or he was incredibly preoccupied.
It even made sense, once she explained it, why she wanted to try. Gold. Not just riches, but so that she could live on her own and choose her own life. Marriage was fine, of course, but if she didn't marry soon her father was going to get a little prickly with her, she feared. Possibly cutting her allowance. That would force her hand and since noble women outnumbered the men three to two, it would be better if she could take her time, be a little picky, and this would let her try. In addition, for right now she had an allowance to fall back on if it didn't work.
“Plus, a wife that can also work in the business world is a lot more attractive to noble men than not. It will really up my personal value if I have something like this going on, even if it doesn't make a lot. Most women past the merchant class are helpless in the real world.” She looked incredibly determined.
It looked good on her, Tor thought, nodding.
He sighed and gave her a hug, which didn't seem to displease. When he pulled back he smiled softly and blinked, already feeling too tired to face the day as early as it was. At least he'd already packed up and was just waiting for whoever was going with him. Petra said she wanted to come, to check in with Kolb if nothing else. Trice had just shrugged when he asked her, not even bothering to say no. He felt horrible for her, but had no clue how to fix things, if it was even his place to try. He'd make an overture and she just rejected it time and time again. Now he was starting to want to write her off himself. She'd gone along with the King, her uncle, in hurting him for months, making him feel like he was barely human. Tor still felt that way really. She claimed, or had, to love him, but she wasn't showing it now. Yes, she was in a bad place emotionally, but how had that become about him? He didn't cut her arm off or set off that death dust bomb. He hadn't said bad things about her in public or made up lies just to hurt her.
So what did she want from him? Honey walnut rolls and tales of undying love? By Two Bends tradition she should be the one coming up with the rolls, to show her culinary skills, since they were a little hard to make. At least for girls that didn't grow up in a bakery.
The undying love would have been implicit by them getting married which would have happened if she hadn't started claiming he probably liked little boys for sex in public. Tor was just about ready to let her go totally when both she and Petra came out, their luggage following nicely, about a foot off the ground.
“Hi everyone! Ready to go? Got everything you need? Have to use the restroom first?” The darker girl chirped happily.
Smiling Tor said he was fine, and Collette greeted Petra with a hug, looking pleased.
“I asked and he said yes! I didn't even have to beg. You were right Petra, he really is wonderful!” She turned and hugged Trice and then Tor in turn.
“It's so wonderful! Wait till daddy hears, he'll be so pleased, I just know he will.”
Collette kept on in this manner for a while until finally Trice snapped and started yelling at her.
“Well good for you, bitch, why don't you just rub in how wonderful it is that Tor agreed to marry you some more. I'll bet your fathers going to be happy! You might as well be bringing home Prince Alphonse! Hell, Tor will make him more money and probably smarter grandkids to boot, so no worries there. Big fucking deal. Everyone gets engaged to Tor, but they never stay engaged, you know why? Because no one human can live up to the example he sets. Your County is on fire? No worries, Tor will save you, flying out of nowhere with an army of warriors. Storm destroys your city? Miracle boy to the rescue. Poor little whore's family going to lose the farm? Here have the money, oh, no, you don't have to pay me back or have sex with me, no debts between friends…
“Holly Printer stole millions of golds worth of stuff from him and what does he do? He just brushes it off like it's nothing and starts rebuilding from scratch and does it with nothing more than some rocks on a beach! So yeah, great catch, but just know, you're never going to be able to live with yourself, no matter how hard you push or how much you lose. A new magic every day, but notice, there’s no new arm for me, is there? Why is that? Right, because Tor's distracted by his new piece of ass.” She snarled at Petra too, being the inclusive girl she was.
“Sorry, pieces of ass. So, do you all have threesomes yet? Or is it just one on one?”
He blinked and looked around at everyone else they all looked a bit upset, Tor could see that.
