“Oh?” Shair looked at Java to find her blushing. “Java! You didn’t?”
Java grinned. “I did.” Slipping her arm around Ander’s neck, she kissed him passionately.
“Andy! She is young enough to be your daughter!” Shair said in mock anger, which only made Robin and Java laugh.
“Actually, she’s younger than my daughter. But she’s still a woman. Sherry, Java told me what happened to her, and how you helped her through it. Naria told me something else, which makes me curious. You called Java your daughter. Have you two…” he looked curiously at his sister, only to be hit on the side of the head by Java while he wasn’t looking.
“That is enough!” Java said fiercely.
Shair grabbed Ander by the ear, swinging his head back to her. “Andy, that was the most improper question…Of course not! I love Java like a daughter. I treat Java like a daughter. How could you..?”
Ander was trying not to get hit again, or to have his ear pulled off, so he kept his mouth shut. Robin came to his rescue by getting both Java and Shair to focus on her.
“Enough!” Standing quickly, Robin moved so that she was facing them all. “That is quite enough. Duke Ander, I’m sure you are unaware of what we are. Who we are.” Robin’s eyes flashed as she faced the three of them. “You wouldn’t make love to your own daughter because it’s wrong. I wouldn’t make love to my father, because it’s wrong. Just because we make love to each other doesn’t mean we are some sort of beasts who indiscriminately have sex with everyone around us.”
Ander was looking at Robin with wonder clear in his eyes. “I never thought… I mean, well, I’ve never been around women who…”
“Love women,” Robin finished softly, then knelt in front of him and put her hands on his knees. “Duke Ander, we aren’t much different from you. We abide by behavioral rules that are as strict, and sometimes stricter, than the ones you abide by. Java and I are committed to each other. That we both like men as well is our defense. We are very discriminating about the men we bring into our lives, as I am sure you are discriminating about the women you bring into your life.”
Duke Ander looked Robin in the eye, then glanced at his sister and Java. “I apologize. It’s just that I don’t know. I don’t know what to say, what to do.” He stood and began pacing the room. “Sherry, it’s such a shock, seeing you again, knowing why you ran away.”
“Think first, then speak,” Shair quoted their father. “If you don’t know what to think, then don’t speak.”
Ander looked at his sister, then began laughing. “Yes, Shaireese. You know, you’ve grown into a remarkable woman. Java is proof of that.” Ander smiled at Java, then walked over to a window. “How long do we have together?”
“Fifteen days. I have to return to Firedale with the new recruits then. But we have these days. Let’s not waste them.” Shair went and hugged Ander, relaxing into his embrace in a way that she could never do with another man.
“No, we won’t. And we will not hide away, either.” Duke Ander looked up at Java and smiled. “Princess, I would like to bring my sister to the palace, if it is permissible.”
Java nodded, but Shair was unsure. “Andy, your Guardsmen…”
“…Will do as they’re told. Father traveled around quite a bit, Sherry. Especially after Mom died. And he didn’t sleep alone very often, even in Skyhaven. If we don’t confirm who you are, you could very easily be one of our half-sisters.” He shook his head. “I’ve met quite a few of them over the years.”
Java snorted, then covered her mouth. “You two look like twins. I don’t think anyone would believe you, but no one would call you on it. Not here.”
“Then it’s settled. I have hidden away from the truth for years. Hidden away from Lebawan’s Priests. Hidden from knowing they were wrong. No more. To hell with them. I will not put conditions on my love.” Ander looked at Shaireese and smiled.
Shair hugged Ander, and motioned Java to join them. Ander reached out to Robin, and she shyly joined in the family hug.
After a few moments Ander broke the embrace. “Let’s go scandalize my men,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
Ander and Shaireese walked out of Robin’s front doors with their arms around each other’s waists. Duke Ander’s men saw them and shook their heads, trying to come to terms with what they were seeing. The captain in particular was instantly in a state of shock.
“Shaireese?” he whispered as they drew near.
Shair looked at him, trying to remember, then recognizing him. “Collin. So, you stayed with the Guard.”
