by P. S. Power
Tor shook his head, thinking for a few seconds. “Nah. I'm just Squire Tor at best. I don't really know what mom and dad are planning to do yet, so it's all quiet there for the time being too. And the Squire thing's just a fiction, right? So that probably won't come into play ever anyway.”
Count Thomson cleared his throat and looked at Tor with a smile.
“Well. That isn't exactly right. You shouldn't have too much to do as a Squire, true, since it's mainly ceremonial now anyway. But you have a Knight and all that, and you have to do what he says as far as training goes, he's required to see to that, as one of his duties, and if there's a war, you're off to battle with him to make sure he stays cared for and provisioned, which means you could see combat too. It isn't a lark. If it comes down to it, you'll be expected to try and protect the kingdom at the cost of your life and take his place on the field if he falls in battle.”
Rolph smirked and grabbed a sweet roll from the basket Tovey held out for everyone. They were walnut honey rolls, which made Tor half choke when he took the first bite. Not that they weren't good, they were of course, since Terlee had made them, but…
“God! Tovey… do you get the… These rolls, they're a traditional Two Bends courting gift!”
The huge man smiled a bit and nodded.
“I know. The tradition's the same in county Thomson. Lairdgren and Thomson border on the east side after all, so even the accent's not that different, a lot of shared customs and all too. Plus, you know, I figured it out when she asked if I was engaged to be married. Which I'm not yet. These rolls are really good. Anyone would be pleased to receive them I think.” He took a big bite and closed his eyes, obviously enjoying the complex flavors and textures.
Tor started to apologize for his sister. It was awkward, and he didn't know what to say, which turned out to be a moot point.
Rolph punched him in the arm. Hard. Harder than was playful.
“Shut it dwarf.” He said, a name that he'd never called Tor before, which got him to spin on his friend. At least Rolph smiled at him.
Everyone else did too, so he shrugged and looked around. Finally, thankfully, Sara explained the situation to simple little Tor. She was good like that.
“Tor, your sister… She's a Counserina. That makes her something like one of twenty or thirty women that Tovey could really marry in the whole kingdom, at least after you correct for bloodlines and such. She's within two years of his age, and really good looking too. So, you know, it's a good match. Plus, they seem to actually get along, which is a rare thing. If Tovey didn't take her advances seriously, he'd be worse than a Doretta, he'd be a moron… Sorry, Tovey, but it's true.” She blushed but didn't duck her head in shame or anything.
Tovey just tilted his head at her a little and very seriously gave her a half nod of agreement and took another bite of his roll.
“Oh.” Tor decided to let them deal with it then, and rubbed his arm instead. He really needed to remember to leave his shield on more often. Especially going back to where Wensa was going to be.
“Right, well, not my business. Unless, you know, you hurt her somehow.” He gave his best mock glare to the Count who simply nodded, accepting the idea easily. Tor expected a laugh from the others, but they just nodded too. Right. Well, he could probably get away with calling the Count names now or something, right? If he had to.
“Hey, wait!” He said, changing the topic, since that had gotten awfully uncomfortable fast.
“I have an actual Knight? Who?”
Rolph nodded and pulled out a piece of paper for him, a sealed document with an official imprint and everything. “Your introduction. There are only three Knights at the school, and Wensa's one of them. Dad didn't think you'd enjoy working with her too much for some silly reason. So you're assigned to one of the others. Sir Martin Kolbrin, Baron third. Knight of the realm, obviously or you couldn't be his Squire.”
The name didn't ring a bell.
“Uh… So I have to meet him? Is that set up or something or…” The idea of just showing up at some guy's house unannounced seemed hard, but if that's what he had to do, he'd manage it. It was his duty.
It was Tovey that clued him in, keeping his face serious.
“Um, Tor? Martin Kolbrin? That's Kolb. Our weapons instructor?”
“Oh.”
Well, Tor thought, that wasn't intimidating or anything. Not at all.
He just hoped Trice appreciated all he was doing for her, since having Kolb as a Knight might just lead to his death.
Oh well.
At least there wasn't a war going on or anything like that.
Tor flew back with the others, deciding to try and be happy. It was exciting anyway, right?
Right.
FB2 document info
Document ID: fbd-c274e0-037d-714d-b5b9-8bd8-a2cc-6312a3
Document version: 1
Document creation date: 11.07.2012
Created using: calibre 0.8.56, Fiction Book Designer, FictionBook Editor Release 2.6.6 software
Document authors :
Power, P.S.
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