“Threesomes? I… is that a thing? How does… It sounds… interesting, thanks for the idea. Now if you'll let someone else get a word in-”
She wouldn't. The next five minutes became a harangue of nearly epic proportions, with her abusing Tor enough that both Petra and Collette looked ready to hit her. The only thing was that, when he finally focused on her and found her field, she wasn't mad at all. Not even a tiny bit. She felt a little amused and very scared. Of him. Not Petra, who'd already triggered her shield and was holding a force lance in her right hand covertly. It took digging for him to figure out what was going on, she was acting, but couldn't tell him about it, because of the watchers. Right. More royal intrigue bull droppings.
It took an act of will to suppress the sigh he felt, then he decided not to, what was he supposed to do here? He kept his mind still and stared at her, face blank, until she stopped talking, nearly two minutes later. It took him a while to work out that she was looking to get him to explode, but hopefully without violence. Well, he didn't explode. Not generally. Maybe once or twice, if he was honest about it, but never all that violently. Maybe some yelling. He shook his head at her and grinned. But it was a nasty grin, one that seemed filled with rage, if he'd gotten it right.
It was Kolb's grin, the one that said he wasn't really amused at all and would be kicking your behind shortly if you didn't start running. Apparently he'd gotten it right, or at least close, since Trice went white.
“Shut up, Trice.” He said quietly. It was as close to menacing as he could get without holding a weapon on someone, so not very, but she did go quiet at least.
“You have to make this all about you, don't you?… but you're too stupid to see that it already is, aren't you?”
She winced. It was an overreaction to the words, but she was clearly playing off of what he gave her.
“What do you mean?” That at least seemed genuine, was genuine, Tor could feel it resonate through her. It wasn't exactly mind reading the way he'd thought of it from stories and such. He kind of knew what she was getting at, feeling and thinking, but it wasn't in words or anything, just field states.
“What do I mean? Well, let's see…” Tor angrily held up his right hand and started counting on his thumb. “First, making solid looking objects, like houses and boats, with complex devices embedded within them. Second, feedback and mental control in the all latest stuff, the new houses and clothes, even where simple sigils could have worked. Third, working in dangerously deep states so that I can get things done faster for complex projects that otherwise would have taken too long to survive. Do you think that's all just to impress people or get laid?” He spun to look at Petra and Collette.
“Totally worth it if it was, but there was more the whole time…”
Trice swallowed and her feet shifted uneasily.
“But-” She didn't get to finish.
“But nothing! All of those are parts, just the tiniest pieces, of what I need to make you a new freaking arm! So, yeah, I can't grow a new one for you. Know anyone that can? I tried! Three times I tried, and can't make it work. So I'm planning to make you a new one! It's not the same, I know that, but most people get nothing more than a metal hook, or even go without anything at all! So, sorry if I'm not perfect enough to do it instantly, but don't try and act for a second that it isn't all about you! Almost every second of every day I've been working on this.”
Tor spun away then so that he wasn't facing her any more, letting an angry look come over his face that was probably closer to despondent than mad. Tears came to his eyes too, but he didn't let them fall, wiping at them covertly. He wouldn't let her see him cry normally, so he wouldn't now either.
“If you were my real friend you would have figured that out by now, or at least asked. And what's with this bitchy acting all jealous now? Do you really think I don't get what's going on with you and the Wards? Or is it just Maria? I'm fine with it though, because you're my friend. If that's what you want, I'll back you. But me… I'm supposed to be alone forever because you don't want me to be happy or whatever? Remember, you were the one that said those things that made us break up in the first place.”
Tor sucked in a large breath and readied himself to take off, “stupid bitch.”
Then he flew away, not looking back. He flew for about half an hour before even looking behind him to see if Petra and Collette had followed, which they had, but, as she'd planned all along no doubt, Trice had stayed behind, probably crying loudly in that faked up way she had, or raging around. Whatever would catch the most attention without seeming phony. After three and a half hours Tor landed by a river to wait for the others to catch up. There
