by N. C. Reed
“Indeed it is, my Prince,” Cho replied stoically.
“Now look here,” Denton began to stammer. “I don't know what the hell you're talking about. And it was never nobody's never mind where I-”
“Where were you born, Mister Denton?” Parno cut him off. “Quickly now!”
“W-w-what?”
“Where were you born!” Parno yelled, on his feet suddenly.
“I-I-I was b-b-born a little ways west of here,” Denton stammered.
“Town!” Parno demanded.
“Town?” Denton paled.
“Enough,” Parno was suddenly still again. “I'm convinced he's the right man. Now we extract what we want to know from him.”
“Extract?” Denton looked even more scared if that was possible.
“I will pull it from you like teeth,” Cho said gently, picking up a set of pliers commonly used by farriers to pull shoe nails from horse hooves. “I do so enjoy that kind of thing,” he said flatly.
“Well Cho, looks like he's all yours,” Parno shrugged. “He's not going to tell me anything and I'm not going to stay out here all day just so he can let some of his friends have a few extra hours to sow their discord. How long, you think?”
“Wait a minute!” Denton yelled, but was ignored.
“Perhaps two hours,” Cho intoned. “He has all his teeth it appears, as well as all his digits. I will alternate between them, cauterizing the wounds as I go to prevent much blood loss. He will still be able to speak.”
“Wait a minute! There's no need for that I tell ya!” Denton yelled, but was again ignored.
“Two hours?” Parno looked doubtful. “Not that I don't think you know your business, but do you really think he 'll last two hours?”
“Ask me something!” Denton cried out. “Anything!”
“He is healthy and young enough to withstand the rigors, my Prince,” Cho nodded. “He also has his ears, I noticed,” Cho said, picking up a long, wicked looking needle. “There and the nose are ideal places to inflict pain that will not kill.”
“Ask me anything!” Denton was crying now, struggling against his bonds without success. “Just ask me dammit and I 'll tell ya!”
“Still, two hours is a bit much, I think,” Parno mused, hand to his chin. “I 'll make a wager with you,” he said suddenly with a snap of his fingers. “He lasts two hours and I 'll give you a month's extra pay. Sound fair?”
“Dammit you ain't asked me nothin' yet!” Denton blubbered. “All you gotta do is ask! I came down here almost two years ago when the peace treaty and trade agreements was signed! I was s'posed to get work and lay low till things kicked off and then work to create strife and difficulty here in your capitol!”
“Hear that Sebastian?” Parno asked suddenly, looking into the shadows. The form of Sebastian Grey emerged, his eyes flinty and hard.
“I did, milord,” he nodded.
“Mister Denton, this is Chief Constable Grey,” Parno turned to the now broken Imperial spy. “He's going to be questioning you since he knows more what to ask than I really would. Remember that if you don't cooperate with him, then Cho will be back. I won't of course,” he brushed imaginary lint from his uniform. “Far too important for this rubbish, but Cho, he needs a hobby. You look like a pretty good hobby to him I bet. Ain't that right, Cho?”
“Indeed, my Prince,” Cho nodded gravely, as if terribly disappointed at the loss of opportunity.
“You ain't got to worry about that!” Denton cried. “I 'll tell 'im anything he wants to know just keep that lunatic away from me! Talking about ears and teeth and 'digits'. You ain't right in the head!”
“I have been told that,” Cho assured him as he returned his 'tools' to their roll and extinguished the coal.
“You got this?” Parno asked Grey, who now was struggling not to laugh.
“I do, milord,” he nodded. “Have my men come in when you go out, please,” he added.
“Sure thing,” Parno patted the man on the shoulder before he and Cho exited the building. Parno sent the waiting Constables and scribe inside to Grey before he burst out laughing.
“I didn't know for sure that would work,” he admitted.
“Fear is a powerful motivator,” Cho told him. “Often fear itself is the greatest enemy.”
“Don't forget to return those sewing needles to the women at the palace,” Parno said as they mounted their horses. “And make sure Doctor Spurgeon's kit gets back to him. He may need it.”
“Of course.”
~*~
“Gal, what are you aiming to do?” Whip asked as he and his daughter walked together in the palace garden.
“He hasn't asked me to marry him, papa,” Winifred shrugged. “Nothing I can do until he does.”
“You know he aims to,” Whip fought the urge to roll his eyes. “If you ain't figured it out then I can tell you; he flat out asked me about it not long ago. He wants you to be his wife.”
“I'm no Queen,” Winifred shook her head.
“Says he ain't looking for a 'Queen',” Whip shrugged this time. “He's looking for a wife who will happen to be his Queen once they're married.”
“I don't know nothing about being royalty,” Winifred fought the urge to snort, something she was trying to stop as part of her 'etiquette' training.
“Made that point myself,” Whip agreed. “Didn't seem to phase him none.”
“I know,” her voice was quiet. “I'm scared, papa,” she almost whispered.
“Of him?” Whip asked. His daughter wasn't scared of much.
“No,” she shook her head. “He would never do anything to harm me. You know that as well as I do.”
