by P. S. Power
The giant man nodded and looked over at Debbie.
“Those pies do smell delicious. What kinds do you have?”
That started them on a discussion of what was available, which allowed Tor to get the unbaked pies from the rack into the oven. Thankfully they were a pastry, and didn’t need to rise. After he was done he popped his head back out to check on his friend who was just passing over some coins in exchange for a large bag.
“I’m here for the week.” Tor said simply. “So if you could help out with the clothes and stuff…” He felt more than a little awkward sending a Count off to get his laundry, but really he didn’t know where the palace was from here right now, and if he went, he doubted that the guards would help him retrieve his things for some reason. First, it really wasn’t their job. Second, he’d probably pissed off more than a few of them with the whole Wensa thing, if they’d heard about it. They might not kill him over it, but being a little difficult with him was probably fair. Who could blame them? If someone had locked up his friends for what turned out to be no reason he’d be a little cold towards them too, probably.
“Sure, I’ll get your luggage, but you are coming to the party tomorrow, aren’t you? Everyone will think you’re mad at them if you don’t. Not that I’d blame you myself, but you don’t seem too upset about things…”
Tor shrugged. Why would he be upset overly? This wasn’t what he’d had in mind and he still had to find out if Winchester was holding a grudge, but it would serve. Plus, Debbie had said that she was making about forty percent more money this year so far, because they could keep up with demand. It was a huge jump in earnings for her, even after his half silver for the week.
“I guess. I, um, don’t know how to get there though. I kind of wondered over a big chunk of the city after getting left at the gates like that. So…”
Tovey laughed and told him that he’d take care of everything, then left which after a few minutes caused even more people to come in than before. After all, anyplace that’s good enough for a Count must be good enough for the man on the street, right? Tor had to keep baking until nearly nine that night. People kept streaming in, even after they normally would have closed. At about ten Rolph, Trice, Sara and Varley all came in with his luggage. Debbie took the lull they caused by their presence to close the shop. Or more to the point, the half dozen large Royal Guardsmen standing out front, keeping everyone else out. They’d pretty much sold everything out anyway.
“Yay, luggage.”
Tor didn’t have but about three seconds before everyone rushed him. Even Rolph hugged him, picking him up off his feet and swinging him side to side for a second, before Trice grabbed him and kissed him soundly. Sara joined in that, but just kissed him on the cheek. From Varley he just got a hug, but it was a lingering one that she didn’t let go for nearly twenty seconds.
“Oh, hey, everyone, this is my boss Debbie who owns the shop and gave me a job for the week. Debbie, this is in order of who’s going to be yelled at least, Princess Veronica Cordes who is, as far as I can tell, blameless in the whole Tor abandonment project. Sara Debri, who’s not only pretty but has no particular reason to run out of the palace looking for me, except that we’re supposed to be in business together, and losing a whole Tor like that has got to be embarrassing. I mean, what would your mother say? My fiancee Patricia Morgan, who you’d think might have at least come and told me that I needed to find someplace for the night through the fence and finally a guy who claims to be my best friend, Rolph. Oh, um, he’s sometimes called Alphonse too.”
Debbie looked like she was about to pass out, but then so did everyone else so maybe that was fair?
It was the giant red headed Prince that spoke first, blushing brightly.
“Tor… Look, it wasn’t like we meant to leave you at the gate; it was just that we had to find dad to change the gate information and he was off in a meeting with some of his advisors. We finally had to get mom to go in and get him to change the order for the gate guards, which turned out not to need changing, because you were on the list, only not as Torrence Baker, but just Tor. It really was there too, I looked at it myself, right on the first page with the important people and everything, please don’t be insulted, no one was trying to snub you or anything…” Rolph looked worried, as if Tor would throw a fit or something.
It didn’t really matter. Sure he’d felt abandoned and lost for a couple of days, but it wasn’t important or anything. A sad look crossed his face, he felt it form and made it leave as soon as he could get it too. Standing off to the side Debbie looked at each person in turn, as if trying to figure out what was going on.
