The Silence Within (The Young Ancients: Tiera)

by P. S. Power

  "Collette..." She didn't know what to say, but was about to offer to simply take the woman and go, making certain she vanished into the night, when Timon sighed dramatically, calling the attention of the room to himself.

  "This isn't the same situation Tiera." He was looking at her directly, making it seem like he'd been reading her mind, at least very nearly. "Carol hasn't been perfect and deserves to be punished, but she just doesn't have, and never will have, the power of Sandra Morris. If she shows any remorse at all, or knowledge that she's done something wrong..."

  Collette seemed baffled by the statement and looked at her then, glaring as if she suspected Tiera was up to something. Planning to steal her prize away.

  "We can't let her get away with this."

  The words were ones that Tiera had spoken herself, in regards to the whole Morris clan, and it really had turned out that she'd been correct. It was hard to see past that, a fine anger settling into her, being transferred to Carol, since the others were out of reach for the moment.

  "She... did seem to be more aware of her actions earlier. The beating I gave her before, was just to help her hold to that new course. She relapsed for a bit, that's all. The plan right now is for her to grovel and beg for a while, then I'll beat her, heal her up with an amulet and then do it again, so she doesn't perish from it. Then we have dinner. Is that a good enough start? As King Cordes once told me, we can always kill her later." That had been the version of the Ancient in her brother's skull, but it still counted, didn't it?

  Apparently enough to get the still enraged woman in front of her to smile. It was a grim and dark thing, but didn't even pretend that she wasn't taking glee in the idea.

  "I can get behind that. All right, beg forgiveness. Consider it practice for what you'll need to do with Bonita." There was no move to hit her first or anything, even after the complex and dangerous device in her hand went away.

  Carol, being a true noble, froze. It was like she'd been caught doing something naughty, and didn't know what to do suddenly. Gerent was still right in front of her, standing between the woman and her step-daughter, which couldn't have been comfortable at all for him. He looked pale and drawn, his arms being held low, but in front of his body. It wasn't exactly a powerful looking pose, but Collette had to notice that, even with a large and very well armed noblewoman in front of him, one that he probably considered a friend, he still didn't get out of the way.

  It was incredibly brave. Then, anyone that didn't know that about her new brother was a fool, weren't they? Every single thing that he'd done that she'd ever seen or heard of, marked him as a true hero. A tiny and noble one, even if that hadn't truly been the case in his first actions, not having been adopted yet.

  Tim cleared his throat softly.

  "Baroness Coltress? Not to be rude, but for something like this, I'd suggest at least going to your knees and bowing your head. Collette wasn't personally wronged, but going after your own family like that is going to take some work to repair." He sounded almost gentle, for him. Considering that he'd taken a sitting Count once, and tortured the man for hours over something that was no worse than this really, if more physical in nature, it was even kind.

  It still took a while for the woman to sink to her knees, tears starting to fall. That was due to the humiliation, most likely, not any real remorse, but she started in with a voice that sounded sincere enough.

  "I was cruel to her. To Bonita. I wanted my own children to do well and thought that you and she were in their way. It was evil and I knew it at the time. I know that I don't deserve forgiveness in the matter and am only doing this so that the punishment can end. It was horrible. I had to do things that... No one cares about that. I've been punished enough though. You should forgive me. I've paid for what I did and won't do it again. Isn't that enough?" She didn't keep going on, but Gerent spun and stared at her, hard.

  In fact he was very nearly glaring and kept it up for several minutes as the room went to a dead silence. When he spoke his words carried weight. A sadness even, and he shook his head slowly as he stepped to the side.

  "I'm sorry Collette. I can see that I erred in my thinking. She is your mother though, so you shouldn't kill her. Tiera and I will do it for you." Then slowly, he sank to his own knees. "I was wrong, and it created a rift between us. Please forgive me for not understanding the situation. I was only seeking to do what was right. I know that isn't an excuse for ignorance and understand that you can't be my friend any longer. I'd just hoped that you could be a family again. I've never had that, and want it for my friend. I can't ask you to..." There was real sobbing then and Collette, angry or not, went and pulled him from the floor, holding him closely, like a pet, but still seeming to mean it.

