bucket of water on his head, which he ignored, even while everyone else laughed. It ended up helping him, even as it stung his eyes, since he used the liquid that dripped from him to get a feel for what dissolved salt in the water felt like.
That was the key. With that sense of things in mind, he could capture what clean, pure water was like in contrast. Pure water he knew, he drank it several times a day after all. Tor had even captured the feeling before, to build the filter for Galasia. What he needed then, was the difference. He sat with his eyes closed for two more hours, but when he was done he had a small version of the water purification system coupled with an above ground river. In extreme miniature. The field wouldn't last forever, he knew, maybe a few weeks, but it was good enough for a test. The stream of water floated in the air about five feet from the ground and was about as big around as he could reach with both hands. It twisted back and forth down about half a mile of beach, but looped back so that he was within about fifty feet of both ends.
The device itself was just a simple copper plate, not even a template, just a pure one up. It was just to test the filter after all, with a moving water stream. Tor actually had to remind himself of that, feeling a little bad about not making it “right” so that it could be copied and last. Walking to the flow of water, which was a lot clearer in the air than in the vastness of the ocean, where it looked a greenish blue, he put his hand in, only to find it carried along with the stream perfectly and a little painfully at the shoulder as it whip his hand along faster than he'd figured it would. Then he tried again, bracing himself, so the force of the water, the only thing the stream would carry, in order to prevent any junk from being taken along, wouldn't knock him off his feet. His hand caused a spray of water, which he managed to put his head in front of long enough to catch some in his mouth.
It was pure. Not just clean, but perfect. No hint of anything. Like really good well water. Rolph came over and tried a sip too, the whole thing easier for him, being a lot stronger than Tor, then drank it in deep gulps. Laughing he separated a bit of spray for the others too, who agreed it was clear of all salt. Not even the taste of salt from the air had gotten in.
Then Rolph started spraying them all with water, since the flow was pretty fast it flew a long way off of the main stream, this went on for a while, with Sara getting the worst of it for some reason. Tor got that it was that playful kind of flirting that people did sometimes that could seem mean, but wasn't meant that way at all. Plus the outfit for bathing Sara had on hugged her chest nicely when wet. Trice's did too, but she was Rolph's cousin, and ogling her would be at least a little wrong.
For Rolph.
Tor was willing, but didn't try spraying her himself, not wanting to be beaten for acting improperly. Deciding to end the game of getting her with water the pretty blond ran over and tapped the copper plate with a cute smile and a flip of her now damp hair, turning the field off altogether in a single instant.
Water splashed to the ground, the momentum moving the loose and dry sand easily, a wave about a foot high flowed back into the sea after a few seconds. Everyone giggled and Sara snagged the plate, so that it wouldn't get washed out in the flood.
Everyone laughed except him.
Tor went white.
“Crap.” He said, feeling dead inside, his stomach around his knees. Then he sat down on the ground suddenly, just falling with a muffled thump. “Fucking hell. Oh my freaking… stupid…”
Sara held the plate up, her eyes going wide.
“I didn't break it, did I?”
Her voice was worried, so he shook his head and waved his right hand, not able to articulate the real problem yet. Then, slowly, Tor pointed at the beach, a large chunk of it flattened and soaking. He couldn't speak even to mutter yet in his shock, but no one else seemed to see what had just happened.
“Look!” Tor hissed still pointing at the beach, sputtering a bit.
After a minute, breath still coming out hard, he managed to explain.
“I meant, still mean, to take what amounts to a giant river and put it in the air for irrigation, hundreds of miles away from the ocean, over land, near farms, cities and villages… If I built the field this way and it ever got turned off…”
That got their attention. No one spoke for a bit, then Rolph started chuckling nervously.
“Well, Sara, it looks like you just saved a part of the kingdom all on your own! Well, no problem. Tor's on it, so it will be fixed now. Good thing we were goofing around then, instead of “working” isn't it? Probably some of the most constructive play this year.” Moving carefully the large young man came over and patted Tor on the back warmly.
“Everything has flaws, it's just a matter of finding them and fixing them if you can. That's what building is all about, yes? I seem to remember some guy telling me that once…” The look that came along with the words was significant, as if trying to keep Tor from sinking into a depression.
It was a good point. Fix the error and move on. That one was too close though. Tor knew that it could have very easily been missed and then… disaster.
Caused by him. God and gods.
