Lineage (The Young Ancients: Second Cycle Book 1) Read online

  The crowd was a bit loud still, but he spoke anyway, trying to project.

  "Welcome home! I'm Dareg Canton, we have seats for you?" He tried to turn, gesturing back into the box, but was tackled by the woman. Lorelei. It turned into a big hug, as the man pounded him on the shoulder.

  The lovely lady, who was very small, but just about matched his own light skin color, stood back after a second.

  "You came to greet us? I was afraid that it would be more difficult than that. Now, what do you have planned?" It was a bit bossy, but also cute of her, since the entire crowd was watching them at the moment.

  He grinned.

  "Getting you two into some seats? This way!"

  They were game for that it seemed, which let the others come out. Everyone got a polite and warm welcome, though a few caused a real stir. Terry, who he recognized from the handheld conversation earlier had a glowing chest behind him, but was dressed in all black. It was a humble outfit, and he had a large cross on his front, made of what looked like wood. His knees were nearly white, as if the fabric was very well worn from kneeling. He didn't float along, but walked quickly, and when he got to the King and Queen, he bowed politely, then kneeled and put his hands humbly in front of him.

  "Praised be the All High."

  It was just loud enough that a few others in the audience echoed it. Not a lot of them. Being family Dare moved to get him, and instead of a hug, got an amulet, which made the box follow him instead of the immortal Ancient of Tellerand.

  The camera orb, controlled by Cyra still, moved in along with the small silver one that took in sound.

  Terrance Baker, as he'd been introduced, clapped him on the shoulder.

  "Port Master. These are the handhelds for your people in Austra. Please let me know if you need anything else for your duty?" Then he suffered to let himself be taken to his seat, ending up in a back row. Most of the others that had come out were relatives of his it seemed, so far.

  They were into the Ancients that had their own lands now though, and even if they all looked pretty youthful, it was clear that some of them carried more weight with the people than others. People had cheered for Sam, but when Timon came out the entire world tried to lay on the ground. Literally. It didn't work, so a lot of them had to kneel, but they worked really hard to do it. He bowed at the waist, then oddly enough moved over and gave both the King and the Queen a hug. Patricia, his wife, did that part too. Everyone stood, a lot of them with damp tracks going down their faces.

  Looking around Dareg noticed that the entire Camera crew with him certainly had that going on. He didn't, so he moved out again, like he had for the others. No one stopped him, but he got another hug. Really, at this point he had to wonder if the crowd just figured that all of the people from Harmony were like that. All of them, including the ones he hadn't met and wasn't related to, had done it. They hadn't all been like that before, so it was probably just that everyone else was getting one.

  Timon made a face at him, but it was pleasant, if goofy.

  "Like the others didn't do their share to save everyone? I should have just called the big devices Food Makers, shouldn't I?"

  That was probably a good point. After all, most of the food that Dare had eaten his entire life had come from one of those things. If not directly, then the flour and other things that was turned into his dinner were made that way. Everyone knew it too, so the good looking man was about as famous as possible in Noram.

  The lady next to him took his arm then, so he could lead them both in.

  She kissed him on the cheek.

  "I hear we have a meeting later? It sounds fascinating. Well, we need to get through this part first. Where do we sit?"

  Instead of taking them to be next to the rest of their family, Dareg walked past that, to the very back, where the crew from Austra was set up. They all stood the whole time, fighting to get good angles on things. At least he assumed that was the case. Tomas went wide eyed when they approached.

  Dareg waited for the Black orbs to both abandon looking at the door and who was coming out next, and for the Prime Minister to abandon decorum and scramble over to where they all stood. He was still crying, and didn't seem to care who saw him do it.

  Dareg bowed to Tim and Trice, then stood and waved his left hand at them.

  "Timon Baker, Revered One of Austra. His wife, the Revered One, Patricia Baker. May I introduce you to the people of the great land of Austra?" He did it pretty well, if in a merchant fashion. It probably lacked in elegance, but everyone there was smiling about it tolerantly enough.