  "There is nothing wrong between the two of us, Gerent. You did the right thing. I think that my point has been proven anyway, don't you?" She looked at Tiera and then Trice, but avoided Timon for some reason.

  That didn't make a lot of sense, because her brother wasn't going to stop them from executing the woman for her crimes. That wouldn't make sense after all.

  Except that he snorted and looked around the room, his face smiling a bit.

  "Or we can let her try it again? What do you say Carol? One more chance to get it right? Then Tiera can kick your ass for a while and so forth. When you seem ready, we can take you to the others that you've wronged. Too many people have invested actual time and energy into fixing you for that lame an apology to be the last gasp, but you have to do better. You aren't wearing a truth amulet, so lie. The tears were a good start, but I don't know, how about you focus on the wrongs you did and the bad parts of yourself? You don't have to think they're true even, just start listing off bad traits and people will assume that they fit. They do that even for good people, so it's a workable trick. You saw what Gerent did, try to make it more like that? Go ahead. Hurry please, I'm starting to get hungry and we need to see to that beating before we can eat. The food will get cold if we take too long." Again he sounded soft and gentle, even as he corrected the woman. It was really out of place. Normally he'd have delivered the words with coldness and seemed far too hard for his twelve years to have made him.

  "Fuck you, little boy. I know how to give an apology." The words came with a bitter smile, from the woman who was still on her knees.

  Timon laughed.

  "Then get to it. Please."

  She did a much better job then. It was all playing, her tears slightly overdone, her words a bit too flowery to be real. They took turns making her correct it, as Collette stood, looking like she wanted to flat out murder the woman, humbling herself or not. Then, she had to be able to tell that it wasn't real at all.

  Then, as promised, Tiera beat her for ten minutes, putting about half a pint of her blood on the nice sitting room carpet, then let her heal for nearly the same length of time. After that she did it again, even as the lady begged for her to stop, moaning and crying for real, finally.

  It was enough though. Tiera remembered her tears on the side of the road, and suddenly stopped, looking at Collette.

  "We can leave her like this for the meal."

  Collette shook her head, looking at Gerent.

  "No, let's heal her. If I hear of you trying to hurt Bonita, with words or deed, ever again, I will kill you. I can forgive the harsh things you said to me, perhaps, in time, but I won't forgive that." She didn't ask for the woman to tell her she understood, but that wasn't needed. They all did.

  Tiera wondered if the woman was really just going to die anyway? She had to be thinking the same thing. Gerent gave her a healing amulet, letting her hold it for a long time, so that she could heal properly, then offered his hand to her. It was clear that the movement was meant to help her to stand, but she got up on her own and handed over the stone device that had a bright green outline of her brother Tor on it without waiting. Still holding his hand.

  "Thank you, Gerent. I..." She bowed and held it, her head nearly to her waist. "I apologize for my la
ck of skill earlier. I caused trouble for you and should not have." She didn't go on and stood back up, but gave the tiny man a look that seemed to indicate that the matter wasn't finished and that it might be a good thing for her protector. It wasn't perfectly done, but was a good enough thing that Tiera was willing to let it go.

  So was everyone else, which meant they finally got to eat. That part of the new growth she was doing was harder than she'd figured on. Instead of wanting food every day, once or twice, she was starving all the time. That felt like what was happening at least. She half ran to the table, knowing that she'd look like a greedy freak if she wasn't careful, but waited for Trice to indicate where she should sit. They had a server, an older man that actually looked a bit familiar to her. She focused on the face, letting it come back. He'd been at Tor's bakery the last time she'd seen him.