“So, if this is Princess Veronica, and the heir is here trying to claim that you weren’t really abandoned at the palace gate then… you’re… Tor?” The bake shop owner looked at him skeptically for some reason.
“Like I said I was, yes. Tor Baker. Student, grew up in a bakery, makes little magic stuff sometimes and gets abandoned at the palace gates. Anyway, everyone needs to go now, because Debbie needs to get some sleep and we go back to work inside six hours.” For affect Tor yawned himself, which got a real one from Debbie. They really had been working hard and on short sleep and would be for days.
Rolph bowed deeply and held it for nearly half a minute. When he stood he spoke softly, not looking up.
“Both father and mother have personally requested, if you’re not too angry with all of us, that you come to the party tomorrow night? I know that we’d all love it if you showed up. This was just a stupid set of errors, honestly Tor…”
The Princess dimpled at him and kissed him on the cheek. She had to stoop slightly to do it. That was no fair of course, since she’d been about the same height as him when they met just a few months before. He suppressed a sigh. They grow up so fast, Tor thought, looking at her.
“Show up a bit before nine, mom and dad will want to talk to you first. Groveling to be done and all that. Dinner party, obviously, so don’t fill up first. Oh! Mom said to tell you that she’s sorry about the mix up and to give you a kiss from her.” Varley giggled then touched his lips with her own warmly. It wasn’t lingering, but it wasn’t a quick peck on the cheek either. “I know dad felt horrible about it too. He didn’t send a kiss though. And Karina wants you to bring her something, because she’s a selfish little bitch, couldn’t even be arsed to come check on you, but wants you to bring her prezzies…” Varley looked at Debbie and winked. “But you didn’t hear that from me.”
It took several minutes for everyone to leave, and another round of hugs from everyone and a kiss from Trice. Debbie locked the door after them all from the outside, leaving him with his cot.
Tor got ready for bed and almost fell into it. In a normal bakery he’d have gotten to sleep way earlier, but during the festival people stayed up late and ate more than normal, so it was worth staying open until the last people came in. Well, nearly the last people. He heard some drunks walking past near midnight; at least he assumed the loud, off key singing belonged to a drunk or two. He just rolled over and went back to sleep. Morning would come soon enough. Too soon.
At least when Tor woke he could scrub up and get into some clean clothing. He used his own toothbrush and toothpaste and actually had some real soap with him, the really strong kind that stripped the grime, and a few layers of skin, right off without too much scrubbing. He did it quickly, knowing that they had a lot of work to get through as fast as possible. If he was going to leave early at all, he needed to have everything made to last Debbie until they closed.
Before they could work he had to push his chests out of the way. They were both big, but the new one had a nice flat top to it, and was banded in iron for extra strength, so the other could be stacked on it securely. It was the one that held all the extra devices he’d brought along. Thinking about that he got into it and pulled out a few things that he thought Debbie might find useful. An equalizer for the heat, and a hot water heater for her bath at home. Looking in the case he reali
zed that he didn’t have a lot with him that really related to an actual person much at all. Unless she wanted to learn to fly? Down at the bottom he had twenty room temperature control plates, so he gave her two, one for the shop and one for home.
She looked at him uneasily, seeming bashful suddenly, which wasn’t like her normal assertive self at all.
“Um, why are you giving me things? These must be worth a fortune. Hundreds or even thousands of golds. I’ve been making you slave away for a hard cot and food you’ve been making most of yourself… I really expected that you’d be gone when I got here this morning to tell the truth.”
