Ancient Kings (The Young Ancients) (9 page)

"Yes. Until seven, when I have meditation class. Why?" There was a hint of suspicion in that last syllable that made Tor smile.

"Nothing much. I need to do some visiting in the afternoon I think. Tim mentioned some dignitaries from Austra were staying at my house in the Capital or something? I really should go and say hello. That and meet with Gerent, since he's family. Perhaps you'd like to come with me?"

There was a shrug then, but Alphonse smiled as they landed, gently setting down without so much as a whisper.

"Right, Kincaid is coming in to visit, with some of her people. She's a player. It's a different thing there though, I take it. I'd guess that she's more like a very famous musician as far as how she's treated there. Kind of taken with Timon, I think." There was a smirk to go with the words, but no explanation. That didn't sound that bad though. Not really.

Tiera mumbled something that sounded like an agreement to go, and she got Karen out of the craft quickly, escaping into their room and shutting the door without looking back to see if anyone had followed them. Then Tor shut the side door with a thought, letting it meld back into the craft rather than getting up and doing the work physically, and took the craft straight up, resettling at Ali's house. It was several stories high and looked a bit overdone right now, more mini-palace than real home, but his wife had decorated it herself, so he wasn't going to complain. It was nice enough, his tastes were just more simple, if given a choice.

They didn't talk as they went in, his friend just walking behind him, until he got to the main room.

"Plenty of space. I'm going to turn in now. In the morning we need to go and check on Sandra, to see what she's managed to secretly build in her cell. It really hadn't occurred to me yet. Is she even in a prison cell?"

"No... Just a room in the palace. She has guards on the door though. It should be enough."

"Really?" Tor looked up into the dark face and shook his head. "You think so? If I was told that the Council of Counts was going to decide my fate like that, I wouldn't wait a day to be gone. I'm half expecting her to have managed it by morning. Hopefully no one has told her anything yet. If she thinks she has a real chance and is just being protected from Tiera, or Baron Helmsley, maybe she'll stay in place. I really don't want to have to hunt her down." He looked at the ground, feeling a wave of sorrow come over him then. "This is... I don't even have words for it Rolph. Everything has gone wrong, hasn't it? I keep expecting to wake up, but I keep having this same bad dream for some reason."

That got him a pat on the shoulder. Just a quick one though, gentle enough not to set of his shield automatically, but rough enough to seem manly and not like he was flirting with him. That his friend had been doing that, for
years
, was clear to him now. He hadn't been able to understand that before. Now he was. Not that it made a difference. Now especially. They were related after all.

Even if he could get past the part where they were both men, which he didn't think he could. It seemed that his best friend had realized that too, finally.

"Don't let it worry you too much. Morning will come and then the one after that. Eventually things that seem too much to bear today will become normal and you'll find peace. Right up until the next problem comes along. That's pretty much life though, don't you agree?"

"You know... You're not that great at giving reassuring speeches." Tor smiled though, actually feeling a little better. Then he pointed to the stairs and started walking.

"Take the second door on the right. We'll call that your room as long as you're here. I need to get some sleep, if I can. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

His own room, the one he shared with Ali, on her off days from school at least, had a huge bed in it that was covered in red and gold silk sheets and comforters. It was a bit too nice for regular sleeping, as far as that went, but the mattress formed to him perfectly and let him sink deeply without any aches or pains. It was nice enough that he didn't rouse until the light from the window hit him. He'd set it up so that the dawn could act as a signal for him, changing the position of the bed and the east facing window for best effect.

There was no clock in the room, but as he lay there covering his eyes with an arm to block things out he heard the schools bell ring seven times. That meant it was well past time for him to be up and about. Especially since it would take hours to get the Prince around. Or, well, that was a bit of an over statement, but it would certainly take a good ten to fifteen minutes. That was the pattern at least. A lot of giants slept extra deeply it seemed. That, and longer than he did. It probably had to do with how much growing they had to do. It had to tire a person out.

After cleaning up Tor pounded on the door across the hall and down one, not sparing the noise. It still didn't make a lot, since it had been designed to muffle any sounds coming from the hall. Tor didn't just open the door though, since his friend could sometimes wake up...
happy
and that could prove awkward.

"Wha?" The voice was tired sounding, and a little gummy, probably buried in a pillow.

"I'm going to make a pot of oats for breakfast, would you like some eggs too?" It wasn't a great bribe, but after a few seconds the door cracked open and a slightly tussled head of hair appeared above him by nearly two feet. The face was creased with lines from laying on the bedding and he seemed a little more pink than normal.

"Um... Let's get off to the palace first? I can wait a bit. Give me twenty minutes? Nothing against your cooking, but I really don't want my
stomach
being the thing that lets Sandra escape." The door shut then and Tor went to the front room to wait, if he wasn't going to be working in the kitchen. For all that he'd asked for twenty, the Prince actually jogged down the large red staircase about ten minutes later, seeming fresher and well groomed. He was wearing a black military style uniform, though Tor was in a plain brown tunic and trousers. That would have to be changed before they got to the palace, but he could do that and fly at the same time.

Without doing more than waving, the larger man went to the door and got him to hurry through everything, so that they were flying off not a minute later.

"Sorry for the rush, but I
am
hungry. I'll just have to hit Mother up for something to eat before I help with Sandra. Or am I needed for that at all?"

Tor shrugged and pushed the control lever all the way forward. The world started to blur a little under them as they flew, thousands of feet up in the air. The whole thing was silent though, so there was no good reason not to use his words.

"How's your field sensing? Have you been practicing? Even if you don't want to be a builder, you should at least learn to read people. It comes in handy. In this case I figure that I'll have to do it. Try to find anything that she might have made for herself in the last four days."

