by P. S. Power
They were, technically, equals in station, but she was new and didn't want to give offense.
"I'm sure I'd remember meeting someone so fetching. This lady next to me is Baroness Carlotta Jesset. I'm afraid I rather pressured her into coming. It's a sad thing, but when you reach a certain age, the women stop knocking on your door." It was, almost certainly, an invitation for her to make a mistake and give offense. The man knew her after all, and had good reason to believe she wasn't going to call him out personally, even if he started a fight with her. She was glad of George's warning, but it was also a bit nerve wracking. After all, she was going to have a hard time if she didn't know who was actually coming after her.
The problem here was that, if the Count was really going to do that, absolutely any response she gave could be taken as being the wrong thing.
Instead she smiled and bowed to the woman with him, then turned back to the man instantly.
"I'm so glad to meet you, Count Isle." Then, showing what she hoped was wisdom, she just stopped and waited for someone else to speak. There was a danger in that too, but it had to be less than if she walked into things.
The King smiled at her, as if she were brilliant and rare, rather than the most common looking person in the room.
"Thank you so much for coming. I hear you were in Austra recently?" The words didn't sound loaded, but could still be taken the wrong way, very easily.
"That's right. I took Countess Ward and some others there. Her mother and sister as well. We handed off the new Space Fleet to Alice Orange, and met with some spies. The ones that used to work here? They should be coming to Warden in a few days. I'm thinking of hiring your old butler, Quavel, to teach me protocol. If so, I promise I won't let him too near the secrets." As if she could stop him.
That got a wistful look from the Queen and a grimace from the Baroness. She schooled her slightly wrinkled face quickly, but didn't seem all that happy about what she'd said.
Constance chuckled though.
"Well, please send him my love? He was the best servant I ever had, you know. I can't blame you for thinking of him in high regard. It might be a bit hard to win him though, as I hear he's running a successful business in the Austran Capital?"
Tiera had to nod there. They weren't getting rich, perhaps, but the spies were helping each other, and doing well enough that they weren't starving at least.
"That's true. I may have to visit there in that case. Oh, I think the plan is to have an influx of students for the Space works, so perhaps we should arrange to have them all Truth tested first? Just to make sure no spies sneak in? Not that I don't expect them to report what they're doing, but they can do that openly, I think." It was a real point to her, and apparently the King. The others just seemed a little baffled at what she was saying.
Richard smiled at least and touched her shoulder, then went wide eyed and pulled back, but didn't apologize for it. That was clearly something, but as George had said, she'd be best off not taking offense at anything that night. To that end she tried to smile back and seem genuine about it.
His words were very calm and even though.
"A very good idea. Would you be available to set that up? Normally a Countess wouldn't be asked to do such things for the Kingdom, but since you have a link to the Ancients, being one yourself, it might go over better. Family bonds and all that."
She had to agree. Not that Aunt Orange would be a problem about it, or Denno, but they might not see things the same way that the people of Noram did in that regard. After all Alice had no reason to care what people were doing as far as passing information along, as long as they did their jobs well, and Brown was known to send in spies, so being called on that might make him upset. Or get him to laugh. It was hard to know with him.
"Yes, Sire. It will be done. We also should have people from other lands. Vagus has already agreed to send some for instance. I'll check them as well. I doubt they'll be a problem, but it takes moments to find out now. Of course that means we'll soon see far more clever spying tricks being used, I suppose." She said it dryly, but Count Isle and his companion both laughed politely, as if it were a joke. Constance smiled and leaned into her a bit.
"True, dear. We're about to begin the seating. We'll speak after?"
That got a nod. What they had to talk about, except small talk, she didn't know.
The meal was far more interesting than she thought it would be. She was near several Counts and Countesses, near the top of the table, which were assigned by rank, as well as twenty or thirty other factors she just didn't know about. The man next to her was familiar at least.
"Count Peterson, so good to see you again." His wife was nowhere to be seen. That was a bit odd, since she was the younger Princess and it was the King's Palace, but she didn't ask about it. It could be anything that kept her away. For instance she had a new baby, and might actually need to see to her.
"Ah! Conserina Lairdgren, I almost didn't recognize you with hair. You look lovely. You haven't been around lately to visit. I trust that everything is all right between us?"
She smiled and daringly put her hand on his thigh under the table. The idea was that they were "good friends" meaning they were sleeping together. They'd done enough that it nearly counted that way too.
"Well, it's been a busy few weeks. I removed the old Count Morris and his heirs, then took over the County, a few days ago. It's been confirmed, so I'm Countess Baker now. Still, that's no excuse to not come and visit. We should get together soon, if only for a talk. If you have time?" It seemed like the kind of thing a real Countess would say.
Surprisingly the man stood and bowed low to her, getting stares from the rest of the table.
