The Dark Half of the Sun (The Young Ancients: Timon) (26 page)

"A very good school. I trust that you'll both be watching out for Alyssa for us? Tiera too?" She seemed very pleasant about it and Sam nodded firmly.

"Yes ma'am. We have orders to try and get Alyssa into the Lairdgren group as soon as we can beat her into shape for it. I don't know about your daughter, but if we can, we'll adopt her too. Builders willing to actually do the work are rare." He didn't stare at Timon at least, even though they all had to be thinking he was being lazy, working instead of going off to school with them. Then, maybe not. He wasn't up to their level yet, but he was years younger than any of them were. He might not be held to those standards just yet.

His mother was only about five-two, so tall for a woman in the town, but much smaller than Ali or Farlo now. Sam was also bigger than her, when they stood close enough to compare it was obvious.

"Now, I know that it's horribly rude of me, but I need to talk to my son for a few moments, before you all get under way."

Timon looked at her and smiled, giving a small nod. He wasn't going to argue or fight, no matter what she said. It was a hard thing to do, but it just made sense. If he was going to claim to be old enough to live alone, then he had to be the one to act like an adult. In the end that meant knowing that you could do anything the law allowed and no one could really stop you. It was a slightly dangerous thing, given their relative positions in the world, if she really pressed it. If she pressured Count Lairdgren enough, and the King, he could be literally
forced
to stay in Two Bends.

Except that he had an option that most people didn't. He could leave. The whole land if he had to. Vagus was nice enough and Austra had its charms. Soam had to have fresh food, as green as it was, so he could work from produce grown there if he had to and support the Royal Table in that way. If he could get in touch with Morgan he could run the fast transport business even.

Steeling his nerve he tried to seem happy about things and walked outside, gesturing for her to follow, ending up around the side of the bakery by his vehicle. It was still the mirrored rectangle that he'd been using the whole time.

When he turned he expected his mother to attack. With words, since his shield would stop any physical harm she could manage. He didn't doubt that she had enough ammunition to wound him that way. Any mother would about their child, no doubt. She was smiling when he turned, but it looked a little troubled, rather than her aggressively mean smile. This was something he hadn't really seen on her before.

"I hear that you've set up a business in the Capital? Taking people around the world." Moving in she hugged him and didn't let go as she kept speaking. "It's a very clever use of time. I wish that you hadn't felt that you couldn't accept money from me and your father. I know that's my fault, but it still hurts that you don't trust me enough for even that. Would you consider living here? We run the delivery system from here, which works pretty well."She looked hopeful and went soft eyed.

Until he shook his head. Then she suddenly went hard, her mouth setting.

"Most of my in-Kingdom business is centered around the Capital. If I was here all the time I'd add fifteen percent to the time I was in the air. It doesn't sound like a lot, but that's almost certainly coming out of my sleep. Besides, I already built a house and paid the rent on the land for a year. Right next to Tor's, but it's mine. They're mine, actually, I have two. Little cottages, like the one we use for the school here? I did the work myself, so no one in the world can claim it isn't by my hand."

She made an angry face and then... stopped.

"That... sounds reasonable. Your grandfather came the other day and told me that if I got in the way of you doing this, it would probably cost me another child. I can't like how young you are for it. I know that you're mind is older than things look on the outside, but you still need your parents."

She teared up a little and hugged him harder.

"Except that out of all my children you're the one that really doesn't, aren't you? If anyone I know can stand on their own, it's definitely you. Do go to school next year, if you can. You have one of the sharpest minds in the world. Perhaps
the
sharpest, but you don't know everything. I'll tell you this, even if it might feel insulting right now. It isn't enough to be smart. You have to gain information as well, constantly. That and skills. All of them you can. Maybe hire a tutor? I know that you'll figure it out."

It almost sounded like she was confident he really could handle it. She didn't even add the part about how he could always come back home if he had too. That was a given, wasn't it?

He smiled at her and nodded.

"I'm still mad about what you did to Tor. You used your position as his mother and a Conserina to pressure the others into playing that trick on him. He nearly
killed
Brown over it. That was so close... It's bad enough I nearly killed Lara the other day.
She
was asking for it at least."

That got her to go wide eyed and nearly start into one of her famous verbal assaults when he held up one finger to stop her.

"Combat rage. She's fine. I managed to stop without actually fighting, the aura took her and the others on the dock down. She came out and simply started to attack, like you do, with words. It wasn't fair to her, since I was really mad at
you
. I got Dorgal Sorvee out of there and to Vagus alright. It made for a tense ride." Looking around he felt a bit of nostalgia for the place they were in. It was right next to the outdoor table they often used in the summer, when the evenings were cooler than inside the house.

"Especially since I flew away from the area still in a combat rage, I think. I kept it together, mainly." She was probably about to take him to task for it, having let go of him then.

"I'd... hoped that had left you, after the first time. Patricia Morgan set that one off, so we wanted to believe that it wasn't going to come back. Has it happened before?"

Of course it had. It always did when they happened to someone too young, like him.

"Once before. Here. I ran away and destroyed a tree instead of Will Entz. I'm sure he thought I was being a coward. It was almost two years ago now."

She didn't ask why he didn't tell her about it, or anything that made sense at all at first.

"Can you... control it?"

That was more complicated than it sounded like, the short answer was yes. In more than one way.

"A bit,
if
I let it happen at all. I can stop it most of the time, if I can interest myself in mustering the will. I've never tried to cause it on purpose. It gives me a headache after."

