she was at the palace still. Just showing up there to grab her for the day sounded like less than fun. It could take hours just to get in, and if she was hung-over, well that didn't sound much like a vacation to him.
Locating her wasn't all that hard it turned out. As soon as Tor stood up and actually looked around. She was in bed with them, sleeping well out of touching distance, but clothed, which Petra wasn't. Well over on the other side of the huge thing Rolph was curled around a smaller form, Bonita? They were both naked and it seemed like they'd been more than a little friendly at some point. Well, that was good. It had to have been freaky for poor Karina, but she kind of deserved it.
Selling him as a whore on the street. Hmph.
It wasn't his normal way, but he needed to get her back before she tried to do it again.
How?
He didn't have a clue.
Still the whole scene had felt a little… professional on her part. Like she'd lived the scene before in some role or another. Tor had a fear that the name Lilli would pop into the conversation if he asked about it. The more he found out about that girl… no, bitch was the right word there, the less he liked her. He was tempted to just have her rounded up for theft and sent off to prison or, lashed or whatever they did to people like her in the Capital. Normally he just let stuff like that go, but in this instance he could make an exception. Tor had too. She'd hurt his friend. Worse, she had been for a long time and no one really knew it.
Maybe one of those mines Jerral Derring had mentioned?
There was a lot to do and not a lot of time to get it done.
First he had to wake up the Princess, which he expected to be a fight, probably involving dragging her from bed. The second he touched her leg she sat up and mumble that she was awake, looked around blearily and climbed over the foot of the bed without even speaking again.
So much for that struggle… Tor grinned at her and waved towards the bathing room, but she gestured for him to go ahead, yawning a bit and sitting on the foot of the bed. After using the restroom, shaving and brushing his teeth he dragged her into the shower with him, to her stifled laughter, and helped her scrub up, which got sleepy smiles, and pleasant sounding offers for more interesting things.
“Teh, we don't have time right now. Later maybe? If you’re not too tired out from servicing Box all morning I mean?” He was teasing, but her eyes went wide and she looked over her shoulder as he washed her lower back, slightly shocked.
“What? I'm trading your virtue for hand pies… Sell me on the street. I'll show you, won't I? You totally deserve it too. I better not hear any complaints from him either. If he doesn’t look exhausted by the end of the day you’ll hear about it.”
She turned back around and pushed off the wall with both hands, moving back into him, not to get away, just cuddle closer, pressing against him wetly. It was a provocative move, complete with saucily shifting hips, but he moved back a little, smiling. It wasn't like he was really mad after all.
“Oh. That's… fair. Alphonse yelled at me about that. He said I shouldn't have done it, and that if I tried it again he'd tell mom. Normally that wouldn't be such a big deal, I mean it's a bit of a naughty game, but there's no real harm in it, right? Lilli used to do that to all of us at random. Not me, but the others. I always thought it was because I was special to her or something, but that wasn't her point was it? I was just worth more to her than the others. For a while.”
Great… now he felt bad for her again. He kissed her neck.
“We have to go. Were actually late already, if we were real bakers. It's not like we're really working, but Jerral could come at any time. Oh! Duh…”
Running softly, both of them changing into soft soled shoes as they moved so there was barely a whisper on the stone floor, they went up two floors and to the left side, the east wing? Tor thought that was right, he always got a little confused on directions like that though. On Kolb's floor they found his door first, marked with his name handily enough, and knocked softly.
“Come!” The voice came instantly, it was firm, and didn't sound tired at all.
Still, he was in bed when they got in, covers up to his neck and eyes closed.
“Speak.” He told them, voice firm, but otherwise looking like he was asleep. Was he? If so it was a trick worth learning. Crises management and rest at the same time, Tor could get behind that.
“Hi Kolb, nothing huge, we need David Derring, it's a family matter for him, not an emergency for your crowd, I don't think, but he'll need mornings off and probably some help from a few of your people in a few days time? Maybe sooner? Till about ten or eleven in the morning each day? Then we can return him. If that’s alright, I mean?”
Without ever opening his eyes he told them to go three doors down on the right. Kolb wasn't sharing his room, but David was, in with a Baron, a full Baron. So Tor felt a little bad about knocking on the door so early.
It was the huge and scary guy too, the one that got sent to deliver messages to Counts and dukes when they didn't want the person bossed around by them. He looked surly all the time, especially now, sleepy and grumpy, but when he saw Karina his eyes lit up. Then he looked down and saw Tor, his face happy enough for a second, then it went serious.
“Sir?” He said respectfully.
“Just call me Tor. Anyway, roust Davie for us, if he's in, please? Mission for him.” That got more action than Tor expected, the young Countier, nearly as tall as the Baron next to him now, pushing seven-foot something at fifteen or sixteen years old, was at the door in less than ten seconds. He was half asleep, but nodded and asked for seven minutes to get ready, without hearing more than they needed him for the morning. Tor tossed him a clothing amulet and suggested student browns. It was what he was wearing and Karina had copied him, even to the heavy and worn looking fabric, instead of silk. It would look about right in the shop for all of them, being so young.
Kids working the holiday. It wasn't unheard of after all. Even for nobles. It would be pretty odd if people knew who they all were, but the job itself would probably throw most people off at first. Princesses and Countiers didn't work in bakeries. That meant that these two couldn't possibly be that kind of person, right? It made for a good disguise.
The tall boy had managed a shower and shave in that time, which was half amazing, and loaded up with gear and weapons. Tor didn't expect that level of trouble, but there was a war on and who knew what would happen? The Baron asked if he'd be needed too, and Tor nearly said no, but then he nodded.
“Guard duty? Can you relieve us at ten in the morning? Dress like… well, nicer than us probably, low level merchant? Or maybe just a guard? The kind that a merchant would hire if theft were a problem? I don't think we could pass you off as a shop boy no matter how hard we tried.” He gave directions and sent the large man back to bed, he had hours to sleep after all and didn't look well rested. Tor reminding him to clear it with Kolb first, in case someone else would need to be sent or something like that. Stealing his people was a bit heavy handed after all, and the weapons master was not someone Tor wanted ticked at him. Karina was in the chain of command for this group, but one Torrance Baker was definitely not. Really he wasn't in the chain of command for anything.
They used Not-flyers and sped along faster than was probably sane, both of them filling Davie in as they traveled. At the end of the story their friend didn't speak at all for a while. When he did the voice was quiet and far more gentle than Tor had expected.
“Thank you for not calling the guards. I'll… see to his punishment. What was the value of the item he tried to steal?”
It was a lot, a hundred gold even. Davie swallowed and offered to pay for it in recompense out of his own pocket. Tor shook his head no, knowing what the boy made per year was only four golds more than that, as well paid as he was, and he'd need some supplies and what not. After all, Tor was paying him anyway, so it didn't seem economically sound. The restroom was cheaper for him to make than the supplies he’d have to arrange for his friend anyway, Tor told him.
Karina's answer was better though.
“No, he's family. If we're too close to get married that has to count. Besides, if he does anything useful we're pretending he was set to this without the little bit of real theft first, so if anyone asks tell them he did all this at my behest, understood? We don't need to shame him over it. Just make sure he learns to think first next time, yes? He's good looking enough to not need to resort to theft to get laid. Especially by the like of Lilli. Also, he got his butt kicked by a girl, a soft Princess at that. He might want to work on that, right? It would be a good reason for you and your friends to have bruised him a little. Practice I mean.”