"Um, I can't do that Tor. Not everyone is a wizard after all." There was enough doubt in his voice that it sounded almost like he'd tried at some point and failed, but that wasn't the case was it?

"Bull. You have everything you need to learn to be a builder if you want. You've turned off shields from the outside after all. That's at least as hard as making copies from a template. Maybe as hard as doing it
without
a template. You should practice. I'll get Taman to explain it to you later, on the way back, if you can come with me." Waiting for the man to blush or at least stick his tongue out didn't work. Instead there was just a head shake.

"I'd love to, but really, if Tiera isn't going to be coming for us any time soon, I need to see to my own work. You know, being the Heir to the throne and all that nonsense? I have to say, learning to make copies of valuable magics seems like a plan though, doesn't it? Then I wouldn't have to beg things from you half as much."

Tor nodded, "or, more to the point, you can learn to build things and
I
can beg them from you. I need to start working on a good space vessel soon anyway. I let the Larval thing and the rest of this get to me. I should get with someone that knows about that kind of thing and make sure I have everything ready to go. Burks, I guess." He'd know who to ask if nothing else.

They chattered back and forth, mainly about how valuable magics made by the Prince would be as soon as he mastered the trick of it. Thinking of sales reminded him to make sure all the people that sold his things got restocked soon. He'd been gone for months, and hadn't thought of them in more than passing. They counted on him for their livelihoods though. It would be rude of him not to see to their well being. Plus he was almost certain he was about to have a lot of extra time soon.

It took a long while to get into the palace itself, even after being questioned as to his intent. The Prince was too, which made Tor go still, since it meant that everyone was suspect now. He was the
Heir
after all. Then, while he'd just proven he was backing his father, if anything did happen to Rich, the most likely person to benefit would be his son. It made sense, in a creepy, far too noble world kind of fashion. Who'd kill their own da just to take his job? He'd end up with it eventually anyway, probably when he turned forty, since that was the tradition. The old King and Queen had moved off to their country estate and retired when it was their turn, and there was no thought that Richard wouldn't do the same in twenty years, when it was his. The man would probably welcome it, to tell the truth.

Tor wouldn't take the job at least, if it were him. It was too much work for too little pay off.

The real trouble wasn't that they weren't being trusted, and no one glared at them particularly or anything. No, the actual difficulty was that the Council of Counts was in session and there was no one around to greet them, since the King had to attend, and Karina
was
, due to the fact that her brother had taken the day off from the task himself. In the end they had three people show up for them, George, the head Royal Guard, Princess Abbie and Smythe of Westend.

They all bowed toward the Prince of course, and then to him, getting the same back, since there were complicated relationships involved all around. Tor bowed low, to the group, since they all deserved it. Then he moved in and gave Abbie a quick hug. It was a bit tight and awkward, since he didn't want anyone to think he was sleeping with her. After all, if he'd slept with Varley and her mother, who were genetically a lot closer to him, then what wouldn't he do? He could hear the gossip starting already, in the back of his mind.

Then he realized that it wasn't that at all. It was a deep voice reminding him that the news probably hadn't spread far at all, and that, when it did, almost no one would
care
about it, as long as they stopped the practice as soon as they found out, and didn't try to hide it overly. That was Cordes. He normally didn't bother sharing information like that, but he was probably right. Tor sent a tendril of thought back, thanking the man. After all, they lived in the same head, so it made sense to try and get along.

He smiled at them all, his great niece looking at him with ice blue eyes and her bird red hair that stood straight up several inches. It was impressive with her almost truly black skin. A very deep brown really. She wore a simple blue tunic and trousers however, like a doctor. That made sense, actually being one. Smythe was in deep black, about like what the Alphonse had on, and George was in his normal day to day uniform of purple and black. Looking down Tor realized he was still dressed like a workman or a young school student. A poor one too, who wore canvas to the palace, because it was their best outfit.

After a few seconds he decided not to care about that. Everyone here knew him and he really
was
there to work, even if the task wasn't all that pleasant.

"We need to check on Sandra Morris. Some extra guards would be good, while I see what she's been up to. I take it that she's being kept in an empty room? No handy building material around?" He stole the march a bit, and realized it, since everyone looked at him like he was insane suddenly. Well, not Alphonse, but the rest of them.

George rallied first.

"You suspect an escape attempt?"

Tor nodded.

"She
better
be planning one. Otherwise she's not half as intelligent as I think she is. We also need to make sure the Lairdgren Group isn't going to come and free her. If you don't think they can pull it off, then..." He didn't have anything witty to end that with, but the man, who had gray hair and a sturdy build, just let his chin rise a bit.

"Indeed. It wouldn't do to misjudge them at all. I take it that you'll be handling the magical parts of this?"

"That's the plan. We're sending Alphonse here off to get something to eat, and the rest of us will go in to check things out. Me first, of course, since it's my fault it happened at all. I should have talked to her first. Or... I don't know. Spanked her or something the night before. Tiera did too good of a job there really." He wanted to seem confident, but figured he wasn't going to make it that early in the day, instead he refocused on efficient, hoping that would work in its place. "Too late now. Let's go and see to this as soon as we can. Abbie, will you come with us? Just to make certain she isn't abused or anything like that?"

There was a bow from the woman in light blue then and after a second she ran off, calling back that she needed to get her supplies, just in case. It didn't take her long and less than five minutes later she padded back up carrying a large leather bag with a strong looking handle on the top. It was new, and not Afrak in design. It was the kind of thing that Noram doctors carried when they went visiting.