No one said anything else about it, but it bothered Tor, niggling at the back of his mind as they moved inside for luncheon, a late one, since it neared five in the evening. They'd brought lunch, but, as he kind of suspected before, none of the others had thought to bring anything except the basket of food that had been handed to Rolph before they left by the same cook that had given Tor bread and cheese the day before.
It was funny to watch them all realize that they didn't have anything to eat, even though the pantry was filled with stable foodstuffs that could have fed a small family for months. After about ten minutes of growing desperation Tor burst out laughing. No one else thought it was funny for some reason. He stuck his tongue out at them all and patted everyone on the back. Mainly so they wouldn't hit him as he covertly mocked their inability to perform basic house chores.
It took about two hours to get everything ready, which turned late luncheon to early supper, because he had to collect wood and fire up the stove first, which none of them knew how to do either. Then, really, if he ever needed to know the most popular song at the moment, he was stuck himself, so it was probably even as far as what knowledge was better to have.
Or would be, after they ate.
Tor made biscuits instead of bread, because there wasn't any yeast starter and while corn bread was good, no one else had ever had it before. He decided to leave that for the morning. The kitchen probably got hot, but everyone had the equalizing amulets on, so no one complained, or even noticed. That was good, because the glass jars of meat and vegetables had to be fried. They did if Tor was going to cook them in a timely fashion at least. Now, he could make a stew of course, or roast things, but that wouldn't be nearly as tasty coming out of jars, or as fast. At least someone thought to keep some oil on hand. Also, as a special treat there were spices here, so he got to use plenty of those, which always made things taste better, unless you went absolutely insane with them. He only went half insane, using a lot of rosemary, but not so much that it would be the only flavor the food had.
The food, in the end, was plain enough, homey kind of, for all they were away from their comfort zones, but definitely wasn't what they had in the Capital or at a palace dinner. Then again, it was pretty much at the level they normally had at school, and beat starving, so no one complained about it. In fact Trice kept smiling at him and telling him it was good, which was nice of her, considering she was a royal and used to eating really fine food most of the time. Tor figured she'd realized that the other options all involved flying hundreds of miles to find something better. That or she really liked rosemary too. Then again, who didn't?
After dinner they headed back to the beach and set up a large fire, made of dusty gray wood they found on the beach, in a shallow pit dug into the dry sand. Now they suddenly all knew how to make a fire. Perfectly in fact. Only in the kitchen they couldn't help with it? Hmmm. Didn't they realize it was basically the same thing? Tor wondered if he should point that out.
It was just dark when Sara started the blaze using a clever little device that created fire within seconds, just by pointing one end of it at the wood and activating it using the tiny sigil. It looked about the size of a finger, one of Tor's, smaller than everyone else's and looked to be made of silver instead of the cheaper metals he most commonly used.
There was no sudden rush of fire, it just started and grew steadily as if they'd used matches. Tor had seen similar things before, but had never gotten to investigate one close up. He hesitated to ask Sara if he could, in case it was personal or she didn't want him touching her things. He could understand that, what if he broke it, or lost it in the sand? Most people couldn't break a field, but he was a builder and it was just possible that he could, if he examined it in the wrong way. It would take hours of work though and wasn't what he had in mind, but how would she know that? Not that the girl had ever been anything but nice to him about things… Which was weird. Tor didn't want to push her, so he kept his mouth shut about it. He could probably figure out how to make one himself anyway. Just concentrate the ambient heat energy? It should work. Of course this was an existing field, so if he could get a hold of one he could make himself a copy in an hour or two. Even if he didn't have a template. Not everyone could really do that, he knew, but it was how he'd learned to make field devices in the first place. Copying the fields from tools around Two Bends.
Rolph, not being subtle at all, sat down right next to the cute blond and put his right arm around her as she sat on a blanket about six feet away from the center of the ring of light. She responded by leaning against his chest as they sat, the gloom settling like a cloak being slowly drawn over the sky. The sunset was pretty, a wide open thing that Tor had never really seen before, no forest in the way to obscure the view. Or walls. It was probably the same outside the Capital, but he'd been inside each night for that so far. In half an hour, it was black enough that Tor couldn't see anything outside of the circle of light made by the burning wood.
It was about then that they started trading stories.
Most of them seemed real, instead of the tall tales he and his childhood friends used to tell each other when they went camping in the woods away from Two Bends. Tor kept quiet for a while listening as Sara shared a funny story about her mother, who they all knew now that he'd gotten to meet her too, and the head of Sorvee house, an ancient man named Willem.