  They all took seats in the back, and at Tim's urging got the orbs around in time to see Tor and Alyssa come out. They got a nice, if not tearful, welcome too. Though they got hugs from the King and Queen, and both of those lasted a while, especially for Tor.

  When that finally broke up, Dareg put his arm out for Ali, who was blonde, very nice looking, and had a large enough bust line that he had to look away from her to not stare at it. It was covered in lace at the moment, but showed a lot at the top. She was pretty tall, and had to reach down to take his elbow. Which was turned into a smothering hug, because that was just going to happen.

  Rather than wait his turn, Tor joined it, wrapping them both up in his giant arms.

  "Son! That sounds so strange." The man beamed though, and did get a bit misty eyed. "Thank you. I know this had to be hard for you, coming like this today. Now, we need to get out of the way. If they were loud before..."

  He wasn't wrong. The next person out walked alone. She was lovely, and had a slight crown on her head. A circlet, he thought. It rested on her red curls. She was tall, but stately and walked to the door as the man there bowed. He'd done that with everyone, but this time he held it for a very long time.

  His voice was booming, being magically enhanced, but the words were nearly reverent.

  "Princess Karina Cordes, Ancient of Mars."

  The world went insane then. Honestly, for a minute Dareg wondered if the raw force of the sound would kill some people. As it was, more than one lady in the crowd fainted. The walk down the path was slow, and measured. Like she was about to go and get married, rather than just sit in a box with the rest of them. She looked wonderful, in a slightly shimmering and glowing dress that sparkled, in a combination of purple and gold, with copper red highlights. It was at least as well done as any of the others had managed.

  When she got to the front of the box, she knelt, her head going low toward her father. Then, instead of something more sedate, she was set upon by a smothering of family. Her mother actually cried finally.

  In the end he worked his way out, acting as usher like he was, and bowed, ready to hold it until the woman noticed him. That didn't take long. She didn't grab him either, but did smile brightly at him.

  "Dareg! How wonderful to see you! We should get out of the way." She took his arm properly, but unlike the others didn't let it go at the end. "I hear that you're interested in marriage? Alyssa did a formal proposal last night, acting as go between. I told her that I wanted to get to know you first, but the answer is yes. I don't want you to think that I'm putting you off."

  He smiled back, a bit shocked at the news. Really he'd kind of figured that she was going to say no, and had kind of forgotten about it already. Still, he was good at rolling with the unexpected, so smiled big, actually feeling sort of happy over the whole thing.

  "That just makes sense. You need to know if I smell bad, or eat with my mouth open. I'll admit to having horrible table manners right off the bat. I try to do well, but it's all a bit unfamiliar to me. I was raised a merchant, so the rules were different." It was his way of letting her know that he just wasn't going to understand her world. Not for a while.

  "That can be learned. So, I was thinking that we'd stay together for a while? Every other time I got engaged, I managed to lose the fellow. Others swooping in to steal them away. This time I don't think I want to leave it to chance." She tightened her grip a bit, as if to
say she were serious. It was cute and a bit funny.

  "Good? Here, sit by me. Or... No, you need to be up here, by your parents, they saved you a seat. The one by your mother?" He wasn't certain there, but the girl nodded.

  So did Princess Veronica, who reached out and touched him on the arm. It was done with enough intent that her own sister shook her head.

  "I don't think so, Varley. Give me a hug and leave my future husband alone." It was nearly a growl, and for some reason Count Peterson blushed under his fuzzy beard. That was very different, and probably meant there was a story involved.

  The next person out was a girl named Alison, who was about his own age it seemed. She was pretty, well dressed, and announced as a princess too, even though she was just Veronica's daughter. She got a seat near her father and mother.

  No one had really cared about that part, but the girl still smiled and waved at everyone, getting pleasant applause and return happy expressions.

  Then Alphonse, the Heir to the throne, came out.

