Goddess of the Moon (Young Ancients: Tiera) (31 page)

"Bring
it back a little, Timon. I
know
you understand this. Women have to put
up with a certain amount of things like this, at times. It isn't right, or fun,
but to do otherwise would have half the men of the world locked up, or killed.
I think dumping him up there to help build things is a good start, and like I
said, if he doesn't fix himself, we can deal with him later." By pushing
him out of a moving ship without a shield on, for instance.

Timon
nodded, his good looking face relaxing a little.

"Lock
him up for the trip there? I don't want him getting at any of the others."

It
was a plan, but probably not one she could manage really. Not now. She didn't
say that part. If nothing else she could get him a room of his own, to prevent
accidental wrongs from happening? Was it a mistake, thinking that they could
handle something like that even? Kurt Debri wasn't a nobleman after all. Just a
high merchant. Should he be punished for things he didn't control though, if
that was the real case?

The
whole thing boggled the mind and after a moment Tiera was glad to be out of a
position of power again. Who was she to make that kind of decision, when it
came right down to it? She was, smart or not, tall or not, still really just a
kid. Fourteen wasn't old enough for this kind of thing. Fifty probably wasn't.

Maybe
a thousand wasn't, but someone had to do the work.

Patricia
came walking back into the room, holding a Focus Stone handheld communications
device. It was a dark tan color, and a little smaller than the ones that Tor
had made. Timon looked at it and shrugged, not even turning to her, since she
was, no doubt supposed to figure out that he'd made it himself, from context.

She
cleared her throat.

"But
can it take pictures like the ones from Austra can?"

Timon
shook his head.

"No.
Not yet. I could have done that, but the goal here was coming up with something
that Tor wouldn't crack immediately. I have one for you too, in case we need to
pass information in secret. We have to limit the number of people with them
however."

There
was no running to get that for her, since Trice was busily smiling, her voice
sounding like wonderful things were taking place.

"That's
right, Kurt and you can both go. Tiera is even willing to stake Kurt, on a
store up there. Isn't that amazing?"

Sara's
voice seemed happy enough about the news at any rate.

"She
is
? That's perfect. We've been looking for a spot for him for a while.
He has a tendency to get kicked out of places. He really isn't that bad,
but..." She didn't go on, and Trice grimaced, making eye contact with
Tiera.

Then
she took over the conversation.

"So,
we need to be ready in four days. That will put us up on the Winters Kiss
early, but it has to be done. We're riding for free, so we have to fit into
their schedule. Can you meet me here in three days? We can do some last minute
shopping."

They
chatted for a bit, and when Trice got off the device, she looked miserable.

"There.
I've set it up. Kurt won't even know that he's going to be used as a sex
slave."

That
got an eye roll in response. "Seriously? You didn't think I really
meant
that part, did you? Like Karen is going to leave enough of the High Servants alive
for that. I really wouldn't worry about it. So, you're going too? Tim?"
She hadn't thought that was the case, but things could change.

Shaking
his head, Timon grunted a bit.

"I'm
staying here. I have some things to see to. Secret stuff." He moved toward
the door, as if he were done with her now, which was fair, since she didn't
have a lot of news for him, but she touched his arm anyway.

"Oh,
hey, can you get some things to Austra for me? I have a case, in my room, that
they might want. Just some copies of things I made." Weapons and what not,
in case that attack turned out to be real.

"Sure.
I'll send someone in for that. Call it as being in a day or so?"

She
nodded and then, trying to remember her manners, hugged Trice again.

"Get
in touch if you need anything?" It was, if not the perfect thing to say,
something that was kind enough and was more friendly than just leaving and
tossing off a goodbye over her shoulder.

"Thanks.
You too."

Without
much effort, all the outside lights off, except for the river, which probably
marked the place as a giant target, visible from space, Tiera put up her own
Fast Craft and headed back to the school. She didn't really think of much,
other than of flying, holding a very deep mental state the whole time.

The
next three days should have been pretty smooth, she knew. Or imagined in her
secret heart. Incorrectly as it turned out. To her mind, free of being a
Countess, and without a lot of school classes, and no wars to be waged
personally, it should have all been free time, more or less. Morning practice,
and evening meditation, with building in between. That wasn't
wrong
either, being her basic schedule, but people kept using their communicators to
get in touch with her.

Not
just her family and friends either. People she'd never even met. Most of those
where minor nobility, that for some reason thought she was running tours to the
Moon. She had to be polite about that, but told everyone no, since it wasn't
ready for guests, or new colonists. Not that she knew of. She promised to let a
lot of people know when it was.

Kurt
Debri was on at least once a day, having apparently mistaken her setting him up
as a store keep as a proposal to have sex. She normally would have just done
what Karen had told her to and said yes to that kind of thing, but she just
couldn't make herself. That meant putting him off, if very gently. It took a
lot of creativity to manage that, and not sound like a bitch.

Her
roommate gave her a serious look on the last day, when she got off the device
with him, just hoping she hadn't been too mean about it.

"I..."
She stammered a bit, Karen turning to her and stopping the packing that she was
doing. Tiera's was already pretty much done, just being a case, a floating one
that appeared out of nowhere, being filed almost totally with amulets. It
wasn't vast either, since Timon had sent a pilot she didn't know to get the
case for Austra, which had already been delivered. "I don't know what to
do. He's a bit, is
rapey
a word?"

Her
friend shook her head prettily. She did everything that way lately.

