Noble Beginnings (11 page)

Myriel pursed her lips. "Rumors like this
crop up every muster, don't they? Most of them are unsubstantiated,
and you know that hardly anyone actually makes any formal
accusations."

"That's not the point," Alice snapped.
"People have been getting more unsettled every year, and those are
the small musters. We don't even know if we have thirty thousand
men left in the country, let alone thirty thousand battle-ready
ones. And the Duchess's firm ban on women soldiers has left people
feeling even more trapped. People are wondering whether Farlan will
have any men left after the next round of soldiers leaves."

Myriel looked troubled, but still calmer than
Dorran felt listening to the news. He was almost starting to hope
that he would be sent off with the troops, just so that he wouldn't
have to face what might be coming to the capital after their
departure. "Have there been...any threats of violence?" Myriel
asked.

"I've heard that many women have started
training together in secret, but no, there's been no overt threats
thrown yet…just a lot of anxiety."

"I see. Well..." Myriel looked pensive, her
eyes wandering over to the window for a long moment. "I'm...not
exactly sure what to tell you, except that I know the duchess is
very aware of the people's concerns. She has many reasons to care
deeply about the war herself, and she knows her people to be aware
of that. She is grateful for their continued patience, and..."
Myriel sighed. "Truly, she wants to protect the people of Farlan as
best she can. She knows where her duty truly lies."

Alice gave her a long look and then nodded.
"All right, Myriel. I don't know how things are going to continue
at this rate, but Thea's too smart not to have some sort of plan. I
just hope that matters don't get too drastic first."

Myriel, Dorran thought, had an odd tone to
her voice when she answered. "I'm certainly hoping that, too," she
replied.

After that, they exchanged a few more
pleasantries as Dorran watched; then Alice stood to leave, shaking
Myriel's hand one more time before departing. To avoid the
possibility of drawing attention to themselves by leaving too soon
after her, Dorran and Myriel remained seated for a while.

"What did you think?" Myriel asked.

That Mother's as good as you are about
changing the subject, Dorran thought to himself, but knew better
than to say such a thing out loud, "I am glad that Mother has a
good ear to the ground with her people. Thank you for showing me
this, it has been….educational."

Myriel nodded, smiling faintly, but he had
the feeling that she also knew his questions were still far from
answered. The truth was none of them had been answered the only
thing that had been accomplished by his tagging along was that more
questions had reared their ugly head within his mind.

Chapter X

Dorran had a great deal on his mind when he
returned to the castle. After ducking into a room to change out of
the cloak and dress, he had given them to Myriel to avoid looking
strange walking down the halls with them. The two of them had
parted ways shortly after and he had to admit it was a relief to be
alone.

He wasn't sure what exactly to make of what
he had heard from Alice, but honestly he was just surprised at how
much his mother appeared to trust Myriel. The servant was so quiet
and hardworking that Dorran had never figured she was in charge of
so much. Well, Addie did tell me how trustworthy she was, he
reflected. And I've seen her discretion myself. So it was no wonder
that she was used for such sensitive tasks.

His reverie was interrupted by footsteps
coming around the corner. Straightening, his eyes met a surprised
Lyrre's. The expression of shock was only on her face for a split
second before a smiled sprung upon her face. "Lord Dorran! What a
pleasure to see you."

It took a force of effort not to glance down
and double-check that he was no longer in women's garb, and he felt
himself flush slightly at the mere reminder of what he'd been
wearing just a short time before. "Lyrre," he said, doing his best
to smile in return. "Good evening. And please, call me Dorran." It
wasn't the first time he had offered, though he knew that for
politeness's sake she was most likely to refuse the offer.

"Dorran, then," she said, and her smile
became less automatic and now held a soft warmth to it. She settled
back onto her heels, and one of her hands rose to twist at a loose
curl of her hair that hung slightly over her ear. "What are you up
to?"

"Ah...my mother sent me on an errand outside
the castle," he said, then silently congratulated himself on the
quick answer. "I just got back and was headed back to my own
chambers."

