crude and deserved a thrashing and even if I'd won that particular altercation, what good would it have done me? Ursala was pregnant and I should have done more for her. Yes, she should have taken better steps to prevent it, but that was no excuse… Plus… and, well, I know you were feeling poorly after seeing the Prince, but taking it out on this man was wrong. I should have stood up for him with you more often.” The large man turned to Tor and bowed.
“The attacks on you were my own fault, but I swear by my blood and breath that neither I nor my lady had any part in the attempts on anyone else's lives, nor did we intend lethal harm to you at any point.” He held the bow.
Tor shrugged.
“Well, you look a bit guilty. For instance, what's with the war against a whole kingdom if your innocent? Most people that are innocent say things like “hey, we didn't do it” not, “we declare war” kind of, well, a poor move if you really are innocent, don’t you think?”
The Count straightened and sighed, then put out a hand to Maria, who took it but didn't rise. Instead she found Tor’s eyes and held them.
“If I may rise sir?”
“Um, sure? Why couldn't you?” Tor said, knowing it sounded a little dumb. Ah well. If the worst thing that happened today was him sounding stupid… Well, really, he reflected, a wave of bitterness passing through him, too late for that, wasn't it?
Maria rose smoothly and gracefully. If not for their history it would have seemed lovely to him, he knew. Then he'd asked her out in the first place because she was cute. Probably too good looking for someone like him, since he was a bit of a troll he knew. Ah well. Thinking for a moment Tor shrugged, which felt helpless and more than a little dull witted. Then he sighed hugely, seeking his own dramatic effect.
“Right, so if you really didn't do it, who did? And more to the point, can we prove it before the invasion force comes and takes out tens of thousands of innocent people? Do you two have any idea as to who it was?” It was a long shot, but maybe they'd have something to go on.
Strangely they both nodded.
“Laval.” Maria said shortly, through her teeth. “He wasn't normal at all. When we heard about the attack on the Queen’s day celebration we knew it had to be him, so we… Well, we'd been hosting him hadn't we? Everyone here suspected that he'd gone after you those times, but he was here when the big poisoning took place, so we knew it couldn't be him, right?” She gestured around and one or two people in the crowd nodded.
One man stepped forward from behind a table with food and drink on it off to the side, slightly closer to the band then they stood.
“It's true my lord, I mean Master Tor sir. He was at the Postern celebration here in this very section the whole night. Near on twenty people talked to him, danced and ate with him too, he was here.”
The man was dressed like everyone else, but seemed older than most of the others, gray haired and slightly heavier. Not fat, just like he'd been well muscled when younger, and now had gone a little softer.
Well, at least he hadn't turned into a stick like Tor had.
“But,” The Count said quietly. “That's why we declared war. We knew that we couldn't prove any of that and when we heard of the attackers on Queen’s day, we knew that they'd run a line directly to our door, so we took a firm stand first. It was my idea. I should have just gone to the King and thrown myself on his mercy instead. Better my head than the blood of my people on my hands.” His head drooped and his expression looked truly sad. Maria took his hand gently.
“We… We've decided to turn ourselves in, which is why we invited you to come. We didn't know if it would be now of course, but people knew to expect you, we've placed pictures of you all over town. Only…” She pointed at his face. “We didn't know about the beard originally. It makes you look quite fierce and manly however. We had to color in all the pictures when we heard, it wasn't well done I have to say…”
The woman he'd been dancing with touched his arm gently.
“Please sir… don't let them be killed. They're good people. I know that things look bad for them, but I swear, they're both innocent of what's been said about them!”
Then both the Count and his Countess, dressed in their white party outfits, with blue belts for the men and red for the women, mainly, knelt again, still holding hands. The Count lowered his head.
“We are in your custody sir.” He said loudly enough that everyone could hear him in the whole square. A little slow on the uptake Tor finally got it. He was being loud so that no one would stop him from taking them? Or… Tor looked around and saw people watching, but no one taking action. So probably not a trap then? One by one they all started kneeling too.
Right, like he could take anyone in? He wasn't a guard or even in the military. Or, for that matter, in good with the King right now even. If he ever had been.
“Ah, well, might as well get up everyone. The first thing we need to do is call this stupid war off then. Sorry Count Ward, but out of everything that was the worst move made so far. And I say this as a guy you've both admitted nearly getting killed, so you know I'm not saying it lightly. We can fix that part though. I think. Is there somewhere we can work on it, without ruining everyone's party I mean? I guess I can run it back in the morning, if you want. Though things…” Well, to stop a war, Tor could suck up his own hard feelings, couldn't he? It had to be done, even if he felt like a moron doing it.
After they got up the Wards led him back to their house, large, a palace nearly as big as what the King had, but open to the public, at least as far as the grounds went. Hard to tell in the dark. No wall around it at all. In fact, what he'd thought of as a park, turned out to be their garden.
Only about one in ten of the people there were people that worked for them. Most were just people that came for the party, everyone was welcomed it seemed. Why they were doing this instead of getting ready for the invasion he didn't know, but he was careful not to ask either. If he was supposed to make peace somehow, then he couldn't allow himself to be used as a spy, even by accident. Noram had too many people well versed in intrigue for him to take chances or say the wrong thing.
As they walked he told them about the events of the day to pass the time. They gasped in the appropriate places, as if he were telling a story to amuse or entertain them, instead of going over how badly things could suddenly go around him. He did not look forward to trying to deliver the letter the next day, but stopping a war was far more important than him looking good or even avoiding prison for beating up several hundred people. It sounded stupid when he said it out loud, but Maria put a hand on his shoulder.
“That is so… I apologize once again Sir Torrence. I've done you more damage and harm than should be borne by anyone and you ready yourself to go off and make peace for us, who have done you no good turn ever? I…” She started crying again, which got the Count to comfort her with some awkward looking pats on the back. Too bad he couldn't have met this Maria first. She actually seemed halfway likable, if a little over the top with the fake dramatics. She was trying at least, and right now that counted for a lot with him.
Tor assumed they were fake at least. He kind of had to. But as long as they weren't trying to play him for a fool and use him in their war somehow, he could live with that. He'd even put up with the crying. Really, Petra had told him several times that Maria was a bitch, and so had Collette Coltress, but she seemed all right so far. Maybe she was only normally mean to women? He'd met a few people like that at school. For instance Dorgal Sorvee was really only mean to the scholarship kids, and mainly that was only really Tor, come to think of it. He was polite enough to everyone else. Maybe it was something like that?
When they got into the house, the luggage followed them, much to the fascination of the Count, he stared openly at the cases as if it were something amazing and not just a different form of the flying field. Just inside the door Tor hit the amulet under his shirt, which turned the follow along field off. Really it was just the signal that got turned off, but that wasn't a real point, the cases all had to be turned off one by one if he wanted them to set down. These were his new ones, so when activated they rose about eighteen inches into the air on their own and sank slowly when shut off. They landed one at a time with a little clunk on the pale wooden floor.
Pointing, the Count, Martin, Tor knew from Petra, the man's youngest sibling, asked how much they cost.
“The follow along lifts? Oh, no one is really making them yet, except me. Dorgal Sorvee has some he might part with soon, but, I just gave him a load of stuff today, I don't know what the price will be. I have a few extra sets though, if you want them? I have some other stuff too… Um, let's leave off on any military gear for a bit though, until we can at least get the war stopped, this one at least?”