"No,
I don't think it is. I understand that he made you uncomfortable, but you have
to be careful. Fresh off of being a Countess, putting a man off might seem as
if you're saying you're too good for him, and using that as a reason to not
engage. It's a balancing act. If you don't want to have sex, you don't have to,
but you have to be polite the whole time, or it can lead to hard feelings. I
do
have to say that most would have picked up on things by now. You did it about
right, but... Really, you should send a go between? I'd do it for you, but he
might take that the wrong way, or even think that I wanted you all to myself
and was just trying to get him out of the way. You should send..."

After
a moment she shrugged. When words finally came, she seemed a bit baffled.

"A
professional, I guess. That makes a statement too, though. I don't really know
what would be best here. If you put him off too hard, he'll have to feel
abused. If you don't, you may well wake up with him taking you from behind 'in
his sleep'. If you're lucky then he'll hit the right hole. Without lube...
Well, that probably won't happen. There just isn't a good way to do this one
however."

Standing,
Tiera nodded. Then her communications device lit again. She sighed and hit the
sigil.

"Tiera
Baker, how may I be of service today?" She liked that better than the
go
,
that Orange always used. It sounded more helpful and less like she was going to
kidney punch someone for taking her time up with useless things. Like saying
hello.

For
a moment no one spoke at all, but then a rather meek sounding male voice came.

"Um,
hello, this is, uh, Count Baker?"

She
grinned, not having expected him to be in touch this soon. Or ever, to tell the
truth. Why would he? She was just some girl after all. Well, a
Conserina
.
Smiling, she wondered if he wanted to have sex. Lawrence, she decided, she
wouldn't put off, if he asked. He was clearly wonderful. If he wasn't then she
wouldn't have made him a Count, right? Tiera was already invested in that
relationship, if looked at in the right light.

"Count
Baker! So nice to hear from you. What do you need?" She tried to think of
what she might have left undone, being a bit more serious suddenly, but nothing
came to mind. He might be trying to put his nephew in as heir, but she doubted
that. The kid was both lazy
and
smart. He could sit back and just live
off his uncle for a while. Probably Terry too, if he played his cards right.

"Well."
There was a pause that lasted a good half minute, and just as she was about to
speak, he went on. "We didn't establish what you wanted done with your personal
gold and all those magical amulets. You hold... three hundred and fifteen
businesses here. Those didn't transfer when you abdicated. There were also
those funds that you borrowed from the Wizard Tor? I imagine that with his
sister no longer in power, he'll be wanting that back?"

She
blinked.

"Okay,
so I
had
forgotten a few things. Right. Well, I get to keep the
businesses, naturally. Those are mainly about helping the County recover from
things, but I don't want to jiggle the set up we have right now. The devices
are for the County to use however. The same with those golds that Tor sent.
They weren't given to
me
, but to the people there. It was a gift, too,
not a loan. That won't ever be an issue for him. Don't let that get around
though, since we don't want everyone to try and take advantage of him. So, how
are things going so far? Settling in all right?"

The
man drew a very deep breath, which shuddered as it went in a little, but then
managed to sound a lot stronger, "I
don't
have to give it all back?
Thank goodness. That would have been hard right now. Believe it or not, that
was my largest worry for the time being. We're still having a problem with
Baron Stergis and Baroness Finely. That matter over the pregnant daughter? The
letters you sent did nothing. It looks like I'll have to make a visit in person
before they start fighting over this. You know this whole thing would have been
avoided if they'd just used birth control? It isn't like that's hard to get, or
too expensive." He didn't growl, but it was clear he wasn't used to
suffering fools that had their own armies either.

"I
wish I had some brilliant advice as to how to fix this.
My
great plan
was to ask you how to handle it, so, you understand, get on that?" It was
flip, being that the man was the Count now, but he took it well, chuckling a
bit.

"I'll
see what I can do. I... Are you certain this is what you wish? I'll sign the
papers to undo it, if you want. Just let me know."

"Which
is one reason why I picked you. Not that I'm taking it back, but because you'll
hold to right, even if it's hard for you. Not everyone always manages that. So,
just know that I have the highest confidence in you, Count Baker. If I didn't,
someone else would be called that right now. I can't give you a better
recommendation than that."

Then,
doing a much better job of it than she ever would have managed, the man spent a
flowery five minutes saying goodbye.

Turning
to Karen, with her mouth just starting to open, a knock came at the door. She
had to hop up, and was a bit surprised to find Count Lairdgren standing there,
looking attentive, rather than bored.

"Tiera,
Karen." He let himself in and shut the door, then pushed a small canvas
sack on her. "Can you take this to Harmony for me? They're units that
purify and balance air. You'll have to fill the large spaces with it first, but
this will keep things in balance after that." Then he stopped, since it
was clear he was done. Most people would have said more though. Like why they
were doing it, or how the things worked.

Tiera
didn't know what to do for a moment, so she covered, giving him a little hug.
Not one that would have anyone thinking she slept with relatives though, she
hoped. Karen did the same, but spent more time on it, which got a smile to come
out for all of them, as if it was funny.

Still,
no one spoke, so Tiera decided that was her part in this.

"I'll
make sure it gets done. Are we allowed to make copies of these if we need to? I
don't know how large things are going to get, but if it's a new Kingdom up
there, we'll need them."

After
half a second the man tilted his head at her, and she really expected him to
tell her that it was too complex for her or any of the others to do, but
instead he spoke about other things. It was an answer, after a fashion.