“Sorry Ger! I don't even know if you or your sister have other plans or anything and I was talking about you like you weren't right here. I apologize. Um, do you have any other plans?” It occurred to Tor that he was not just being pushy, but didn't even know the sisters name. What kind of person did that? He blushed at his own heavy handedness.
Ger raised his head proudly.
“We don't have positions yet sir, but we can work, we don't need charity.” The young man’s voice held more dignity than Tor thought he could muster himself, so he nodded.
“Right. I knew that. I've seen you do it, so that isn’t in question at all. I guess what I'm saying is that I have some positions available at my house. There's a lot of training needed, so, you know, it's more like an apprenticeship than a job to start with, and you'd both need schooling to do the whole thing. Even if you become squires you'll want that education. You do get paid a little, as well as room, board and tuition. We need to talk to your sister too, maybe…” Tor looked at the Queen. “Connie, I know you're busy, but would you help me with that? I don't want anyone to think… that I'm taking advantage of these two.” Tor remembered how Count Morris had looked at Ger as if the kid was something other than his assistant. The girl was even the right gender for him, if too young. Cute too, so people could take his interest the wrong way really easily.
Connie nodded regally and Rich smiled hugely at Tor, clapping him on the shoulder suddenly.
“Just let me know when the Squireship papers need to be signed and I'll start working up the signatures. That can take some time you know. Counts get all prickly about it, as if it was real work to sign their names.”
From behind Tor laughter came as Rolph told them all how Ger had defended his new bosses honor by knocking Count Morris on his behind with a force lance. The boy ducked his head in shame but had to fight to keep a smile off his face at the same time.
“Humph.” Holly said, her eyes noticing that the kid was there finally. “Well if Tor tells me you'll do, when the time comes you've got my imprint. Morris is a stick in the mud at the best of times. Still, he does hold a key position strategically, so outfitting him isn't a horrible plan, and he's loyal, I'll say that for the man.” Her words were considering, but her tone stayed sad and dark the whole time. She still missed her husband, Tor could tell. It may have been an arranged marriage, but she took it seriously enough to make Tor both a little envious and scared. In the end, he suspected that Holly Printer would destroy the world to kill the Wards, if that's what it took. Tor couldn't belittle the feeling, but also couldn't forget that he lived in the world himself, along with everyone he cared for.
Tovey allowed as how he could possibly also add his signature if he got a good recommendation from Tor as well. Rolph clapped the boy on the back and smiled.
“There you go Ger. Now we just find one more and you can start on your path to Knighthood! Or, knowing Tor, probably any other career you want. It's a good situation to go into. At Wilderness Station you can probably get your own house even, though you might have to make it. Lots to do there now. Tor even has his own whorehouse, though you're a little young for that yet.”
Ger blanched and looked at Tor nervously. Varley got it first, and explained.
“Don't worry Ger! Tor won't put you or Gemma to work there. Alphie just meant that you could use their services, when you got a little older, that's all. Well, unless you want to work there, then that would be all right I guess…” She teased a bit, getting knowing nods from the other royals. Tor snorted.
“Not until they're at least fifteen though, for working there at least and then only on school breaks. If you want to spend your money that way, that's up to you, or I suppose you could trade work with some of the women if you wanted, in exchange… But as to working there, I have different plans. Those being almost anything else you want to do that doesn't make my little country bred mind spin in circles. We'll get with Connie and your sister later and work out what you two actually might like to try.”
And, Tor decided, see that any relatives they had might be informed and kept in the loop. For all he knew some aunt or uncle would want them to go into the family business. The kids seemed smart enough from what he'd seen after all. Which wasn't, admittedly, very much. The Queen announced that everyone should present themselves at dinner to see to it. Connie like to do that, set up dinner meetings. It gave her an excuse to have extra ceremony or something. That, entertaining and such, was really her job as Queen, it seemed unimportant at first, but once you realized how much everything in the kingdom hinged on people not having ruffled feathers and feeling like they were important… well, it was probably as crucial as anything the King did, if in a very different way.