  "Thom?" She smiled and the man bowed to her roughly. It wasn't a smooth thing, but she had a feeling that the position might just be one that Trice had made up to give him something to do. If so, that was a kindness, since the fellow was just some man from near her school that didn't have anyone else to help him in his old age. If Timon and Trice were going to care for him, that was a good thing. Tor probably should have done it, but that might have seemed too much like charity? Doing it this way he could feel like he was earning his keep. He wasn't infirm, having been healed recently of all the ills of old age, so he probably could manage it well enough even.

  His serving skills weren't up to the palace standard yet, but he didn't do that poorly either, especially if it were a new thing for him. She made a point of smiling at him, even if it wasn't real. After all, he'd always been polite to her. Besides that, this probably meant he was kind of like family, didn't it? A friend of these others at least.

  He was also smart enough to load her up with food when he came around. Far more than she could have eaten before. Gerent too, once she looked over. Not as much, perhaps, but enough that at each course she boggled a bit. They both cleaned their plates however and didn't seem too uncomfortable about it after the dessert.

  The instant it was finished, Timon stood up and left the room, only to come back a few minutes later, talking to someone on one of the new communications devices. It took her a few moments to recognize the voices, but she got it when Prince Alphonse spoke for a bit.

  It left her feeling warm and a bit happy really, since they were good friends.

  Sort of cousins too, which was less than perfect, but she didn't let herself consider that part of things for a bit.

  "I see, so Carol Coltress is back and ready to set things right? That's good. When I heard what she'd been doing to Nita I nearly ordered her death." There was a pause, but it was only long enough for good drama. "So did mother. I know, you probably think that I can't order someone killed like that, but you'd be surprised what some people are willing to let the Heir to the throne get away with, under the right circumstance. So, what's the plan there? Do you need me to come and keep the Coltress family from killing her? Or help hide the body?" He was being slightly playful about it, but from the sound of things, the Queen was taking it all a good bit more seriously in the background. She actually suggested that the woman finding her way into the deep desert, naked and without the ability to call for help, might be a good punishment for her.

  Luckily no one was taking that too seriously.

  Tiera sighed and then shook her head, feeling a bit put upon, even if collecting the woman from Barton had been her own doing. It was, she knew, a mistake. It would have been better not to involve herself in the situation at all, but here it was. She'd started her part in this and had to see it through, one way or the other.

  "Right now we need to contact the other members of her family and then arrange to take her around to grovel and be beaten. Then I plan to dump her on poor Gerent. Sex slave and general house worker for now. Alphonse, will you visit with him for a few weeks to make sure she's doing her duties properly? On the good side, she does actually seem wise enough to like him so far. Then she can go back to her country estate, after Gerent feels she's rehabilitated enough." It was almost funny, but no one laughed at all. Not even the Prince. Instead there was a low sound that seemed to be indicating general agreement.

  The King spoke then, from further away in the room.

  "Baroness Coltress, will you move to the device?" It worked the other way around, with Timon scampering over to her, handing the thing to her directly, even as she sneered at it. That got Tiera to walk over and hit her again. It was just a cuff to the back of the head though and wasn't hard.

  "Hey!" The woman sounded put out, but everyone in the room with her, except Gerent, chuckled. Even Thom.

  Trice explained.

  "Part of her retraining I think. She made a face at the device, so Tiera hit her. I think the general plan is to get her ready to face Nita. You should probably take her to see Maria first..." Then she went silent and looked away, which was so phony that Tiera had to fight rolling her eyes. No one mentioned that the Wards were supposed to have become traitors.

  That would be rude of course.

  Tiera spoke anyway, after all, she was a traitor too wasn't she? Just because she wasn't actively going to kill the King anymore, that didn't mean she was happy with the man. He'd supported the people that killed Regina. Yes, it was true, there had been political reasons for it, but the fact was, he'd done it. That had led to worse things over time, such as an attack on his own city that had nearly led to him dying personally. On the good side that meant they were loosely on the same side now, so she tried to let it go and not get too angry with him. Even after being changed, that situation got her blood boiling, almost instantly.