“What and lose out on all those sales? You have a business to run and what would I be doing if I stayed at the palace anyway, giving people presents and getting underfoot? Here I’m out of the way and doing something useful. I can give you things that you might even actually use even. Besides, when I needed help, you gave me work and let me stay here. I know it was all an accident, and even if it wasn’t I shouldn’t complain about the royal family not wanting me around all the time, but I’m still a little mad at them for making me walk the streets thinking that everyone had forgotten me. I’m of half a mind to just skip tonight, but people would be offended… Probably at least. If they noticed I didn’t show up at all.” Tor smiled and showed her how to use the temperature plate and set it up in the front of the shop for her, on the wall near the counter, so she could reach it easily to control the temperature.
The work went fast, since he had a pattern now, and while he had to keep pushing all day, because he was wearing down a little from lack of regular sleep, it wasn’t too hard to keep on top of everything. Not for the first half of the day. At about one in the afternoon it started to get crazy. Lines stretching down the street, all leading to Debbie’s little shop. People bought things, but also took their time, staring at him for some reason. Enjoying the cool too. Some kids came in and just sat on the floor near the corner, just for that.
Tor finally had to give them temperature equalizers to get them to leave. They were little though; no older than seven and the youngest was maybe four, a cute little girl that looked a little thin and underfed. Seeing that, Debbie sent them off with a wink, a small swat for the eldest and a bag of treats.
Even though it was probably the busiest day she’d ever had and everything could have been sold. Tor felt tears come to his eyes, but hid that by making up more hand-pies in the back, as fast as he could.
Collette had to wait just to get her dad some of the apple and raisin hand pies that she’d asked for through Tovey anyway. It was a little embarrassing, but they just sold out of everything too fast to keep them on hand.
“Do you plan to go to the party tonight?” She asked, looking at him wistfully, standing in the door to the back room so she could talk to him while she waited. “I was invited to go with Count Thomson originally, but he had to dis-invite me, because the girl he’s going to marry is going with him instead. Counserina third Lairdgren, um. Tama-Lyn? Do you know her? Apparently she’s not the understanding type, even though she could get in on her own. I’d be miffed, but who can blame her really? I wouldn’t want my future husbands sometime girlfriend hanging out either, not that the Count and I are that close.”
Tor had just walked into the room with a large tray of still warm hand-pies which he almost dropped. “Tamerlane. Um… Well. You’d think Tovey would have shared that tidbit with me. She’s my older sister. I knew that she and mother visited with him at school, but I didn’t really think… Well much of it at all, which probably means I’m a bit of a moron, but there you have it. Well, good for her.”
At least Tovey was a nice guy. He felt a little bad for Collette, and told her so, but she just wrinkled her nose at him. “It’s not like he and I were close or anything. Not overly at least. He just thought I was pretty enough to walk around with at a few parties. I was kind of hoping I could go with you, so I could at least mix and mingle. It’s the second largest event here at the Capital and generally you have to be a Counserina or better to get invited on your own. Only Noram Day is larger, but that event is so hard to get into at the palace that I’ve never been. But if you’re not going, I’m out of people that I know who can get me in the door. Well, drat.” She sighed dramatically then smiled.
“It wouldn’t be a big deal but my half-sister is in town with her husband and since he’s a sitting Count he’s automatically invited, though I hear that he’s kind of on the outs with Alphonse, because he got the Prince’s fiancee pregnant.” She whispered this as he filled the basket she brought carefully with the pies, adding in a few peach for her as well as the apple raisin for her dad and plain apple for her mother.
It took Tor a few seconds to catch on.
“What!” He said too loudly. She looked at him and nodded.
“I know, it’s a huge scandal, I couldn’t believe it myself, but Maria told me herself. It was a big thing and Alphonse even attacked Count Ward, if you can believe that. No one was hurt though, thank goodness.”
Shaking his head he looked down for a second with a frown on his face. “Sorry, what I meant to say was; what, Maria’s your half sister? I already knew about the rest. I was there.” Standing between the two royal giants as they tried to fight in fact.
“Oh yes. She’s… well, she’s not a very kind person all the time, to tell the truth, not to me at least. It’s not that she’s evil, but if she gets to go to a party and I don’t, she’ll rub it in for weeks and I kind of have to take it, because she’s a Countess now.”