“Was my impression,” Whip agreed. “So what is it scares you, Ginny?” Ginny was short for 'Ginger', a nickname from her childhood.
“I'm scared of being Queen,” she admitted. “I'm scared of making him look bad. Of making a mistake and being laughed at. My life would change a whole lot in ways I can't even imagine.”
“That is absolutely true,” Whip couldn't argue. “I can't even imagine how much you're gonna go through, baby gal. I can't. You know you ain't got to do it, neither,” he reminded her.
“I know,” her voice was soft again. “Thing is though. . .”
“You think you want to,” Whip fought a grin as his baby girl's face took on a deep shade of red.
“Yes,” she nodded, her gaze fixed on the ground in front of her as she walked. Whip looked at the finery she was decked out in and shook his head slightly. Seeing her in the lap of such luxury was something that would take some getting used to.
Something else that would take getting used to was having a simple conversation with the King of Soulan. As Winnie's father he was impressed that Memmnon made the effort to approach him as 'just a man', regardless of how unlikely it was that anyone could do so. He hadn't pressured Whip in any way nor had he offered him any incentive to convince his daughter to wed him.
He had flat out asked for permission to ask Winnie to marry him. He had done so as properly as Whip could have expected any young man to approach him for such a matter.
Whip had been inclined to give him permission to ask, and should she say yes, his blessing for the marriage.
“What did you talk about?” she asked, breaking Whip out of his thought process.
“Just told you,” he replied. “He was fairly formal and what not, right well mannered young man to be honest. He told me he was taken with you, and had been pretty much since he set eye to you. Told me a funny story about how you thought he was making eyes at that little lady doctor only to find out it was you all along,” he chuckled.
“Yes,” her face was red again. “I really did think he was set on sparking Stephanie. He was just wanting to talk to her about me.”
“And now he's talking to you direct,” Whip drew the word 'direct' out.
“Has been a while,” she agreed. “I have dinner with him most every night, and lunch some times when he ain't-, when he's not b
usy,” she corrected herself.
“Uh huh.” Whip said nothing else.
“I've gotten to know him pretty good,” Winnie went on. “He's a good man, daddy,” she looked up at him. “He's kind. He's not loud or brash and he don't talk harsh. When he's with me, or when I'm with him I should say, he acts like I'm the only other person around, no matter who else is there.”
“And you like that, don't you?” Whip smiled at her. He reached out and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“Yes,” she nodded, once more looking at the ground a few feet in front of her. “I do. I like him a great deal. And I think I can see myself being married to him. What I can't see is me being no Queen.”
“I can,” Whip told her gently. “You can do anything you set your mind to, baby girl. I can see a difference in you already just since we been apart. You talk better, you walk better, you got mannerisms you sure never learned from me,” he laughed quietly. “That lady doctor has helped you a bunch, ain't she?”
“Yes,” Winnie nodded. “But I don't know if it's enough.”
“You ain't done yet, are ya?” Whip pointed out. “She's still helping ya, and you're still taking them classes you told me about, right? And he ain't looking to marry ya tomorrow.”
“You want me to do it?” Winnie smiled at him and he was instantly serious.
“Oh no,” he held his hands up, waving them side-to-side. “I'm not making this decision for you gal. This is all on you. I'm telling you that you can do anything you want to. Anything you set yourself to. I got faith in you girl.”
“I know,” she smiled at him, laying her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her again. “Thank you.”
“I told him,” Whip continued, “that he had my permission to ask you. I then told him that so long as you said yes, then the two of you would have my blessing. You been doing an adult's work for a long time and been doing serious work for the last year right alongside everyone else that was training them men that follow the Prince. After all that, I reckon you can sure enough make the decision whether you want to marry somebody or not.”
“So, you do what you want to do,” he finished. “What you feel like is the thing to do. What's best for you, girl. You do what makes you feel right, and what feels like it's best for you.”
“Okay.”
CHAPTER FIVE
-
“Why are you still on about this?” Parno fought the urge to sigh. Stephanie had just finished another round of arguments over why they should get married, tonight, so that she could try and conceive a child before he left in the morning. Something he thought had been settled already.
“Is that all you have to say to me after that?” Stephanie demanded. “An impassioned plea to do right by me and give me the one thing that I have ever asked of you?”
“One thing?” Parno looked at her. “You've asked only one thing of me?”
“Only one thing like this,” she clarified, a bit uncomfortable.
“Stephanie, please,” Parno did sigh this time. “Be reasonable. I'm leaving in the morning and headed back to the army. I've already explained why we can't do something like that. Let me get things started on the road we've chosen and make sure that I've got things headed in the right direction. Once I can do that, I 'll be back and we 'll talk about it. We can make our plans and-”
“I don't need any plans!” Stephanie cut him off.
“Have you even talked to your family about this? Your parents at least?” Parno demanded suddenly, catching her off guard. She blinked.
“You haven't, have you?” he demanded, though not unkindly.
