The Porfian Princess: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 4

by L J Dalton Jr.

  A couple of days later, at dinner, King Fredricke had an announcement. “Michael, you and my granddaughter are going to be moving to Centralia soon to learn how to run the city from Duke Marvon. The regular people don’t care much, but the nobility and merchants have their pecking order.

  Catrina is a Royal Princess, so that put’s her right up at the top. You need to be closer to her in station, so I’m going to make you a Count. That will be appropriate. Once Marvon heads to Tantulus, the only one higher than you will be your wife. Of course, this wouldn’t change anything in that arrangement.” At that, Fredricke had a good laugh and got evil looks from his wives.

  He went on. “We’ll have a ceremony in two days, and we’ll get all the pomp and ceremony out of the way. I think the afternoon is best. It will take a couple of hours. There will be people who’ll want to get close to you and all that. If we time it right, we can get it done and make an exit fairly quickly for a family dinner. Perhaps my great-grandson will need to be changed or something. That will clear out the room.”

  The King was obviously in a good mood. “Oh, you’ll both have to come back here so we can play with the little tyke, spoil him and then hand him back to you. It’s the benefits of being a grandparent or great grandparent as the case may be.” His wives nodded agreement to this.

  When they got to their apartment, Mike looked at Catrina. “Your grandfather was in a very good mood tonight. Any idea why? Not that I’m complaining; I really like him.”

  “Oh, he’s delighted with the way things are working out. You and I did a reasonable job while they were gone. That made him very happy and proud. Christina and Roddick have been doing more and doing it well. Roddrick is dealing with finance and banking. That’s his forte. Christiana is helping her father deal with the paperwork and the petitions and all of that work that grandfather has him doing.

  She needs to help because of Lauden. Not that he’s any more trouble than anyone else his age, but it does free my mothers to look after him. They do enjoy it. They realize eventually that they and my father will need to take over from my grandfather.

  He’s pleased that the kingdom will be in good hands. However, we’ve got our work cut out for us in Centralia. There, we’ll definitely be tested. That’s the main reason he wants you to have the Count title. He knows that you don’t particularly care, but everyone else does.”

  “I know Marvon had the talk with me about that. I’m just going to deal with it like I’m in the military and high-ranking officer and deal with people that way. I was trained for that and had experience so that I can pull it off.

  Now about this move, how are you taking it? I realize that you’re going to be leaving your home.”

  “I’m doing Ok most of the time. I’ve got things I need to get ready, and Jack does keep me somewhat busy. I’ll have help when we’re in Centralia and more help when we add someone to our marriage.

  There are times that I do feel sad, and I know that my sister is feeling it too. We’ve talked about it. We knew that this would eventually happen. Both of us thought that I would move far away. Perhaps to another kingdom. Now I’m going to Centralia. That’s not that far away. Yes, I’m sad about leaving home but also excited about what’s going to happen.

  This is also good for the kingdom.” She saw Mike was puzzled by that last statement. “The kingdom has been stable since my great grandfather’s time. But there were times that it was nothing more than a group of city-states loosely held together in what they called a kingdom. Now it’s different, and by the two of us going to Centralia to take over from Duke Marvon, we make sure it stays that way.

  Great Falls is held to us by ties of both blood and friendship. My sister and I have been close to our cousins in Great Falls, so we'll still have those ties when Solidara takes over from her father. Midport is tied by friendship and other close ties. Leona and her family are friends with both my sister and me. That means that the key cities are closely tied to the throne.”

  “OK, I understand that, but what about the two northern cities. Also, I know you got Great Falls and Westland from another country that you absorbed. Was it that small?”

  “ It wasn’t that small or that large, I’d say medium-sized. But it did add to our realm. As to the two northern cities are tied by friendship and economic need. But even without the friendship, they need the south to do more than just survive. There was a third city in the kingdom we took over, Steepfort. It was five days travel north of Great Falls and a little east of our current border with Tandor. It was the scene of most of the fighting in the war and was almost totally destroyed. So many perished in the fighting that it was abandoned.

  We’ve never had the population to rebuild it, and now the ruins serve the purpose of reminding everybody of what war can cost us.

  As to when we leave, there will be emotion but nothing too severe. However, my sister can be the drama queen, as you say, from time to time. But Roddrick will handle that.”

  Mike thought about that long after the conversation ended. The King had said that the nobles were back to their games of plotting and vying for power. That meant, of course, that they’d be doing it in Centralia as well. The poseurs who tried to put things over on them when they were briefly in charge of everything were nothing compared to what people there may do. He’d have to up his game on this considerably. He was starting to understand what the responsibilities were for someone in his position.

  Resistance and Sabotage

  In the warehouse district of Koronus, three men moved stealthily through the night. It was around 2 AM, and there was nobody in the streets. The watch was reduced at this time of night, and patrols were sporadic at best.

  Two of them carried large jugs that contained flammable oil. The third carried a lantern that was blacked out. Their target was a warehouse owned by one of the merchants willing to co-operate with the new Duke and arrange to sell his business at a reasonable price to a local.