"I see."

"So, what about you?" he asked, knowing it
was his job to keep the conversation going.

"Oh, I was just talking with Mama. It's
getting late and she wanted to retire, but I didn't feel like
sleeping just yet, so I was decided on wandering the castle." Her
expression turned slightly dreamy as her eyes drifted over the dim
hallway. "This place is so beautiful, and so old! Mama's estate is
nowhere near as interesting."

"Is that so?" he said, grinning. He'd been
nervous moments ago, but the new topic combined with Lyrre's inborn
charm brought a casual smile to his face. "Now let me see...would
you like a tour of some of the lesser-known corners?"

Her eyes sparkled. "Yes, please."

"Are you sure?" he asked, feigning innocence.
"It's getting dark, my lady. You never know what might be lurking
in the shadows."

"But you would, wouldn't you?" she asked,
pretending to be shrewd as she squinted at him. “And with such a
fine warrior as my escort I doubt I shall find myself in any
danger.”

"Well, perhaps..." He shrugged. "But in all
seriousness, I can show you around, if you like. It's not as big or
as interesting as you probably think, and the area I know best is
the old barracks, which don't have much of interest unless you're
interested in fighting..." He trailed off. "Are you?" he asked
suddenly.

She blinked. "Am I what?" she asked.

"Interested in fighting. Some women train in
the barracks downstairs, and I was thinking, if you wanted to join
us sometime..." His throat felt dry as he considered the picture it
would make, Lyrre with her hair tied back and a knife in her hand,
watching him with the same attentive expression she did now, but
poised and ready to strike. For some reason, he found it a very
agreeable image.

She shook her head, smiling and blushing.
"Oh, no, I couldn't. I'm too clumsy."

"I can't believe that," he demurred. "If
you're worried about it, I…"

"No, no!" She assured him. "I'm sure you'd be
a perfect gentleman. It's just that I've never trained, and
besides, I don't really think Mama would like it very much."

He nodded slowly. "That's understandable.
But..." He frowned. "Even Addie and Nora have had a bit of
training, though Nora took to it better than Addie did. If you
like, I could teach you privately sometime. Just for an afternoon
or so. After all, there aren't that many men around anymore; it's
best to be able to rely on your own strength to defend
yourself."

She had a strange expression on her face. "Do
you think that I am not safe here?"

"Oh, no," he told her. "You're as safe as can
be." The question brought uncomfortable images to the front of his
mind, however, as he remembered what Alice had said of Farlan's
beginnings of unrest. What if there was a revolt? Would people like
Lyrre be safe in the castle? Farlan was loyal to her Duchess for
now, but what if the King's demands truly brought them to the point
of breaking.

"Are you all right?" Lyrre asked, and Dorran
realized that he had been silent for too long. He readjusted his
face into a smile and gave her a sheepish little shrug.

"I am fine, don't worry. In any case, think
about it, all right? And in the meantime, I can escort you to your
room, if you would like."

She smiled and held out an arm, clearly back
in her element. "Yes, I would be most pleased," she said, and
together they walked to her chambers. Dorran felt the softness of
her arm through the sleeve of her gown, which sheared off at the
elbow to accommodate for the late spring weather; every now and
then she would glance up at him, and he strained his eyes in the
dim light, wondering if the blush he saw was only a trick of his
eye.

Finally, they stood outside Lyrre's door.
"Well, good night," Dorran said without thinking, and had almost
turned to leave before realizing that Lyrre was still staring at
him. He turned back to face her, feeling awkward.

"Thank you for looking after me," Lyrre said
impishly. "I might just take you up on that offer some time, you
know."

"I'd like that," Dorran said. He was actually
a little worried about how much he would like it, but a telltale
glimmer in her eyes made him begin to suspect he wasn't the only
one thinking along those lines.

