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 were 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.
Burks came with more clothing and helped him dress, an outfit that made him feel ridiculous, with heavy gold colored brocade on the shoulders and the King's personal livery on the front, covering his whole chest. It stood out on a background of purple, but the main color was black, more velvet and silk than he'd ever seen on a man before. At least one his size. The servant had to tie him into it then hide the strings with a heavy jacket of more black material.
He blushed looking down at himself, but Burks assured him he looked splendid.
“Right. But you'd say that if I looked like a fish, wouldn't you? Kind of part and parcel to your work?”
To his surprise the man shook his head with a serious look on his face. “Oh, definitely not sir! If you looked like a fish, or anything other than the best I could manage, I'd tell you instantly so that we could work to fix it before being seen in public. You cut a fine figure however. No one will think you dressed as anything other than proper I don't think. Especially since you're dressed in a fashion that declares you in the King's service directly, acting as his hand or voice. I don't think anyone will question your right to be at this meeting tonight. Do be careful not to start a war though, since the King would have to back you in it, even if he doesn't agree with you on the reasoning.” He continued and explained that it was the livery on the front. This outfit had, after all, once belonged to the Prince. On someone like him it basically meant that whatever Tor did, the King backed him fully.
It was nice to know in case he used the wrong spoon or something, which was probably the actual point. Someone figured that he'd mess up and this would make it… Well, not OK, but less embarrassing. Maybe.
Before Rolph came to collect him he pulled a few more of the room cooling systems and heat exchange amulets, then slipped his shield on as well, the latest version, the fourth one that he'd created. It still wasn't perfect, but it took care of a lot of problems the older ones had. As silly as it sounded, he still kept expecting Wensa to jump out at him and try to kill him at any given moment. She hadn't back at school, but that might not stop her now. The woman had kept watching him, if more covertly and from a greater distance after her attempt to end him at the shield test.