  "I'll contact her and set that up. Regardless of what else is going on, this situation is separate and needs to be dealt with. Besides, I'm not all that certain they're in the wrong." That, she knew, would probably keep her from being invited to King's week later in the year. Luckily she wasn't planning on going anyway.

  The King didn't sound all that happy as his voice came from the little glass device.

  "I see. I'd hoped that we'd put such things behind us... Tor assured me that being family would repair that?"

  "He assured you wrongly then. Oh, I won't call for your head, but I won't abandon my friends over you either. It isn't a personal thing, but..." She forced herself to look at the others, and noticed that no one was glaring at her at all. Gerent was making eye contact, but he wasn't staring. "Well, it is, isn't it? You threw in with my enemies and it cost me more than anyone can ever repay. There's nothing you can do to bring Regina back. You let them go and then let her escape justice. I get that it wasn't your plan, but..." She didn't know what else to say. It all hurt, but that probably wasn't a good enough reason to sit there talking about all of this with the King himself. She just didn't care if he took offense. If she had to die for it, well, that would be a mess, but as long as Sandra and the Count her father died first, she could accept it.

  It wasn't particularly sane, but life wasn't. That was her world now. Maybe it had always been, and now she was learning enough to see it?

  "I... Know. Well, see to that, then." The line broke, without more being said. It was a dismal thing, she knew, but Timon didn't wait for anyone to discuss how clearly in the wrong she was. Carol was looking at her strangely. It wasn't a happy thing at all, but her eyes seemed less tense suddenly. Almost as if she were letting Tiera know that her speaking like that to King Richard made her feel better for some reason.

  Why that would be she had no clue, and didn't really think she wanted to bother finding out. After all, there was nothing to gain by throwing in with the rebellion. That they had to lose, in the end, was just so clear that Tiera nearly hated them for it. It was a waste, disturbing the peace with a plan that simply couldn't do any good for the world at all. Richard had his enemies, but like her, most of them hadn't been harmed because they were hated. It was just that politics had gotten in the way, disrupting everythin
g. As far as she'd ever heard that was the simple truth. People had said they thought Richard was bad for Noram, but no one had spoken of him harming them personally as their reason. Poor planning, taxes, or in some cases not letting Counts tax others, backing people other than them... all of these had been mentioned, but no clear abuses were.

  That didn't mean she loved the man overly. Even if he were an in-law after a fashion now. A nephew in-law? Because that made sense, didn't it? If she were a less trusting soul she might have felt that Tor had made the whole thing up to save the man from her. She wasn't totally certain that wasn't just the case really. She couldn't prove otherwise, so let it go. A lot like she was doing with Trice and Timon's marriage.

  The device freed up, Tim went and got his other handheld, so that the Wards could be contacted and informed that they were needed for some entertaining groveling. Timon actually phrased it that way, which got Maria to respond in a snooty tone that was cute sounding when you didn't have to see her pinched features distorting all out of reality over the idea.

  "We have to grovel? To whom? And why? I can't remember doing anything to you personally that should require that, Countier Lairdgren. Did..." She sounded uncertain for a few moments, then let herself keep going. "Is it about that matter from a few weeks ago? I... can see that. I suppose that if you need us to, we could-"

  He spoke over her, rudely.

  "Not at all. No, Tiera has captured your mother and we're taking turns watching her be beaten and helping her perfect her apologies, before the main event with Bonita. It took a false start, but she didn't do too badly earlier here, with Collette. I think that Tiera wants to do this in the next few days and tomorrow she needs to be in Austra, so if we could do your portion of that in the morning? That will let me set up a shipment for The Royal Table and send a few of the new communications devices along for Denno and his people." It probably all made sense, on some level, but it was pretty clear that something had happened that Maria knew about and that her brother didn't want discussed in public.