  Darvin had sent them and had picked out the merchant. The three men had been hired through intermediaries, so even if they were caught, they couldn’t point back to him.

  The men approached the warehouse and broke the jugs on the side. It was made of wood on a stone foundation. The wood wasn’t new, and it hadn’t rained in a few days, so it was dry and would catch quickly. Then the third man used the lantern to light the oil on fire. The three of them then ran through the alleys, quickly getting away.

  A few minutes later, another confederate of Darvin happened by and raised the alarm. Shortly the fire brigade arrived. In many cities, this would have meant a bucket brigade. But here, there were what would be a mid-eighteen hundred fire engine. Dr. Jorgenson introduced a horse-drawn hand pumper with a leather hose and brass nozzle. It was a very large wooden barrel filled with water and mounted on a horse-drawn wagon. A hand-driven pump on one side drew the water out of the barrel and pushed it down the hose.

  Four men operated the pump, and another four the fire hose. It delivered an impressive amount of water for the time and technology of Cornu. The large Nordian cities all had them as well as others in the north. Duke Harlold’s father heard about them and was impressed. He bought three of them and placed them in stations around the city to stop fires from growing too large and causing a great deal of damage in the tightly packed areas of Koronus.

  The fire brigade, aided by some of the residents, quickly put out the fire. It hadn’t gotten to grow too big or do extensive damage to the warehouse structure. The contents were largely intact. One wall would need some extensive repairs, but it was still standing.

  The city patrol stationed some men to guard the warehouse so that there wouldn’t be any looting. Everyone was relieved that it hadn’t been worse. The head of the fire brigade quickly realized it was arson. The broken jugs and the lantern were clear evidence of what had happened.

  The following day the news was all over the city. Darvin was pleased. He wanted a fire that would cause people to be concerned. He didn’t want
there to be a large conflagration that would consume a good number of buildings. That would have been bad. What he wanted was confusion and tension. Things that he could manipulate.

  Within a few weeks, he intended to have a similarly annoying attack on a strong supporter of the Porfian cause. That would look like retaliation and ratchet up the level of distrust and tension.

  At lunch in the palace the next day, everyone was gathered. Noria was sitting with Harlold, and Alla was with Elizabeth and Arken. She’d been spending most of her waking hours with them, only returning to her mother’s rooms for the evening. The rest were sitting at the table as well.

  Harlold was perplexed. “This fire was arson. We were fortunate that a good portion of the warehouse district didn’t go up in flames. It was targeted against one of the more reasonable Porfian merchants. This can’t be good. Someone is up to some sort of mischief.”

  “Duke Harlold,” said Alla, “we have sources in the city and the realm that have been cultivated while the Porfians occupied us. They are loyal to the crown and to you, not to Porfia. We’ll see what we can find out.”

  Arken and Elizabeth each gave her a hug. Arken and Elizabeth had been working on Alla’s confidence. It apparently was paying off. She was showing that she was valuable; people close to her realized that she was intelligent. It was already apparent behind the scenes as she played more and more of a role in the planning that the three of them were doing for the realm's future. Alla did not doubt that her future husband would succeed her father and no doubt that it would be very good for Tantulus.

  “Please do that, Princess Alla; that would be very helpful. I think we have to get in front of this if we can. At the very least, we need to understand what people are planning.” Said Harlold.

  A couple of days later, Branton was in his office, and a man of his acquaintance, one Semur, came to see him. The two men adjourned to Branton’s office; as they entered, Semur shut the door. This wasn’t usual, but it wasn’t that unusual either.

  “Master Semur, what can I do for you?” ask Branton.

  “Master Branton, the Duke, Prince Arken, and the King have need of you.”

  This surprised Branton in more ways than one. Branton knew Semur and had suspected that he was in some way involved with the old regime. He was Tantulus born, as was his family for generations.

  It was also surprising that they’d want to talk to him or need his help in some way. He was also slightly suspicious.

  Semur could see the suspicion in Branton’s eyes. He took out a seal from an inner pocket and showed it to Branton. “Here, my friend, this may put your mind at ease.”

  Branton took it and recognized the seal of the King and also of Duke Harlold. It looked genuine, and he couldn’t imagine anyone going to the effort to forge such a thing.

  He handed it back to Semur. “What do you need from me. I won’t promise anything, but I will listen. Nothing that is said here will leave this room. I give you my most solemn promise.”

  Semur nodded, satisfied. He trusted Branton anyway. “My friend, someone is trying to stir up trouble. The Duke, the Prince, and the King all want the transfer of the economy into the hands of the local people to go smoothly. Or as smoothly as it can.

  The fire in the warehouse district a few days ago was arson. The warehouse belonged to someone who is working with the Duke and the Prince to transfer his business to locals. Luckily, the fire didn’t destroy the building and, even worse, spread to other buildings.

  If that had happened, it would have made everything a lot more complicated. It might have forced the Duke to issue directives for the transfer without any negotiations. That would have been bad.

  You are recognized as a reasonable man, but you have things you want. Specifically, you want to keep the business in your family since both your sons-in-law are local. How that will go is still subject to negotiation. But between you and me, it’s most likely it will be granted.