  He was incredibly tall, like the King, now that Dareg could see him standing up. His bearing was perfect, and he was dressed in an almost boring purple and black outfit. He had a more substantial crown on his head, that was a lesser version of what King Richard wore. It was gold, and had three jewels in it, which were purple. His boots were a shining black, and instead of cheering when he came out, there was a nearly dead silence.

  Until he got in front of the box, and bowed first to the King and the assembled nobles, then the crowd.

  The world split in two, and turned into a wall of sound and fury as the collective lungs, feet and hands of a hundred thousand people made all the noise they could. It was deafening. It went on too, until Dareg got bored with it after five minutes, and walked out to the Prince and Heir, then bowed himself.

  "Welcome home, Prince Alphonse. Would you like a seat?"

  It turned out he was willing to do that, and the cheering stopped. Then, as they got him into place, Queen Tiera was announced, to polite cheers and a few whistles that showed the crowd was getting bored now. All the important people were back, so they were getting playful.

  Not that she didn't deserve the attention. Honestly, if Lorelei Baker was the best looking woman that he'd ever seen, Tiera was her double, only writ large. The woman was thin and graceful, but her face was a thing that the crowd, in the distance, probably wouldn't be able to understand at all. When she got to him, he was held briefly, before she bowed to the King and Queen. They didn't come and hold her however, he noticed.

  Then, subtly, Connie tapped something in her hand, and music started playing again. This time there was a stir at the far end of things, by the city wall, as the parade started.

  For his part, he moved back, into his seat, which was situated not by Tor and Alyssa, but next to Timon and Patricia now, for some reason. He got it a bit later, when the woman with the curly dark hair that was nearly black, handed him the amulet for the floating box that he'd set down on one of the seats. No one there was stealing it after all.

  The Prime Minister smiled at him, and moved over, so that he could be right next to his uncle.

  "Everyone back home wants to know when the work on the new port will begin? We have one, of course, but not like this..." Foley waved at the world, which was decently nice looking, he realized.

  Dareg let himself laugh.

  "Don't worry, this isn't going to be like this either. A lot of the magical houses will be moving out and permanent structures are already being built and set up. So a lot of this will be going over there next week. We need another river. Probably a large one, though I guess I need to see what's on the ground there, first. Maybe something a little higher, so that people can walk under it?" Right now to get to the guest houses, inns and all that you had to duck if you started on the outside. Going low if you were very tall.

  Timon smiled at him, and nodded.

  "That's about right. We need water in that part of Austra anyway. I'll see to that. I heard you have a working group forming over there already?"

  That got him to nod, and recall the correct name.

  "Volunteers. Clarence Memes is in charge of them. We need to set up a meeting for later. In the morning perhaps? Terry provided a bunch of handhelds for the work crew. You're moving there, and will have a palace at the port. Just like Sam Builder has here. Really, we should get that in place for all the..." He nearly said Ancients, but noticed a slight stiffening from Prime Minister Foley, so altered that as he spoke. "Revered ones for all the lands. Now, if someone can find Clarence for me? I need to go and sit with Taman, since I have to beg her for things."

  He'd collected a hug off of her, which was a bit of a dangerous thing, he realized. She might not have been as pretty as some of the women there that day, but he already liked her best. She was, essentially, Tam-unit. That he was at least a bit in love with the girl from the screen was kind of clear to him. Not that everyone shouldn't have loved the blue boxes. They were so helpful, and pleasant all the time.

  As far as he could tell, Taman the Princess was in the same mold, only a good bit more insightful.

  When he tried to get her attention, she hopped right up and walked to the back of the now crowded box to stand by him, and then handed him a package. It was in a shining blue bag that seemed to be made of satin, but wasn't. He examined it for a bit, trying to work it out.

  She shrugged, and touched his arm.

  "It's magical. Really, the concept is a lot like the chests, except that these don't float, and only make bags. You can change the size and look however. These are more of the small units, like you have here? She got in touch with me and mentioned your combined plans for world domination. Clever, getting the rest of us to provide all that magic for it." She locked eyes with him then, searching his body language and expression for something.