"Me, too," she said, and then she swooped up
and kissed him on the cheek, so quickly he didn't have time to
realize what was happening until she was standing in front of him
again, blushing scarlet and not meeting his eye.

"Um..." she said, twisting a finger in her
hair again, her other hand already reaching for the door. “Good
night!"

"Night," he said from sheer force of habit,
as she swiftly spun, and almost danced into her room, and shut the
door quietly but firmly behind her. He brought up one hand to his
face, intending to touch the spot she had kissed; in the end,
though, he lowered it again, wanting to remember the brief
sensation of her lips on his skin more fully.

Now, he asked himself, what was that
for...?

He suspected it was a statement of interest.
Lyrre might have been sweet, but he knew she was perfectly aware of
what she was doing; the only question, then, was what ramifications
she meant it to have. She was around his age, and there obviously
weren't very men around, so it could have been the straightforward,
everyday kind of proposition...but Dorran knew that in that case,
she probably wouldn't have allowed him to leave.

For the first time, he found himself
beginning to wonder if there were any reasons for Lyrre and Alven
coming to the castle than his mother had publicly mentioned. He
loved his mother but she was very good at getting what she wanted
without ever letting anyone know what it had been she had wanted in
the first place. It was true many of the noble had started hinting
that it was high time he marry.

Sighing Dorran hoped that was not the case
with Lyrre. She was a nice enough girl and it wasn’t as if he
couldn’t be happy spending his life with her but being tricked into
the relationship. He wasn’t sure why but he knew that if he found
out that to be the case he would never be able to look at Lyrre
with caring eyes.

The way back to his room was slow and his
mind raced over everything that had happened throughout the day. It
had been a busy day one filled with nothing but questions. He
wished things were simple again where all he had to worry about was
what kind of practice he should have that day. Things had changed
too quickly for him now even something as simple as a girl’s look
he had to second guess and hope their wasn’t a hidden meaning or
plot behind such actions. He knew that in the end he would have
little choice over his life partner but that didn’t mean he had to
enjoy the knowledge that every decision made about his life was
done with the thought of what was best for Farlan not what was best
for him.

He was relieved that he didn’t run into any
other distractions on the way to his room and was overjoyed when
the old oaken door swung open revealing his soft bed that called
his name. When you were overwhelmed the best medicine was to simply
lie down and try to let your cares and worries fade away into dream
land or at least that is what his mother had always said. They
couldn’t ever disappear but a night’s reprieve was all some needed
to get things straight. The saying wasn’t always true but more than
once he had found that his mother’s words were helpful.

CHAPTER XI

Though no one knew when it might formally
begin, the necessity of recruiting men for the muster loomed darkly
over everyone in the barracks. More and more people arrived, at
first only a few daily, but the trickle had not ceased growing
since the muster had been announced. Most of the moderately
experienced fighters had taken over the duty of training the new
recruits in the basics to lessen the burden on the more experienced
soldiers, who were already, with few exceptions, thoroughly
occupied.

Edith was gone more and more frequently.
Dorran wanted to find her and ask what she was up to. Mostly
because he feared she was intending to go against Thea's orders,
but he couldn't manage it; he was busy training or talking with the
muster officials the few times she showed up in the barracks, and
while he occasionally hurried down to check at the Silver Crown in
his spare time, she was never there. Simultaneously, the number of
women in the practices started dropping rapidly. They seldom left
entirely, but would show up less and less often. Most of the
younger fighters figured that they were obeying Thea's orders, but
Dorran saw some of the veterans giving each other pointed looks,
and couldn't help thinking that he was right to be suspicious.

Meanwhile, the younger male fighters were
either mysteriously absent or breaking their backs working to
impress Vernis. The former were the ones whose families wanted to
keep them out of harm's way. He understood the drive to protect
their children but it was still a problem, and one he had no clue
how to solve without causing a huge mess. It wasn’t just people he
didn’t know either, he heard Marcus muttering to a few friends
about how Iain had been locked in his room and forbidden to leave
without supervision until the muster ended.