It was a long story, but told an interesting tale of how the man, at least in his eighties, tried to woo the then thirty year old Heather after her first husband had died of a virus suddenly.
“It was… comical. Almost. Mother had to be very careful not to hurt his feelings of course, because, you know, the rules. Even after treading around the idea for almost a year the man still hadn't taken the hint. Mother had to send an intermediary to let him down. Last course measure. It was… sordid. House Sorvee still hasn't quite forgiven us for it and it's been nearly ten years now.” Her voice was soft and not teasing at all, even though the idea of any eighty year old trying to marry a thirty year old, very attractive, woman was ridiculous. Not that he could blame the guy for trying, Heather was hot, even ten years later, but to expect to succeed was just silly.
Tor chuckled a little thinking about it and said it was ludicrous flat out. Everyone went quiet for a bit, while Sara shook her head. He could tell he just said something stupid, but at least no one laughed at him about it. They'd probably wait until later when he was gone. Oh well, he could tease back, armed with the knowledge they could starve to death in a loaded kitchen. Hehe. Just thinking about that made him smile a little. Not their starving, just the idea of standing surrounded by food baffled like they had. They'd seen him do it now, so if nothing else they'd figure out to open jars and warm the contents, they were too smart to really starve that way, but it was funny.
Sara whispered into the dark then, sounding odd. Nearly scared for a second, though her voice warmed back up to normal as she spoke.
“Different worlds Tor. My mom couldn't afford a war with Sorvee back then. Debri house may be bigger, but constant sabotage eats away at you. I mean, we're all merchants, so it wouldn't come to actual fighting, that's too hard on business for everyone. But stealing contracts, hiring bully boys to damage stock, that kind of thing? Yeah, that could happen. Sometimes it happens anyway, just because, without any provocation at all. So you have to be polite if someone shows interest in you. It's even worse for nobles.” She shrugged and cuddled in a little closer to Rolph.
“It's… Well, no one's required to accept a proposal or an offer of… Um, interest… You know, an invitation to have sex? But if someone shows they like you, you have to be nice about it, no matter how awkward it seems. If they're eight or eighty doesn't matter, you have to be gentle and kind. It's kind of ingrained at our level of society, but you were raised differently, yeah?”
Rolph hugged her, as if trying to keep her warm, which was a bit silly, since they all had amulets for that. The blankets they sat on, soft material that might make a good baby blanket for his new little nieces or nephews when they came, kept them out of the sand at least.
The large man took a deep breath.
“Yeah, but… I think in a lot of ways the rules he grew up with are harder, for all that they sound simple. I mean, when Ursala said that Count Ward was already married and Tor found out that I couldn't, or I don't know, wouldn't maybe, be able to marry her, he offered to step in himself. Didn't even hesitate. Hardly knew her or about her, not even her family connections. He just wouldn't let her go it alone. Even offered to quit school so that he could help us out, open a bakery so we wouldn't go hungry. That was before dad told him about everything. That's… Could you imagine some Duke's son stepping up like that? It about floored my mom you know. Ursala too. I think that if she could marry him, she would have taken the offer even if I'd been willing. Really, she'd probably snag him up now if she could. Probably just as well this happened now, and not in five years or I'd be looking for a new fiancee.” He didn't laugh, but the girls did.
It wasn't harsh laughter, just a chuckle. Trice smiled over at him from where she sat, on the left side of the gray and brown blanket they shared. About three feet away, leaning back on her hands a bit for comfort.
“Bit out of the three steps though.” She said, her voice soft and warm. Her eyes twinkled a little in the fire light.
Rolph snorted, something he did only when he thought someone else was saying something really stupid or dense. He rarely did it with his friends. Tor had only heard it a few times that he'd noticed and never towards the girls. That he did it now caught everyone's attention.
“Trice… Yes, you're right of course, but it was close, well you were there… My parents knew that the Barony of Hyrees sat empty, because they'd researched it already. No one keeps up on the little landless titles like that, especially my parents. If nothing else had been come up with that everyone could agree on, Tor would be the Baron of Hyrees right now. For that matter I'm pretty sure he could get a title from dad right about now anyway, if he asked. That he hasn't even hinted at it is impressing the hell out of my parents too. Everyone hints at getting a free improvement in station with them. Absolutely everyone. Except Smythe of Westend, and now Tor.”