  After a bit he leaned in and sighed.

  "If you're looking for more than inappropriate lust in me, you've got some work to do. On the good side, I have it on good authority that if I ever want to make Tor upset with me, I can just get all of his sisters into bed? Not that they'd do it, just that it wouldn't be as gross as it sounds?"

  She smiled, and touched his arm flirtatiously, which was either mean or very promising.

  "It wouldn't be that easy anymore. Tor is a lot less Two Bends than he used to be. I don't think Tim gets that yet. He wasn't wrong though, that way. Tor is my brother, being from the same mother, but he's a direct clone of her father, and she's one of her own mother. Basically that means that you and I have no common ancestors within twenty or so generations. You have more crossings with Karina, but not enough to make you squeamish, I wouldn't think. Not given your DNA profile. That was interesting to see, I'll tell you that. Tor practically made you into a super being. The only thing he left out was the immortality part of things. Not that you can't get Tim to do that for you now that it's safe." She leaned in and held him for a bit, then backed up, smiling. "Though, you should probably work that part out for yourself. It will be more interesting."

  He nodded, taking all of that in, and didn't let himself get caught on the idea that she'd kind of hinted that they could, at least in theory, have sex. He wanted to. Really, he kind of wanted to just cuddle her too, for a long time. Probably because of Tam-unit. She was the best thing ever, after all.

  "Good to know. Anyway, we need to get together soon, and discuss the plan for Soam. Austra is going first, since if I try to keep Tim from them I think they might hurt me. As an entire land. Still, I don't want to take forever on any of it. These Tam-units will help. Can they speak different languages?" He couldn't, but the woman in front of him nodded, her face happy.

  "They can. Not all dialects in each area, but a lot of them. Everyone on Harmony learns to speak other languages, it's a big portion of what we learned in school. You should learn, now that you have your current occupation. It will help a lot."

  The parade wasn't too them yet, so the camera crews tried to get to
the front of the box, just outside of it, in order to see what was coming. It looked to be led by jugglers. That, and brightly colored clowns. It was a long thing, but once they came into view it moved along well enough. There was singing, dancing, and candies were tossed to the crowd. Not to them, since throwing things at the King wasn't going to work very well if the people wanted to keep living, but everyone else got some, including the box filled with the other nobles, which was down the path a bit.

  As the parade moved past, turning near the big ship, and returning, the King stood, and turned.

  "We have a meal planned? At the palace. I believe that Prince Dareg has the transportation for that worked out?" He seemed concerned with the idea, as if Dare didn't, the topic not having been discussed yet, but the pathway to his jump ship was going to be open as soon as the players and maskers went past again.

  That meant he could nod.

  "I need to go first, since the door is being guarded by Bill Humboldt. You should talk to him, if you get a chance, everyone. He saved the life of a little girl the other day. Well, as far as he knew at the time. It's a pretty good, and heroic story." He didn't tell it, since talking the man up too much was probably out of place at the moment.

  Richard smiled and nodded at him, beaming like he was being brilliant even if it were just a common kind of thing to say about a friend.

  "Excellent. Let's see to that directly? As soon as we can, that is." It took a bit for a the long line of people to come back past, but as soon as they did, while the crowd was still distracted, Dareg moved. He found, oddly enough that George and Kara were both with him, jogging toward the craft.

  Bill was directly in front of the door, and looked ready to fight. Scared, too, but he didn't move, even with Royal Guards coming at him.

  "Um, halt!" If his voice squeaked a little, no one acted like it was a big deal or anything. They just all stopped, and as soon as Dare smiled the man did in return.

  "They're with us, Bill. The King, Queen and all the Ancients, plus a lot of others are about to come here. We might want to let them in. If it's safe?" He glanced at the door, which was shut firmly, even if the tiny man in his green and brown canvas was right in front of it.