The Dark Half of the Sun (The Young Ancients: Timon) Page 24

  "For your mother." Then he gave him a very small hug, which was something she'd never done before. She smelled of cinnamon and lavender, her red hair straight and slightly metallic looking. Not more than nature could provide, but it looked exotic. "I hear you had an adventure last night? Up in Breen?"

  That last bit was said casually, and the King moved forward, almost as if they'd rehearsed the verbal hand off countless times before. The Queen moved with her mate, her face serene.

  King Richard was more flat than anything, a clear attempt to hide his emotions.

  "Would you be free to speak about that later today? Perhaps for dinner tonight, at nine? If your other work permits, of course." It was the kind of thing that he was supposed to answer immediately, but he stopped to think about it.

  "I... think so. Tomorrow I need to make a produce delivery to our friends in Austra. You know, the spies from here? They have a restaurant. I mentioned that, didn't I? I have a list for them. Of course, I'm doing it for free, so they'll probably beggar me. You should send a note or something for them to hang on the wall. It will show that you don't have any hard feelings toward them. That will probably surprise people there. For some reason they seem to think we're the warlike ones, can you imagine? Didn't they start the last four wars with us?"

  The King smiled and shook his head, "the last two. My grandfather was definitely to blame for the one before that. Not a well balanced man, grandfather. Great fighter." He added it as if it were a compliment, not the only nice thing he could think to say about the man.

  The both moved back, assured that he'd be to the late meal, if at all possible. The Rosses waved, but didn't approach him, spending their time with their granddaughter, who leaned in and told them a joke it seemed. She loaded her own floating chests with decent ease, since he'd left the craft with a door on the back for that very thing. It really sped the whole thing up.

  Timon remembered something and decided to just ask, since the answer would probably just be no, it wouldn't matter if he did it now rather than in private later.

  "Say, are there any of the remote communication devices left? Collette mentioned that I should ask after one. Tor said they were in the base of the main device?" He waited for the King to frown or come up with a polite denial. A lot of people had to want the things after all. Dukes and Barons, as well as any craftsman worth his hire.

  King Richard simply raised his right hand to head level and spoke in a normal tone.

  "Bring one please."

  Then they spoke about nothing overly important at all. The weather and a few other pleasantries. It seemed that he was considering activating the Falcon's River, the magical one, since there was a very mild drought going on. Not enough to be noticed overly, but a bit more water wouldn't hurt, it had been decided. During the explanation of that, Builder Sam came out, dressed in school browns.

  He had a simple canvas ruck with him, like what Tim had seen the Royal Guard carrying a few times.

  "Ah, Timon... would it be alright if I caught a ride with you? I can't really afford to pay for it right now..." He looked embarrassed and the others looked away, so as to not see him have to humble himself.

  "Got any extra shields made up? Count Breen needs them pretty badly. I don't know what he's willing to pay for them, but if I can sell them I'll give you half of it, the rest can go toward your fare." It was legal to sell them to Counts after all. Any noble really. So he was easily inside the right range for that himself. The lowest rank that could buy one was a knight, he thought.

  Sam smiled and nodded.

  "Loads. I have a hundred in my bag. It's why it's so heavy. Going rate is a thousand gold, but I hear the man is in a bind..." For some reason he looked at the King who very carefully didn't make any kind of face at all. "Special deal then. Two hundred apiece. You get half of that. One time only. If he wants more they'll have to be at full rate. I don't want to damage the market after all."

  Timon nodded and waved for everyone to get in then. The deal with Sam wasn't exactly a real one after all. Or, it was, but it didn't mean anything. If the man, who was still only fourteen, needed to get to school fast, Tim would take him. After all, no one could expect full rates from someone that age. Not with what he was charging.

  The next part of the trip went a little too fast for his liking, and he knew the way too well, so he couldn't justify drawing it out by accidentally getting lost. In fact they ended up precisely over the town with no corrections at all. That was so rare that it had to be an omen. He wanted to sigh and shake his head, but that wouldn't help anything. Instead he settled on the main street and then drove the vehicle over to the small area next to the bakery.

  "We just have to pick up my sister, and I have to find my mother and give her a letter. Let's stop in the bakery first. You should all make a point of getting something. I'll pay for it." The prices were low enough after all. Half of what a bakery in the Capital would cost and the product was at least as good or better. Sure, it was his family's place, so he was biased, but it was still true.

  They could have gone to work in the King's kitchen and no one would notice the difference in baked goods at all. Or gone to Austra and improved what they were doing there by about twenty times. Or two for the stuff at the Royal Table. There was a soft female voice from behind the sales counter after the bell rang. That was a new thing, along with the fresh paint and new porch on the front of the building. The inside was being fixed up too, if slowly. It wasn't a monetary thing, it was that they didn't want to change too fast for the poorer people in town to feel comfortable with.

  The little girl that looked up was his sister Tandy. She was nearly nine now and had been doing deliveries for the service for nearly a year. Clearly it was her turn to run the shop. That meant doing the baking for the day too. It smelled good, and she had a tray of cranberry muffins cooling already.

  "Hey sis!" He smiled at her, but she ran around the counter and gave him a hug anyway, her eyes going a little wide when she saw the others with him. Ali got a hug too though and Sam threw his arms open wide and laughed a little, as if he knew her. She looked baffled, but did it anyway, which meant Farlo did it too, collecting her own hug. Ali and Farlo were both obviously royals and very memorable, but Tandy seemed to adjust to the idea that they were all friends at least. That was how anyone over six foot tall was referred to in Two Bends. In general it meant noble, but a lot of merchants from the city were nearly tall enough to pass. Traditionally it wasn't a problem there. If someone were tall, you deferred to them, just in case.

  His little sister tried to sound very grown up then.

  "I hadn't been told to expect visitors. It's so nice to see you all. Would you like something to eat? I made some bread, of course, and muffins. If you have a few minutes I'll have hot cinnamon rolls with icing as well. They're too hot to eat yet, but cooling."

  He winked at her and passed a silver over the counter to her. True, she would have given them treats for free, but he still had to see what the situation was with his ma, and frankly, he didn't want her to have any fresh ammunition to use against him. Tandy nodded as he explained that she should get them what they wanted.

  "While I go and find mother. Is she in the delivery warehouse?" Most days she worked there anymore.

  Tandy shook her head just as the women walked in from the back, wiping her hands on a cloth that was tucked into her apron strings.

  "Timon! So good to see you. Tiera will be ready in a few minutes, I think. I'll go and let her know that everyone is waiting." She walked around the counter and hugged Ali, but none of the others. She looked about nineteen and Sam was eyeing her a little harder than was proper for Two Bends. Farlo caught that, and elbowed him covertly, smiling as she did it.

  "Who are your friends?" It was said politely and with decent warmth. It was a good start and seemed real, but he wasn't going to be lulled into a false sense of security that easily.

  "Conserina Farlo Ross and Magic Counselor's Attaché Sam Builder. They
go to Lairdgren too." He was about to blurt out that he wasn't going to Printer that year when she spoke first.

  "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 cour
se 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.