The Builder (The Young Ancients) (24 page)

She seemed ashamed though, which he didn't get. Really, he'd thought she and Trice had just been giving all the devices away to their friends anyway. As long as he had enough money to keep him in materials, he didn't need a lot more. Not while he was at school at least. He'd even managed to send some money home each month for the last few, nearly thirty gold in all. If it turned out that they didn't have the money from sales because they had to make a bunch of stuff for the army, then that would just have to be what happened. Who was he to tell the military they couldn't have the shields they needed? Really, it was kind of an honor that they found what he made good enough to be of use at all. Tor shrugged and fought a yawn, nearly succeeding.

“Alright.” He said quietly.

Everyone kept talking for a few moments, except Sara who looked at him questioningly. She tilted her head. “What's alright?” Her voice was soft, almost shy, which got Rolph's attention quickly enough. But then he kind of liked Sara and had the whole time Tor had known the girl. It made everything she said more important no doubt. Women could do that to you if you weren't careful.

“Alright, if you need time... then take it. If you could help make sure I have the materials I need to work and, I don't know if it's possible, but if a little bit could be sent to my family in Two Bends, that would be good? The rest can wait.” Rolph gave him a hard look for a second, then smiled. It was a slightly sinister smile as if he expected some kind of deeper plan to be involved. If so he'd be disappointed. Tor had nothing past that.

The affect was more powerful than Tor would have thought, that single odd smile from Rolph. It made everyone at the table except Sara scramble for papers which they read over several times. A few of the men looked like they were accused of a crime or something. His blond friend just looked at her mother and shook her head gently.

“It isn't a ploy Heather. Not a trick or even a negotiation tactic.” She said, her voice slightly amused and slightly something else, something deeper. Like awe. “You asked for more time and Tor is just giving it to you. It’s as simple as that. Tor, what amount of gold do you think would be good to send to your family?”

The question caught him off guard. He'd figured that the amount would be based on what could be scraped up and probably marked in silver, not gold at all. They wouldn't need too much; business having been good at home and really, he'd been sending money back to help out, more than enough for everyone to live on, even without the bakery's revenue. He shrugged and looked at Sara, slightly shaking his head.

“I... well, I've been getting about ten gold per month back to them, if there's no money that should hold them for a bit, I mean, they have their own lives and all, so no one will starve. Business has been going well even. Past that? Well, it would be good to help them stock up for the winter, maybe some materials could be sent there, if Debri house has anything that could help out? Even just some things to help the village would work. I mean if gold itself isn't available. We can trade too. I just wasn't thinking that way before, but it's the way most business gets done back home. That would be fine and probably work better anyway, depending on what you have to hand. You can't eat gold after all.”

Sara smirked and gave her mother a funny look.

“I don't think he's being unreasonable here mother. I didn't think I had to dress up and try to vamp him in the first place. Not that I mind. This is cooler.” She waved at the tight dress she wore with a casual gesture. “Of course with the new amulet Tor just gave me I could as well be dressed in my winter finest. Or go naked in the winter, I bet.” She laughed and reached over to touch him on the arm. For some reason this made everyone but Rolph chuckle a little.

He stared at Heather Debri instead, his face serious.

“Really, turning your own daughter on him? That's... Noble of you. I'd understand that at court, but really Heather, I expected better than that in the business parlor.”

The older woman looked down and got a look on her face as if her stomach was suddenly upset or she needed to run off to the restroom. But then she recovered her composure and smiled at Rolph.

“It would be a good match. Sara isn't in line to inherit Debri, her older brother Kris is. Hooking her wagon here would assure a good future, and she and Master Tor are already friends, most marriages don't usually start even with that, do they?” The gesture she made drew Tor's attention to a tall blond man, one that looked to be in his mid twenties about four places down. He looked over at the mention of his name, trying to pretend he hadn't been listening the whole time for some reason. “Maybe I should send an emissary to his parents?”

Rolph stiffened and glared at the woman. Tor could see that, he'd feel a little put out himself if the mother of the girl he liked suggested in public that the girl run off and marry Rolph, even as a joke. And really, Rolph was the best catch in the kingdom, so Tor couldn't even complain. If Tor loved a girl, then seeing her married to the future King would be the very best someone like him could do for her. Even before it would have been hard to raise too big a fuss, when his friend had just been tall, good looking and rich, with a great personality compared to his own.

Tor shook his head. “Marry the poor girl to a troll like me? That wouldn't be a good match at all...”

Everyone looked at him for a few moments as if amazed at the truth of what he'd just said. Finally a chuckle came from down the table where Sara's brother sat. The man didn't sound like he was making fun of him; it was gentler than that, almost a polite sound.

“A troll? If we had a real troll that could do what you have, it would still be a good match. But you sir, are definitely no troll. A little short, granted, but that can be overlooked...” His eyes popped opened and both hands went up. “No offense meant by that! I just meant that you have clear skin, good eyes and all your own teeth. Not that I'm any great judge of such things, but I'd wager most women would even find you handsome. That along with what you've done already and the promise of what might be done... I have to agree with mother here. It would be a good alliance.”

Sara looked down and blushed from across the table, but didn't protest. Tor shook his head again, not because he wouldn't like such a thing, just because it wouldn't be fair to her. Tor had a suspicion that they were having fun at his expense. Which was fine, but it was also at hers, which wasn't. They may be her people, but she was his friend too.

