“I'm not good at this, but I apologize for,” he sucked in air loudly as the sky lit again, booms just before the sparks flared. “Basically for being a prick to you. I was wrong the whole time. I hope we can be friends in the future?”
It sounded contrite. Maybe it even was, but two years of looking over his shoulder daily and dreading going outside alone wasn't going to be easily washed away with a few words. Still… If Dorgal freaking Sorvee was going to give it a try, shouldn't he be at least as willing? It was hard but Tor nodded.
“Alright. Friends then.” There, he'd said it. No going back now. There were no debts between friends, even new ones and that meant setting aside old baggage too. He doubted he'd do it perfectly, but he'd just committed to really trying, hadn't he?
Rolph came and stood beside him, on the other side, which made Dorgal's hand on his back jolt, a jump, well hidden, but real. The Prince seemed happy, not taking his eyes off the sky. He spoke just loudly enough to be heard over the oohhs and ahhs of the crowd.
“Good. I missed having you as a real friend Dorg. I don't know what came between us, but let's put that in the past too? If you two can get along, maybe there's hope for the world after all?”
When the fireworks ended Dorgal asked them out for drinks, even offering to pay. Rolph accepted immediately but Tor yawned a little and begged off. He didn't drink, but that wasn't why he didn't go.
“I have to be up at four.” He said simply.
Rolph nodded, knowing what was going on, but the news surprised Dorgal.
“Really? During a festival week? Why on earth would you do that?”
“Oh, I'm working mornings, at a bakery in town. It's a tradition.”
Dorgal laughed and laughed, sounding almost as if he were drunk already. He laughed even harder when Rolph told him it was true. Sticking out his tongue, then smiling a bit, Tor went to bed, pulling Petra, Karina and Ali along. He cuddled with them, but didn't do anything more, since Ali was possibly going to be his daughter soon.
That wouldn't be proper at all.
The morning came gods awful early, and Tor felt like he hadn't slept at all. He had, but it wasn't enough, his body ached and felt stiff, probably from all the extra running and beatings he'd been getting, so he stretched before climbing into the shower. Petra joined him, still sleepy but looking cute about it. Tor figured he just looked tired.
“To save water. Don't want it to run out, do we?”
Since it wasn't possible, Tor took it as a joke. What they did next took a lot longer than either would have taken in the shower alone, but was totally worth it. When he'd just finished with Petra, still in front of her on his knees, she giggled and moved to the left, only to be replaced by a tall thin Princess that was going to make them late, he opined. She stared into his eyes meaningfully.
“Work quickly then? Talking won't get us there any sooner will it?” Her voice held a chuckle.
Her hair was soft between her legs, a dark copper red that spun light out from it in near gold for some reason, as it came from the window. People could see in, but he doubted anyone would be watching overly. If they were, that was their problem. Or pleasure.
He worked as quickly as he could, his tongue getting a little sore already, but not wanting to be pulling in with the first of the early revelers either. Grasping his head she started grinding her sex against his tongue hard. It wasn't the most pleasant thing ever, but she started trembling and spasmed under his mouth a half dozen times, which made her seem more relaxed. Looking up he realized that Petra had stayed to watch the whole thing and so had Ali.
Tor stared at the girl.
“Hey you!” He said, making shewing motions with his left hand, still between the Princess' spread legs.
“You shouldn't be watching things like this, at least with me involved. What kind of father does that?” He sounded very serious but everyone else chuckled at him. Well it seemed like an afterthought when Ali did it, but she managed when the others did, like she knew to laugh, but not what the joke was. If so, that made two of them.
Karina looked pleased at any rate.
“See Ali! You're not all alone in the world after all. I told you so. We'll get out so you can shower and get ready. Ten minutes though, we really do need to hurry, it's almost light.”
They all had to work hard to make up for lost time when they got in, and send Ali off with David Derring to get a load of amulets for the shop, since they were actually selling out of a lot of things. Tor was going to run out at this rate, except for the free ones that he had Ali hand out, standing in front with a small hand basket. They were for later that night, lights that made a person glow in different colors with the tap of a sigil. A large nimbus of light surrounding them.
It was a brighter light than the ones he'd made the year before, meant to be more festive and fun than decorative for royals. Less tasteful, but more interesting and even useful, since after the festivities were done they could be used as lights inside a dwelling or carried at night to let people see. The white light on them was easily bright enough to be used inside a house and they should last a while, helping people save a bit on candle and lamp oil costs. He had a lot of them. Actually so many he wasn't really sure how he'd gotten them done while working on everything else, two and a half large cases full. That would be nearly three thousand of them he thought. Enough to light the whole city for the festival.
Tor wasn't certain, but he thought he might have actually done them all at once. One batch. Of a nearly novel build. He didn't remember doing it at all.
When the next set of Kolb's guards came Tor went straight to the palace with Karina, but sent Alissa to the festival area to continue passing out the free amulets. She wore one to demonstrate, picking a brilliant pink color that was easy to see even during the day. At least she had outside the shop. No doubt it would be popular, because while the girl may not be bright, she was cute, and men liked big breasts. The thought was honest and true, but made his stomach turn a little.
Not the pretty with big breasts part. Adopted daughter to be or not, that was just true. It was his thinking of her as not being bright. If she was lacking something, it was up to him to help her find it, mentally accepting her as being dull witted could help make her that way and influence how he treated her. He needed to fix that. Fast.
Kolb had a few people ready to go when they got to the event site near his house, flying in to save time, an Afrak Ambassador in the rear. She was still not having an easy time with flying, but Trice had come, and was letting her clasp her left arm as hard as she wanted. It didn't hurt after all.
The loop they flew, drawn on the weapons instructors map, started and ended on the far side of the palace, the river actually balancing on the top of the city wall. It took five of the ten control stones to make the curve, but only four more to set the river in place. Two into the Capital and two out. Once it was ready they all piled in the carriage, the top being made clear, so that the dark skinned lady could see how it all worked. She helped set half the stones with her own hands and got to hit the activation sigil standing on a cliff above the ocean so the tide would never reach it. The single tentative flick of a finger sent a roar of water through the air, the sound moving away as the whole thing flowed onward. The almost clear tube of water about five feet over the shore hung steadily and didn't look like it was moving at all, even though the water was rushing very fast inside it. Something over fifty miles per hour. The whole thing was vast though, about four hundred feet in diameter. It should work, to start with.
It had to travel close to three hundred miles to get to the Capital, so they had hours to spare now in getting back. They even knew it had been set up correctly, because if it hadn't been, the water wouldn't have flown at all. That was a safety feature Tor had put in when he remade them. Looking at the stream above her, the normally happy Mutta sat down… and started crying.
It had a smile with it, but was just as loud as what Trice always did when she cut loose. Higher pitched too, Mutta's being shorter did that, he thought. It was odd, because the short dark woman normally managed an almost manly tenor when speaking.
“Court Jester! There is a river in the air! I hit that small decorative light, a flame within stone, and pure water flows from the sea at my command! The desert shall have water, it shall have life! For a thousand years we have tried and failed, but now it will happen!” Still crying and smiling she yelled and danced, pulling him around with her. It was goofy and undignified, but then, as she'd said more than once, she wasn't a real Ambassador.
Tor could kind of relate to that idea.