Captain Collin Grissom staggered back away from the apparition, holding his hands out in front of him in a gesture to avert evil. “You’re dead!” he shouted, startling his men.
“No, I ran away and joined the Firewalkers.” Shair grinned, glancing up at Ander. “Told you so.”
Duke Ander frowned at his Guards captain. “Captain Grissom, that is enough of that. Princess Shaireese is the reason I’m here. If you can’t handle it, then you may excuse yourself.”
Captain Grissom swallowed visibly, then nodded. “Yes, my Lord Duke. It’s just a shock to see a woman twenty-years dead walking around.”
Shair grimaced. “Well, our father couldn’t very well announce that his daughter had run off to be a mercenary, now could he? I made it clear that I would never return to Helena, and there was nothing he could do about it. I’m afraid Daddy wasn’t the type of man to take being thwarted graciously,” she improvised, and Captain Grissom seemed to accept her story.
“As you say, Princess Shaireese.” He was finally really looking at Shair, then at Java and Robin. All three women were in Firewalker colors, Java and Shair in uniform, Robin in a Mage’s robe. “Are all of you..?”
“Firewalkers,” Duke Ander finished. “Yes. Princess Shaireese had a great deal to do with training Princes Java. Now do you understand why I trust her implicitly?”
“Yes, my Lord Duke.” Captain Grissom saluted, then turned at the sound of horse’s hooves behind him. Lothar had seen Shair and Robin come out and anticipated their wanting Star and Spice.
Shair whistled and Star obediently wormed her way past the Guardsmen to her side. “Shall we?”
The ride back to the palace was quiet until they reached the gates. “Duke Ander, we didn’t expect you back so soon,” a Helena Guards Lieutenant said as he held Duke Ander’s bridle.
“My business didn’t take as long as I expected,” Duke Ander said noncommittally. Most of the Guards were staring at Shair. One in particular was very intent.
“So, it’s true,” he said whispered, darting forward. “Die, you filthy sellikker!” he screamed and rushed toward Shair with a knife raised in his fist.
Shair looked up, saw him coming and reached for a knife, but he was too close. His blade grazed her arm as she dropped away from him, and Java attacked.
Java’s knife thunked into his chest as she surged forward, driving her shoulder into his ribs to get him away from Shair. Turning, she elbowed him in the throat, then drove a second knife through his right eye and into his brain. When he dropped, she turned back to Shair.
Robin had gone to Shair’s side and cast a healing spell, but she was hardly needed. Shair had taken the knife on her forearm, and wasn’t seriously hurt. “Java, are you all right?”
“Yes. Check for poison, Robin.” Turning to the Helena Guards she glared at the captain. “Drop your weapons, all of you.”
Ander had gone to Shaireese’s side and looked up at Java’s order. “Do it, Captain!” he seconded, and watched as his Guards lowered their weapons to the ground. “Who is that?” he asked, looking at the man lying face down just a few paces away from him.
“Chaplain Morvas, Duke Ander,” Captain Grissom answered.
“What the hell was he doing here? I left orders for him to remain in his quarters.” Duke Ander stood, carrying Shair in his arms.
The lieutenant who had been left in charge stammered an explanation. “S-Sir, the
chaplain ordered us to meet you on your return. He said you might be in danger.”
“So, the chaplain’s orders supersede mine, do they? We shall see about that, lieutenant. We shall see about that.” He pushed past his Guards and the palace Guards who had responded to the disturbance. Shair was looking at his face, smiling slightly at being carried like a child.
“Andy, I can walk,” she said softly.
Duke Ander grinned at Shair and winked. “I like carrying you, Sherry.”
Duke Arten and Duchess Naria met them as they entered the palace proper. “What happened?” Naria asked, going to Shair and looking at her arm.
“A religious fanatic,” Duke Ander answered. “That woman spread some rumors about Shaireese before I could silence her, and apparently she’s managed to spread more since then. That fool chaplain attacked her as soon as we entered the gate.”