That gave them several hours, which for Tor meant just enough time to wash up and put out two hundred more devices, shields and flying rigs this time, just to keep things slightly fresh. Doing only one kind of thing without stopping would eventually wear on his own field, which couldn't work, because he was a person, not a shield. Do that too often and it would just kill you. It was covered on the second day of school even. It wasn't really that dangerous, but it was something to keep in mind pushing like he was.
Ger wanted to stand guard at the door, but Tor sent him to look up his sister as soon as Holly and Ursala came in, since they could keep the wolves at bay he assured the boy, both being Countesses and all that. Ger looked at Holly and, obviously remembering her practice earlier, nodded. Not a lot would be coming through her, Tor agreed.
Ursala, tall and blond, leaner now than he'd ever seen her, though not skinny at all, let her eyes follow Ger as he bowed himself out of the room in best servant fashion.
“Cute kid. Are we assigned a page then finally?”
“No, that’s Tor's new ward and possibly future Squire. There's a girl too. Orphans, the last of their immediate family being killed by the Austran attack. The cook that led the servants against that Larval assassin? Anyway, we just need to get your signature and the kids can both be squires, we already have Thomson, which will make their lives a lot easier I dare say. No orphanage for them. Already offered surety towards any schooling they want by Master Tor here. Plus the kid knocked around Count Morris earlier. Tried to imply Tor and he were lovers. Turned out to be a mistake. If he's going to do things like that the boy is going to need to be at least a Squire. Really, we should get with the King on that tonight, in case Morris gets in a snit over what happened earlier. We don't need a potential fighter like him executed just to keep the likes of Morris happy. Not with a war on.”
For some reason all that earned him a warm hug from Ursala. And a kiss. Then a little more than that, until Holly started to chuckle darkly.
“Not to break up your fun, but we should be getting ready for dinner, we're all supposed to be present tonight to discuss this and see what the kids want to do. You could probably dodge it of course, but since they're like as not going to be your side-range step kids, after a fashion, I'd think you'd want to be there.”
With a soft smile Ursala moved to get ready, helping Holly as needed and vice versa. Normally they'd have dedicated palace servants, if they didn't have their own, but the place was so crowded that they'd opted to do without. It would leave someone to attend to older people that needed the help more than they did. Holly was used to field conditions she'd said, and Ursala was too, in a way, living in a little hut with Tor and the others. They didn't really have servants at all. Just a tiny prostitute that brought their meals in sometimes.
Tor was already more or less dressed, except for shoes, so he made one last batch of shields. Flying rigs may be neat, but fighting forces only needed so many flying warriors it seemed. All of the military wanted shields though. That and lights. He'd have to start on those too again soon, and weapons. Really he was waiting on that last part though, until he could talk with the King, and maybe Rolph, alone about it. The Prince was, of course, vital to the war effort. If anything should happen to the King, he was in charge and no one wanted a six month training period for him to get up to speed while Austra hammered the kingdom back to the cataclysm. They hadn't really attacked in force yet, but they had some boats off the coast harrying fishing vessels at times. Mainly name calling so far for some reason. They'd take advantage of a vulnerability though.
Who wouldn't?
Besides, Rolph was smart, it would be stupid not to get his advice.
At dinner a lot more people showed up than he'd expected. For some reason half of them were people from his house, well, Wildlands Station, which was a lot more than a single dwelling now, but he hadn't known they'd be coming for dinner. For that matter, given the plain and practical dress that most of them wore, it didn't look like they'd known they were coming either.
It fell to Rolph to make the introductions, because, like Tor, he knew everyone at the table by name and was the highest ranked person that did, so the job was his by tradition.
“So, introductions! This is an exciting group of people all around, first let’s do the boring people, and by that I mean the ones that everyone probably knows, not that they’re any less than interesting. At the top of the table we have the King, Richard Cordes, next to him his lovely wife, my mother, Queen Constance Cordes, next to her is Tor,