  What we need for you to do is to seek out the organization that is forming. We know one already exists to forge a united front to get better terms from the Duke for the transfer. We think that there is another less friendly one. You have a good reason to join the first group, and if you could find out who is in the second group, that would be good.

  The Duke and the Prince both expect that the business owners will organize to have a counterweight to them. They have no problem with that. In some ways, it’s easier to negotiate with a single entity than several dozen smaller entities. It also gives the Duke an excuse not to just decree what will happen, as some in the city are urging him to do. He doesn’t want to do that, and having the Porfian merchants banding together gives him an excuse not to.

  It is in the best interest of the kingdom that this be seen as relatively fair and just. If not, then there will stronger opposition to us regaining our own country. What do you say?”

  “I understand. Let me think about this for a day or two. I don’t want to say yes or no right away. I want to help, but I have to be sure.”

  “I understand. If you need any assurances that I speak for the Duke and the Prince, let me know.”

  Semur left, and Branton sat and thought. Then he roused himself; he had work to do.

  His wives understood that he was thinking about something and left him alone. They’d come to realize that if he needed to figure something out on his own, it was best just to let him do it.

  Eventually, he came to a conclusion and let Semur know that he’d do it. He then started working to discover what he could about this group of Porfian merchants. It wasn’t hard to find out, nor was it hard to join.

  Darvin wasn’t sitting idle. He was actively trying to find allies among the three hundred plus Porfians in the Guard. He was very careful. For his plan, he needed twenty-five to thirty men. He was sure that he could find those as he already had a dozen recruits. These didn’t need to be the best; they were going to be sacrificial pawns.

  Petor’s Wedding

  Mike and Catrina had everything packed that they wanted to take to Centralia. It took up a little more than one wagon. They had Alan and Marsha and their families with them. That was another couple of wagons. Add in all of Mike’s equipment, notes, and other things, and you had another two wagons. Mike expected that they would have Normon heading with them to Centralia. He understood that he’d finished a small book that described Petor’s prefab housing technique. That was good. He was sure that Mathias and Petor would take copies of it with them when they headed to Sudlund.

  The travel plan was simple, head to the Research Station, then head for Centralia. They’d have to cut across from the north road to the road to Centralia. It would take two days, but there were decent inns along the way. Marsha and Alan’s wife would be happy to help with Jack. Neither had children yet, and little babies were always popular. Jack was able to pull himself up to stand and maneuver around a room as long as he had ahold of something. He’d be crawling soon. Of course, everything he could reach went into his mouth.

  The group going to the wedding were basically the younger generation. Catrina and Christiana, along with their husbands, represented the royals. Prince Brandt, along with James, were going as well. None of Brandt’s other friends were that interested in that wedding, but the one in Tantulus was another matter. James and his sister Roberta were going. His father Morton and his wives were otherwise detained. Sharon was a cousin, so they represented the family in Nordport. James' younger brother William would have attended if he could have traded his pony in for a real horse, like Sable. A nice gentle horse like Mora was not what he wanted. That had been his negotiating position, and he’d once again lost.

  Mike privately referred to him as Evil Knievel. Catrina agreed once he explained what Evil Knievel did. Like his namesake, William was a daredevil on his pony. William was a polite, bright young man with good manners. He and his pony, whose name was Frisky, were calm and civilized in the city. Once out on the plains, they let it all hang out and went tearing acro
ss the plains as fast as the little pony could run. The pony was like a 300 cc Honda. What William wanted was the horse equivalent of a Ducati. A really fast one.

  The boy was to be disappointed. Mike and Catrina had both been there when his parents had discussed a horse for young William. He wasn’t getting an Arabian or anything close. They were looking at a gentle, much older mare for the young man. Mike wasn’t so sure that William couldn’t convince a horse like that to let it all hang out on a good run. But it wasn’t his kid. He may have to deal with that in the future.

  They set off. The women were all in a single carriage, there was a spare empty one, but they all wanted to be in the same carriage to chat and fuss over little Jack. The little guy soaked up the attention and was a happy baby and, according to everyone, an easy one. Roberta was going to be actively looking for a husband, but the Research Station wasn’t the best place to do that with all her relatives there. Mike almost thought ‘hunting ground,’ but that was very much MC pig-type stuff, and he should be ashamed of himself. The problem was he had two sisters and had seen them in action. He still remembered overhearing them and their friends talking about going out to get a boy.

  Mike, Roddrick, Brandt, and James all rode. There was a large contingent of Royal Guards with them. Once the wedding was over, they’d split up. Half to escort Roddrick and Christiana back to Nordport. The remainder would go to Centralia with Mike and Catrina and then head back to Nordport.

  On the way there, James let slip that he expected that he might have another little brother or sister soon. Apparently, his mother, Sessia, was pregnant. This made all the women happy. Especially Catrina, she told him that she expected to have at least three if not four children with him.

  The accommodations at the Research Station weren’t opulent, but they were comfortable. Everyone except for Mathias had already been there often enough. Mathias and Annette had arrived before them, and Mathias returned the favor of keeping his friend Petor from as much of the craziness as possible.