Probably. Nothing he could do about it but be more careful in the future.
When Connie came in she looked exhausted. Puffy eyed and a little bedraggled, which was nearly unheard of for her. She slumped into her chair at the head of the table and yawned, which got Tor going. After a bit they both laughed about it. She waved her right and at him to stop and spoke seriously enough that everyone paid attention, even the girls at the far end of the table.
“Richard and I managed to convince the Wards that Tor wasn't likely to declare war on them or hunt them both down. It took most of the night.” The look she gave Tor was dry and not nearly as humorous as the bit with the yawning.
“Tor, I admit that it was… unfortunate that the events of last night took place, especially right now, and I can't say that I really understand what they were thinking, myself. Perhaps Patricia could enlighten us as to why she led Maria Ward to your bed for a mid-night ambush, even knowing the history there as she does? What were you thinking dear?” The Queen didn't sound angry, just tired. Well, Tor thought, understandable. All his fault too, for making a scene. If not for that she'd have come to the table well rested and happy. It made him feel pretty bad for a moment.
Then Trice started talking.
“Well…”
Then she stopped.
Tor wasn't looking at her and didn't really care what she said overly. It would all work out to “Maria wanted to and Tor doesn't really count as a person, so why not?” Something like that. He shrugged and said it out loud just to fill the silence, which got everyone to stare at him. Really you'd think he'd know better by now, but no, stupid troll Tor has to keep opening his mouth. At least Trice didn't say anything after that. Good enough, whatever game they had going on they can try playing with someone else now.
Karina spoke softly enough that it surprised him a bit.
“That's… probably not it, is it? I mean, Tor does count. To me at least. I… really Tor they were probably just trying to be friendly, I mean, most guys like being woken up like that for extra sex.” She looked away and then stopped speaking too.
Trice tried again.
“It's… kind of complicated. Yes, Maria wanted to, because she wants to be your friend Tor. In her world what she was doing for you is, well a good thing. Most people like it well enough at least. I get that it wasn't the best plan ever, now, but it seemed all right at the time. It wasn't a trick or meant to hurt you in any way. I…” She blushed, which Tor knew was fake, because the girl wasn't capable of it without pushing blood into her face on purpose.
Blushing took a sense of shame, and she didn't have that.
“I guess I just wanted the two people I love most to get along too.”
It was probably true, Tor realized, but really, Maria? They'd never been friends and while Tor had tried to be gentle and kind towards her, that didn't mean he wanted her in his bed. Or even wanted her around at all. Why on earth would she assume he would? Because he saved her life a time or two? He'd saved a lot of people’s lives and really, if most of them showed up in his bed doing what she'd been, Tor would have to kill himself, or at least run away screaming.
Though come to think of it, that was his first reaction to her too.
“Run away!” He said out loud suddenly, his old battle cry, a joke of sorts, to remind him not to get into a fight if he could help it. The weapons instructor had been right to teach him that.
Rolph chuckled.
“Well, no one would blame you. Still, why should you be the one running? Maria took a chance and it backfired on her. That isn't your problem, if she wants you, she needs to do it properly and not just climb in your bed and claim ownership. Maybe send flowers?” The face was dead panned, but the joke as ill timed as always.
Ali smiled, “I like flowers. They're pretty.”
That…
Tor realized that he'd never gotten his wife flowers. Not at all. Magic junk, but nothing as simple as a bunch of wild flowers from a field. Was he the worst husband ever or what? No wonder she slept with everyone else in the world, he sucked so hard at his duties that she probably had to, just to get a little romance. Argh.
Tor shook his head, there was just too much, wasn't there? Rolph and Connie and Trice and Karina and Ali and…
Gods and bunnies.
Well, nothing for it now, all he could do was fix what he could.
What could he really do though? He couldn't just accept Maria as a friend. He'd tried and failed already, more than once. She'd hurt him for no reason and the fallout from that was still in play, hitting him all the time. Why wouldn't she just go away and leave him alone? He'd never done anything to her, had he?
Trice looked down at the table and started crying, as if that was going to help anything. Worse it was that thing she did where she half sobbed and tried to talk at the same time.
“But… you…oo… forgave… ave her. If you didn't then…n how could you forgive me…ee?”
Ahg. But that was at least a little different. Trice didn't try to have him hurt or killed, even if that last had been by mistake that Maria hadn't really meant. Besides, the King had ordered Trice to say mean things about him, Maria had just done it because she thought it was true. To her he'd been every bad thing in the world and it seemed true enough that it still influenced him, the way he thought and how he looked at other people.
It wasn't fair to ask him to put up with all this was it? Torrance Baker was a builder not anything else, not a plaything for little royal girls and boys and not someone that was going to put up with this crap any more. In short, Tor had had enough and more than enough.
Standing he noticed that everyone else had gone still, then suddenly scurried away. Well, great, more crap? Stupid combat rage.
“Trice, cut it out!” This got yelled. Screamed really, she looked scared for a second and the rage inside him doubled and then tripled.
“Damn it you fucking bitch, your fear response causes combat rage! Can't you see it or are you really just that stupid? Stop it! Control your fear you twit!” Tor started toward her, but she backed away rapidly. Not that it mattered, everyone else already lay on the ground, unable to move. Trice went down then too. Stupid freak.
Yeah, combat rage incidents had gone up a thousand percent in the last years? But only around her. It explained so much.
Tor walked out and sat in the hallway, just taking a seat on the hard stone floor. He had to gain control of himself before he started breaking things or making a bigger nuisance of himself. More to the point he had to do something about Trice before she managed to get people killed without even realizing it was her doing.
She was probably in denial about it, because normally she was smart enough to put two and two together.
Tor went within, and over the course of an hour and a half managed to get himself to calm the heck down, but he knew that wasn't enough. Focusing as hard as he could without losing himself totally, seeking the memories of having been effected by his curly haired friend, each time it had happened. When he had the basic feeling of the pattern she'd used to trigger others, he began to build a shield for it.
It was bizarre, the feeling of what happened. Tor thought, on some level at least, that he moved. He must have had water and food and someone had kept him, if not clean and tidy then at least from openly soiling himself as he sat on the cold marble floor in front of the dining room. It was a blink of an eye to him, just a small step from the start of the new build to the finish. Except it wasn't.
Tor came to himself sitting on a cushion in a closet off the main hallway. Another supply closet. Really, he reflected as he looked around, the palace had a lot of them, didn't it? When he tried to stand nothing happened. His legs moved, so did his arms. They didn't support his weight enough to stand however. Not at all. Oops.
Rubbing his face he found a full beard. He used to wear one for a while, so he could tell a few things from it now. The first was that this wasn't a few days or even weeks worth of growth. It was… long. Months worth at least. Gah. Well, that explained why he hadn't just gotten up and walked away.
The next thing he got was that the device in his hand was the most complicated thing he'd ever created by far. It was supposed to be a simple filtering device, just a shield to stop Trice from effecting everyone around her