Everyone looked at Tor funny as he started laughing. It bubbled up from inside and wouldn't stop. Him? That was funny! No one else seemed to get it, but… Seriously? He'd be in line for something like that when all the pigs had died out. Maybe. If they didn't start on cows instead in the line of succession. After about a minute he managed to calm the laughter and throw a half handful of sand vaguely towards Rolph for making fun of him.
“I can see it now, in the Council of Lords or whatever it's called.” He told them all, giving a mock half bow. “Good Sir Torrence, are thy pies baked for dessert? And hath thee finished thy mucking out of the royal stables in timely fashion?”
Everyone laughed at that, after Rolph mentioned that no one ever talked like that and besides, bakers were never put to cleaning the stables, because, you know, they touched food. Trice leaned through the two or three feet between them and nudged his shoulder a bit.
“Anyway, back to the topic! The original one, not “the inevitable rise of Lord Tor”. You have to be polite if someone makes an overture, and really, notice if they are. This could be important for you in the future, especially… well, let's just say that the rules you've gotten used to are different in our circle of things. For instance, if you marry well, especially an arranged marriage, you have to understand that your wife will probably have other lovers. Even if she really likes you. Sometimes people get bored, but other times it's just a way of sealing deals or keeping someone close to you. It's her job to make certain all the kids are yours, or at least look right, which is kind of where Ursala really messed up. Ward is dark and has black hair, Rolph lighter and red. No one would have bought it. If it had been the second or third kid, no one would really care, but the future King or Queen? You can see that right?” The fire popped loudly, an explosion of damp wood or a stone in the sand under the fire, everyone jumped.
“So, there's that. Plus, well, it's alright for you to have lovers too. In fact, you'll be expected to most likely. Especially you. If only to show that you mean all the agreements you've gotten yourself into, and to keep people from feeling hurt. It's important for people like you. That's different than in your more… countrified way, isn't it?”
He shrugged. It wasn't so much that things like that didn't happen, but that they had to be kept very secret when they did, and if found out sometimes people would fight, even to the death, over it. So, very different indeed. In Two Bends it had only happened once that Tor remembered in his whole life.
Trice nodded, not looking at him at all, her gaze going towards the fire.
“So if someone, even a married woman, offers herself to you, you have to, you know, be kind about it. Either say yes, or at least put her off without harm to her feelings. This is really, really important. Insults mean a lot when people can back things with small armies. Even more when the armies are large.”
“Heh, not that many women will be knocking down my door, so I don't think it will be a real issue at all.” Tor grinned and looked down at his hands. “Seriously, women don't like me that way, I learned that lesson already. I'll just stick to my little devices, and see if my parents can find a girl back home willing to put up with me, if I can, I don't know, provide well enough or something.” Tor threw a twig at the fire, the gesture a little defeated to his eye.
Trice stared at him, shaking her head slightly and Sara sat up, actually breaking out of the Prince's hold to do so. Her look was concerned, as if he'd said something rude or out of turn. Tor hoped not. He had so much to learn about what his new friends thought and how they viewed things. What could he have said though? Did they think that even some poor country girl was too good for him? That… could be. It was a bit of a long shot probably, but if he managed to make good money and get some land, well, women liked that, didn't they? Maybe some livestock to round things out?
The tall blond froze in place, staring at him long enough that Tor started to blush and feel acutely uncomfortable.
“Why on earth would you think that Tor? That's… ridiculous to say the very least!” She seemed very nearly angry at him over it. Tor had to fight not to wince. Ouch. He got ready for a listing of his flaws and tensed a bit, waiting.
Rolph reached over to a small pack he'd brought and pulled out a bottle of wine. “I… know why.” He said, then took time to pop the cork out of the bottle and take a long, healthy swig, passing the bottle on to Sara, who just took a small sip and passed the bottle herself. Tor gave it directly to Trice without even sniffing it, she drank more deeply, staring at him as she did, then looking over at her cousin to get him to keep talking.
Rolph went on, his voice slipping naturally into a storytelling mode.
“Oh I know why indeed, because I was there. I saw it happen, had it burned into my mind. I lived with him when he tried to recover from it. I felt his pain. He thinks that… that he's not good enough for any woman…” He got the bottle back and drank deeply. His breath came out in a slightly shaky sigh after.
“Because of that fucking Doretta.”