He smiled, trying to show that he got it and laid his hands flat on the table to show that the joke had ended and been found out. Tor was too tired for this kind of interplay today. the Capital seemed to treat teasing and joking about things like this as a game. He'd pick it up eventually, or learn to avoid people here. One way or the other. Right now he felt like just doing the latter, but he knew he was just a bit tired.

Rolph told Heather that she would not send an emissary to Two Bends, and that if she were serious she'd deal with the Queen herself in proxy for Tor's own mother. That statement got Sara's attention and she swung around on Rolph looking panicked for an instant.

“Does he...” She started.

“Oh, yes, father told him the whole thing earlier. Had to. The situation kind of required it. I can't go into it now, but some... things have come up at home. Later.” Rolph made an odd sweeping gesture with his hand, one that Tor had seen him use with the others and some of the faculty at the school before in his presence, that seemed to say “be silent” now that he knew that his friend was a Prince and not just some merchant's son. Before it had just seemed a quirky mannerism.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up with suggestions for new devices, some of the ideas catching Tor's interest, so he asked for some paper on which to write them down as well as a pencil. It was provided so fast that he didn't even have the words all the way out before one of the men near the end of the table jumped up and set it in front of him. He started making notes, and didn't let himself get sidetracked into how the fields needed to be built, even though his mind wanted him to go there so badly it almost hurt. Focus on the moment, he told himself, over and again. Like in meditation class.

When they left he almost cried in relief. Tears actually started welling up in his eyes as he looked away from Rolph, so the other boy wouldn't see that he was a weak little girl. Tor hadn't wanted to show it inside, but the whole day had been incredibly stressful for him. Too many new people. Nearly as many as the first day of school and worse, these people actually paid attention to him as if he had something to say that might be important. On top of that, there was the whole fiasco with poor Ursala. What were they going to do there?

Sure, it technically wasn't his problem, his best solution, an offer to make it right by marriage to himself, had been rejected by all involved already. That... was a relief, but didn't solve the issue at all. What could he do? Rolph was his friend, which meant Ursala was his problem just as much as if one of his sisters were in the same trouble. Well, except for then Tor would marry her, or go and find someone better for the job, no matter what it took.

Could he do less for Ursala then?

Looking down at the papers he noticed that one of the ideas jumped out at him suddenly. The need to ship large amounts of goods rapidly, that wasn't even a real problem. It would just take a field big and strong enough to lift what they wanted, wagons of goods he guessed, fields like the ones he'd already built for the luggage. The area of effect had to be bigger, and that would suck to make, but the general idea was the same. He could knock that out in a few days.

He grunted as an idea hit him.

Some people didn't want to fly, but he could make a wagon or carriage that would go over the roads far more quickly than what a horse could. If it floated above the ground a little it wouldn't even be a bumpy ride and really, if you were a foot from the ground, that wasn't flying, was it? He wrote that down too, the marks rough and hard to read as the carriage bounced. Rolph looked over at his sudden movement and shook his head.

“This thing with Ursala is a mess. I mean, it's not like we were supposed to be in love or anything, she's not exactly my type, but I wouldn't want anything to happen to her either, you know? She's a good sort, most of the time, if a little prone to sleeping around with the wrong people I guess; I wouldn't even mind being married to her. I just... can't see any reasonable way out of this. I can't marry her now. If it were up to me alone, I would, just to save her troubles, but the firstborn will be in line to inherit the kingdom. That child kind of has to be mine. It's actual law. If Count Ward wasn't already married, we could just show up with some of the Royal Guard and ask him to do the right thing politely, or you and I could go and talk to him about it. Really, I don't know what either of them was thinking! Ward should know better than to bang a daughter of peerage like that now that he's married! If Ursala was just some serving girl she could be given some money and told to go and marry some boy from down the street and no one would care one way or the other. As for her, well, there are ways to keep from having a child. That she'd gotten so careless verges on criminal.”

Tor put the papers away and listened for a while. It was a bigger mess than he'd thought. Almost anything they did brought them back to the fact that the girl had to marry and that it had to be a royal. A decently high ranking one too, at least a Baron or better. The problem was that all the royals that were close enough in location to do it were either too powerful to force into anything or were already married themselves. She was pregnant, so they couldn't marry her off to some twelve year old. The age of consent was fourteen after all.

A message was sent off to Trice, so that she'd show up at the palace for the early dinner meeting that Connie was planning. That would be good. She may not be able to come up with anything either, but at least Tor knew her and considered her a good friend. He'd feel a little less out of place that way. He asked if they should send for Count Thomson as well. Rolph considered it and then shook his head.

“No, I don't think so. The fewer people that know about this, the easier it will be to keep under wraps. No matter what we do, the child has to be protected from any backlash from this later. It was stupidity that allowed this to happen, but it would be worse to dump the problem on the kid in the future.”

That got a nod from Tor. He hadn't been thinking that way, but it was important. Maybe the single most important thing in all of this.

Since he understood now that the big building in front of where he and Rolph had been staying was the palace and no one had to try and hide that from him, the meeting was to be held there. Apparently cozy wasn't the impression that the King and Queen really wanted to give right now to the people that would be attending.