“Ander, I can’t allow…” Duke Arten started to say, only to be cut short by Ander.
“He’s dead, Arten. Java took care of him for me.” Glancing over his shoulder at Java he grinned. “Good throw.”
Java nodded, her eyes burning. Her voice was low and intense as she said, “No one hurts my family and lives.”
Arten and Naria shared a look, then followed Ander to his suite. Laying Shair gently on the bed, he examined the wound. “Not too bad, Sherry. It’ll heal clean.”
Shair looked at the slice and nodded. “One more scar. Naria, toss me that scarf.”
Duchess Naria slid the scarf from around her neck and tossed it to Shair, who wrapped it around her arm.
Duke Arten looked briefly at Shair, then at Java. “I thought Shair was going to stay out of sight at Robin’s?”
Ander looked up and grinned. “Lebawan can kiss my butt, Arten. So can His priests. I stopped believing in Him when Sherry disappeared.” Shair was looking at him with wide eyes, not believing what she was hearing. “I prayed for you, every day. And every day I was told He would grant my prayer if I believed. But I stopped believing long ago, after Father declared you dead.”
“But, you told Java…”
“…that you couldn’t come home. And I meant it, then. But after seeing you, holding you again, it may be Lebawan who winds up not being welcome.” Ander grinned at his sister, then at Arten and Naria. “I told you I’ve grown up a great deal.”
Arten nodded, then again looked at Java. “No one hurts your family and lives?”
Java looked Duke Arten in the eye and nodded. “No one,” she said in a soft voice that carried across the room.
Ander shared a look with Arten and Naria, then grinned. “I’m glad I’m on her side.”
Naria chuckled, then ruffled Java’s hair. “Firewalkers.”
Shair laughed at that. “Scouts.”
“Family,” Robin said, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Family,” Arten agreed. Slipping an arm around Robin, he guided her over to Java and Naria. “We are all one family, extended though it may be.”
*
Ander and Shaireese spent as much time together as they could, but the time finally arrived when Shair had to return to Firedale. She had firmly refused Ander’s attempts to get her to return to Helena.
“No, Andy. I made my choice long ago. The Firewalkers are as important to me as Helena is to you. I belong there, and they need me.”
“Very well, Sherry. But if you change your mind, you’ll be welcome, Lebawan or not. New gods are easier to find than new sisters.” Ander grinned, then clasped Shair into a hug that threatened to crack her ribs.
Java stood in the sun with the new recruits, waiting her turn to say goodbye. “Lieutenant Skyhaven, Shair, be careful.”
“You too, sweetie.” Hugging Java, she closed her eyes. Before she let go, she whispered one last comment. “Come home soon.”
Java looked into her eyes and smiled through her tears. “Soon.”
Shair led her recruits and those Firewalkers who were rotating back to Firedale out through the palace gate, looking back to see Java and Ander standing in the gateway with their arms about one another. “Be careful, Java. He’s a charmer,” she whispered to the wind.
*
Two days later Java and Ander said their own goodbyes, privately. Java clasped her arms around Ander’s neck, kissing him as he looked into her eyes. “This has been wonderful, Andy. You’re a dream come true, in a lot of ways.”
“So are you, Java. Under other circumstances I would have proposed by now,” he said, returning her kiss.
Java nodded. “And I would have accepted, if I could. But our circumstances aren’t that simple, are they?”
“No.” Ander shook his head. “No, unfortunately, they’re not. You are going to have to marry a man who can rule at your side. And I’ve already had two wives who ruled at my side. Burying them…it’s hard for me to let go, even for someone like you.”
Java nodded, pulling the blankets over her shoulder and snuggling next to him. “Andy, can I name my son after you?”
“Your son?” he asked, pulling back and looking at her curiously.
Smiling, she kissed him again. “Not yet, but when I have a son?”
“I would be honored, my princess.” Ander took her in his arms again and simply held her, feeling contentment with her in his arms that he hadn’t felt in the three years since his second wife had died. Java might be half his age, actually less than half, but she was a woman he would have gladly shared his duchy with.