“Well, I've been rather busy since I got here,” she managed not to stammer. “Caring for your brother and trying to assist Winnie with her education and training. I'm also looking to establish another school to train surgeons here in Nasil, and that takes effort and time as well, so-”
“So you haven't,” Parno finished for her. “Okay,” he turned away from his plate reluctantly. “Let's look at this. You haven't even told your mother and father that you and I are even talking about marriage, let alone that we've decided we're going to marry. I'm guessing that your family on the whole has a very high opinion of me to start with, so finding out that we just up and got married without a proper courtship let alone without telling them would go over great, wouldn't it?” Stephanie began to fidget but before she could respond he continued.
“We're at war. A war that may last for years and right this minute sees a foreign army on our soil that I can't find a way to force back, at least not for some months to come. I have to spend the next two years playing cat and mouse with an army twice the size of mine that is attacking us from two different directions while at the same time trying to train up my army to the same level we managed with the Black Sheep, because only with superior soldiers are we going to be able to win.”
“My brother and sister have colluded and conspired to seize power from my father, put Memmnon off the throne, my sister killed my father and almost killed my brother who is now King, and is even now on her way south to release my brother from exile on the Key Horn. She will then almost certainly attempt to bring him back here determined to see him on the throne! Doing so will of necessity include killing me.”
“And now, on top of all that, you want us to basically marry in secret and try to conceive a child the one night we 'll have together before I return to the front of said war?” he concluded.
“Yes,” came the firm reply. “It so happens that this is the time that I'm most ferti-”
“Stephanie!” Parno cut her off dramatically. “I have no interest whatsoever in hearing that! It-it's not proper!”
“Why not?” she seized on his discomfort. “If we were already married I'd be talking about it all the time! It's a part of the process of having chi-”
“We aren't married!” Parno complained. “And we aren't going to get married without your family there, and knowing in advance so they can be prepared. We will be inviting the people that are important to us to be with us when we take our vows and I will not be running off to the front as soon as it's over. I will not get married and leave the next morning going to war and I will not try to father a child only to possibly leave him or her without a father!”
“Fine,” she almost spat out. “Be that way.”
“You told me not so very long ago that you were a very intelligent and highly educated woman,” Parno raised an eyebrow. “More than once in fact, now that I think about it. How intelligent and educated are you being right now? I am now the Crown Prince as well as the Lord Marshal of the Army of Soulan. I can't keep acting like Parno, the Prince Who's Not. I have to consider what I look like to others whether I like it or not. And the Crown Prince taking a wife is going to be a big deal, regardless of the fact that it's me and not Memmnon.”
“There are a whole slew of protocols involved in the marriage of a Crown Prince, not least of which is an official announcement from the Crown and a suitable courtship period. We will have to host a formal dinner, to which most nobles will bring gifts and well wishes to the happy couple and pretend that they like me and hope that our union is blessed with peace, prosperity and children. There will also be a formal ladies gathering, called a 'shower' for some reason that I have never understood, where they will bring you gifts and presumably tell you all about how it is to be married. A few of them will no doubt try to talk you out of marrying me because I simply am not good husband material.”
“There are other less important functions that the Protocol Office will see to, such as formal invitations to the head of the Coastal Provincial Coalition, all the Provincial Governors, and of course assorted socially important though undoubtedly inept bureaucrats who would be offended if not included.”
“And once we are married, we will be going somewhere pleasant and private for a wonderful honeymoon of peace and quiet. Where no one will bother us for at least a little while of blessed silence. Time that we will have just to our
selves and share with no one else. So for all these reasons, we can't simply get married tonight and try desperately to make a baby before I am up and riding with the sun headed for the front. We can't do it, Stephanie.” His voice was calm, reasonable and patient. He felt sure he had managed to make her see reason.
“I can see there's no point in talking to you,” she stood up, wiping her mouth and hands on a silk napkin which she tossed on her plate. “You've made the decision for both of us it seems without even bothering to take into consideration how I feel about it, or how I want things done.” Parno looked at her, incredulous.
“You know that's not true,” he objected. “You're practically the only person whose feeling I do take into consideration! And the decision was made for me the day I was made Crown Prince by default. Like it or not, and I don't, there are protocols that have to be observed here. Not doing so will just make it that much harder on Memmnon and cause problems right when we need all the smooth sailing we can get.”
“Oh, stop blaming it on protocols!” she snapped back. “I'm sick of hearing about them! You didn't want to get married to start with and this gives you a way out. You could have just said no!”
“Stephanie, I am not trying to say no,” Parno spoke with great care and precision. He didn't like being called a liar. “I just told you, did I not, that as soon as I could manage it I would be back and we would make plans for our wedding. Invitations, shower rituals and everything else that goes with it. Because I'm now Crown-”
“Stop blaming that!” she almost shrieked.
“There is a difference between blaming, and explaining,” he said evenly. What the hell was going on here? Where had this come from all of a sudden? “I'm not blaming anything on the Crown, and I'm not trying to get out of anything either. Please, sit down and lets finish our meal and talk about this more cal-”
“I've had enough,” she snapped at him, moving around the table. Whether she meant the food or the conversation or him in general he didn't know. “I'm going to my rooms.”