"Oh." She stepped back and smiled at him again. "So much for using that as a reason to bring you home then. Most adults with it can't do that.
Either
form of control. Both is... Well, a sign of more maturity than most ever possess, I think."

They just looked at one another for a minute which made him remember the letter he had tucked away in his belt. He handed it over and waited for her to look at it.

"The Royal seal? If this is Richard trying to put you in the military, I
will
put my foot down. It's one thing for you to go off and start a life early. Quiet another for you to go and lose it in stupid wars over insane rationales. You don't even know how to fight yet, do you?"

"Not a bit. That's from Princess Karina. She didn't say what it was about. Maybe a party invitation?" What else it could be he didn't know. Anything really.

His mother was wearing a simple homespun dress, at least in appearance and her apron was a light tan to compliment the blue underneath. She looked distinctly strange opening things with the Royal mark on it. She read it over and smiled a little, her face going still after a bit. Then she folded it up and put it away firmly.

"Smart girl that Princess. She's put in an offer to marry you when you turn fourteen. Wants to beat the hoard about to descend on you, she said. Even willing to get engaged formally next year, if you want to consider it. You could do a lot worse. She's cute and has a lot of spirit. A Princess, but you shouldn't hold that against her too much. Of course she'll have a half dozen arrangements going at any given time, so I wouldn't count on it happening, but stranger things have happened. I got your father after all. Really I shouldn't have. He's too good for me, but don't tell him I said so. He'll get a big head."

Then she hugged him again and asked what he was planning in the near future.

"Well, let's see. First to Lairdgren, with a flashy enough entrance to make Tiera happy, since that's what I promised her, then I have to go and see if Count Breen wants to buy some shields from Sam. Count Holder apparently lost it and is just attacking people. Tovey's forces are mustering, but it's going to take a bit for him to get there. I should take some treats too. I can't imagine they're getting a lot on the battle line right now. What can I get for five gold?" He'd have to let the others off first, but that was fine, if he didn't hesitate too long.

They made arrangements for him to be back in three hours for that, and his mother took his coins, just as if he was an adult. She looked a little sad about it, but patted his back and told him to be careful.

The others were almost finished with what they'd gotten and he skipped it for himself, but got some change from Tandy, eight coppers. Then he called for Tiera , who came out wearing... Very normal student brown. It wasn't even in silk or velvet. Canvas it looked like. It wasn't real, so she could have shown up in a party dress or a ball gown. It made sense to him, but Farlo nodded at her approvingly when she saw the black haired girl come out.

"Perfect. You're Tiera? I'm Farlo Ross, this is Sam Builder. We're your new school friends. Some of them. Excellent clothing choice. My first day I showed up wearing three pounds of jewelry, caked on make-up and a big pink dress that made people's eyes hurt. Made a fool of myself. Going for an understated look is better. Especially looking like you do. Show up in anything more than that and people will think you're rubbing your good looks in. Some will anyway. Don't worry about them." She was being chatty and friendly to the extreme, which got Sam to nod along.

"That's true. I have to say, I'm going to look pretty good, coming in with the three of you. People might even think I'm important or something."

They all chuckled over that, but Timon managed to get them moving, after pointing out that he had a few more things to do that day, Like sell things to embattled counts and pass out some treats on the combat line. Or at least in the camp. He wasn't actually going to go to the line. That would be stupid.

"Remember to leave me those shields Sam. Otherwise I have no reason to go to Breen at all and I already paid for the baked goods."

A big bag was left next to his seat then, passed up from the back as they all talked about the new school term. They seemed happy about it and like they wanted to be there. It left him feeling a little envious.
He
should have been doing it too. That he didn't have the funds today was a problem, even if he might tomorrow or the next day. It was time for him to stop worrying over it. He had too many commitments for now to do it anyway. If he was standing next to Countess Printer with his school fees in hand he couldn't make it all work, he didn't think. Not yet. He needed more pilots and to have them all trained. Maybe a person to do the scheduling and books.

It was going to take a while.

It made him feel better, realizing that. Less like he was just trying to dodge out on school for a year and more like he had responsibilities instead. He was smiling fifteen minutes later when he slowly settled over the courtyard at Lairdgren. People did look at them, even standing to wait and see who was going to climb out. He got out himself, his clothing black velvet again, and helped to move Tiera's cases for her. For all that she was Tor's sister, he'd never seen fit to give her floating luggage that would follow her. Not even the old kind that worked on a real chest, much less the new ones that appeared from nothing.

Then he had to stay with them while the others took her to find the registrar, so that she could get her room assignment. It actually took a long while, so he just waited and enjoyed the decently cool air and watched the eager students pass by. Some of them stared, and a few openly gawked, but no one approached him until an old man in black and green velvet did. His most striking feature was his large gray beard, which was perfectly flat on the bottom. He looked at the craft for a second and then touched the side lightly.

"These always amaze me. Across the Kingdom in mere hours. Do you know that no one has managed to even make a copy of one yet? We've had our top instructors and the Lairdgren group on it and all they come up with is a regular flying carriage." He turned and stuck out his right hand, which had calluses on it that didn't belong on the hand of an instructor, unless he was a combat lessons person. The rest of him didn't seem that way at all. He was a little stooped and had a friendly way about him, smiling the whole time, as if he couldn't be kinder.

"Dean Hardgrove. Kyle. Sorry, I should do the introductions first. Horrible habit." He looked back at the craft, his voice going soft and his lips barely moving. "I need passage to the Capital, specifically to the palace, this night. I must be back before first light. Can that be arranged? I can't afford to pay you the going rate. Not at all. It's very
urgent
however." The emphasis on the single word got Tim to pay attention.