Duke Ander rode out of Whitehall, waving back at Java where she stood with her family.
“What are you thinking, Java?” Arten asked softly.
“That life is unfair.” Glancing at her adopted father, she smiled softly. “There aren’t many men like Ander. Men who can, and will, accept me on my terms.”
Naria put her arm around Java’s shoulders and squeezed her gently. “Java, if you weren’t our heir…”
“…I still wouldn’t have been able to go with him.” Java shook her head, turning away as Ander passed out of her sight. “I have a duty to Captain Freeholm, and to the Firewalkers. Ander has to return to Helena, and I have to return to Firedale.” A single tear slid down her face, leaving a track that told Arten and Naria of her heartache.
*
Java threw herself into her studies of Ducal Law, Duchy Management, and the problem of the refugees. Robin joined her, but Java was driven by the need to find something to occupy her mind. Something other than missing Jah’Moke. She had been forcibly reminded of how much she missed Jah’Moke when Ander left.
“Java, we have a problem.” Robin held up a piece of paper with writing on it, but Java couldn’t read it from across the room.
“Who, or what, this time?” Java asked, putting down her pen and flexing her hands.
“Devon County. Duke Arten has still hasn’t invested anyone with the county, and we need information from them. This is from the mayor of Devonshire. He’s as much as told us to piss up a rope as far as the question of the refugees is concerned.” Robin frowned, looking at the letter again.
Java sighed. “I’ll speak to Arten and Naria again.”
*
Duke Arten stroked his chin, looking at Java and Naria. “Who indeed? Java, I don’t know who to put in Devon County. There are a number of lesser lords who would do just fine, but I’m not really set on any of them. I would prefer new blood.”
“Like me? Or Robin? Think again, Father,” she replied, drawing a grin from him. She had finally, after almost a year, begun calling him father. Sometimes. “Robin wouldn’t accept it, and I already have two counties to administer.”
“What about that young man, Lord Daveed? From Blackburn. Lord Emver seems to think the world of him, and he’s well versed in managing a county. He’s been at Lord Emver’s side for three years.” Naria suggested, and Arten nodded.
“A good enough man, young as he is. Or what about that fellow up in Hillsboro. Karran, Cahrin, something like that?” Arten suggested, looking at Naria and Java.
“Cahrin Windston,” Java supplied, smiling. “I don’t know if you could get him to sit still that long. He’s a touch flighty, if you get my meaning?”
“We need someone who can handle the pressure, and the temptations of the county,” Arten said, looking at Naria.
“We need someone honest enough with herself to ask for help if she gets in trouble,” Naria said, looking at Java.
“Himself. If you gave it to a woman, she would have to be one of us, and Robin doesn’t want it. Daveed’s a good choice. Lord Emver has been using him shamelessly as a caretaker while he studies history. Devon could do far worse,” Java commented, shuffling papers.
Duke Arten looked at his daughter and wife, nodding. “Then we are agreed? Lord Daveed Cross shall be the next Lord of Devon County.”
CHAPTER 17: COMING HOME
Sometimes, war seems to make more sense than politics.
Master Scholar Prince Stavin Zel’Andral, “Errant Thoughts”
LORD DAVEED’S INVESTITURE MARKED A TURNING point for Java and Robin: It was time to go home. “I need to go back. I need to see the rest of my family again, Sammy and the triplets. I also need to see to some things in Mountainstand County that I’ve been neglecting,” Java said as she sat with Arten and Naria in their study.
“We understand, Java. Will you be taking Robin with you?” Naria asked, sipping a brandy to cover how much the idea of Java leaving was affecting her.
“Of course. We’ll also be taking a contingent of Firewalkers that are returning to Firedale, so don’t worry about us. There are thirty regulars leaving in three days. We won’t be alone on the road.” Java smiled, missing the looks that passed between Arten and Naria.
Arten cleared his throat, then nodded. “You told us from the start that you would be going back. You’ve done quite well, and, while I’m not happy about you leaving us, I understand. Just be careful. We don’t want to lose you permanently.”
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