Giving it a few moments thought, Tor stopped, even while the line grew out front, finally she touched his arm making him jump. He made up his mind suddenly and nodded.
“Right, well… My own fiancee is going to be there. Ducherina Morgan? You met her at that party we met at? We got engaged the next day actually. It’s not a real engagement, but we kind of have to fake it for a while for other reasons, as odd as it probably sounds. So, I can’t have you as a real date there, but I think I can get you in, baring incident. Can you be here at, call it, seven? You might end up being turned back at the door, but if so we’ll both leave. I won’t leave you stuck standing there or anything like that.” Especially after it had happened to him. Well, if nothing else it was at least a good learning experience.
Don’t “accidentally” keep your friends out. He’d be sure to remember that if he ever got a palace of his own, or even had a gate to guard.
She clapped her hands and squealed a little, getting attention from the whole room for a few seconds, including Debbie, who looked at him like he’d grown a second head and was carrying on a conversation with it. Collette seemed happy enough when she left at least. After that Tor buried his head and started working non-stop until six, hoping that he had enough product for his boss to keep the place open until nine or ten. All the product racks were full; mainly hand pies, golden brown and flaky looking. Most of those had a soft white hint of sugar glazing on the top. A steady stream of people came in though still, laughing and smiling the whole time.
He scrubbed up again standing in the small yard out back, because the shop, which had running water and a restroom, didn’t have a bathtub. He used a large wooden bucket with black iron bands around it instead. A woman across the way saw him strip down to the waist to wash and made a sharp, festive noise at him. Tor smiled and waved to her, she looked a little plain, and about thirty or so, but had a nice smile. At least she seemed playful in her attentions and hadn’t screamed in fear about a half naked man. In Two Bends it would have been a bit of a scandal, but here it was just… Wednesday. For that matter, Tor kind of thought that if the woman had been the topless person no one but him would have batted an eyelash. Then, given the heat, he kind of wondered why anyone wore clothing here at all.
Changing was a problem. He had clothes, Rolph had sent an outfit for him, just putting it in his trunk, but lacking Burks to help him into it, dressing took a lot longer. It was frustrating, because he couldn’t re
ach the laces that ran up the back, and in the end he had to break down and ask Debbie to help him. It was a heavy silk and velvet thing, with no color in particular to the whole outfit. Debbie thought it made him look older.
“Good though. Kind of small for a royal, but you could be one of those merchant princes from Tellerand. Not that I’ve seen any, but I hear they have about your size and look. Dark hair, pale and, um, short.” She whipped back to work as if he’d be insulted by the fact that he wasn’t all that tall. He’d lived it his whole life and came from a place where everyone was his size. It was the people in this place that looked too tall to him. He grinned at his boss’s back and finished getting ready.
Tor barely got the chests drug around before Collette showed up, in a very pretty powder blue dress that had more lace on it than could possibly be comfortable. It looked warm, uncomfortably so, and she was trying to cool herself a little when she walked in, with a silk fan that nearly matched the color of the gown.
“Good evening!” The tall blond said when he walked out, doing a double take when his luggage followed him, hovering about a foot in the air.
It was just a simple modification of a basic luggage float. It would go up to the point he lifted it to and then stay there. He had an amulet around his neck that it followed, no matter where he went. It had some issues, for instance, it could be confused by doors and would try to pass through a person if they got in its path, but if you paid attention it was way simpler than trying to carry something that weighed that much. The main chest was just on the edge of what he could pick up on his own. Copper and silver plates and even amulets, added up way faster than it looked like they should and he had a lot with him. Party favors mainly.
About twenty minutes later a carriage pulled up, the wood was polished, a deep, dark color that spoke of taste, and a lot of care, because in the Capital anything that shade would show each speck of dust easily, and that did collect. On everything. It probably had to be cleaned daily to keep it looking like it did, which was virtually spotless.