"Countess Baker, forgive me for using the wrong title, I meant no offense." He didn't sit immediately either, and had spoken loudly enough that the whole room heard him. She had no clue what to do, so fell back on her country ways, standing and bowing in return, going low and then helping him stand back up.
"There are no debts between friends. Don't let it worry you. Besides, it's so new that no one could be expected to know about it yet."
They sat then and the large and manly looking, great bearded Count, who was huge, being at least nine feet tall, or close enough she couldn't judge the difference from the ground, smiled, his eyes glinting a bit.
"So, will your forces be flying ones?"
They spoke on that for a while, since it was possible that she might be able to get flying gear, weapons and shields for her people that most others wouldn't be able to. It hadn't been her top concern yet, but it wasn't a horrible point. Then they talked about marriages and that sort of thing for a while, which wasn't really interesting to her, except that, as it turned out, Count Peterson had stood for Timon at his wedding.
"I don't know that forcing the boy to marry at his age was the right thing to do, but his lady wife is a good catch, so perhaps it's worth the loss of his childhood? I should make a point of seeing to him soon."
The food came and she managed not to choke on it, throw it up, or use the wrong fork or spoon. She ate it all too, and had the same portion size that the Count did, which got him to smile and look at her more closely then he shook his head.
"You're going into your first major growth? I thought..." He didn't say what that was, clearly censoring himself.
It was the woman across the table that filled in the rest for him, obviously trying to be rude on purpose.
"I think he was going to say that he thought you were nothing better than a trumped up peasant, playing at being above your station." The words got a nice gasp from those that could hear it and Count Peterson glared, looking ready to fight the woman, who was lean and looked to be in her early fifties, for having mentioned it at all.
Tiera just shrugged.
"That kind of thing, size and musculature, are controllable. I should end up being about seven-six or so. The beef dish is rather nice, isn't it?" She smiled, and changed the subject. If the woman was really de
dicated to her cause, she'd press the attack again, but then, Tiera realized, if she did it too much, she'd be the one looking bad.
Not that it would stop her.
"Oh? Well, once peasant trash, always nothing more. Don't you agree, dear?"
Tiera started getting angry, but pushed it down and made herself become very calm, seeking that true mental silence within, not knowing overly what to say. It was very nearly the woman begging her to fight. If someone at school had said that to her, she would be beating them by this time.
So she shrugged.
"No. Not at all. For one thing, commoners aren't trash. They're valuable people, that do much of the work of the Kingdom. For the most part I find them inoffensive and willing to try their best, if asked. I generally don't call things of worth, trash, so respectfully, I have to disagree with you." It was, she realized, probably a bit too confrontational, but this time the woman actually shut up, since half the table was looking their way. Probably to see who'd win the fight.
It wasn't the last time it happened, two more people goading her on purpose before the dessert came. One man, several people down, openly suggested that she were a Doretta even. That he'd heard it from his own daughter, who went to the Lairdgren school. It wasn't hard to tell who that was, since the man was Scotty Ross, Farlo's father. He was further down the table than she was, but not that much, and on the other side, so she could look at him directly. He was big enough to be easy to see after all.
"That... Unfortunately, there's some truth to it. I've made an effort to fix things, but it will take time. How is your mother the Countess doing? I hold her as a personal friend, you know." Since the woman once offered to risk war with the Kingdom to get her to safety, even though it hadn't really been needed, she truly was.
The vast man made a strange noise and then shook his head a bit.
"I wasn't aware of that. She and her husband are at the country estate for the winter now. If I see her, I'll be sure to pass your regards along."
It was nearly grudging, which didn't make a lot of sense, unless he really hated Dorettas. It could just be that his clever plan to get her to fight him had failed. They'd sort of done that before already, even if the man didn't remember it. He'd been in a combat rage at the time after all, and most people didn't know what they were doing when that happened.
Then the only person that spoke to her politely was Raul, who made small talk about harvests, and his desire to get some of Timon's new fast craft, or even Tor's space vehicles for his flyers corps. That part was done with a slight bit of suggestiveness, as if he wanted her to help with it. Instead she suggested he get with Orange and see about having people train with her. If they had people already able to use the devices, then Tor would be a lot more likely to just make another batch of them for the man.
"I think anyway. I can ask him, if I see him? I wouldn't make the mistake of offering to pay him for them though. The things are worth more than the treasury after all. With him it's always better to just show that you have good plans in mind that might help people anyway. He'd give you his shirt if he thought it would aid someone else." She paused and grinned up at the man, his blue eyes lovely in the magical lights of the room. "Um, I mean that by the way. Don't ask for things you don't need."
They were interrupted, when Tiera was called to the back meeting room, along with Prince Alphonse and Princes Karina. No one paid all that much attention to it all, but Count Peterson stood when she did, being very gallant, as he was.
"If we miss each other later, please do remember to get in touch to make arrangements?"
"I will." She didn't promise it, but so far he seemed to be her best friend, as far as the other Counts and Countesses went. She needed to cultivate that.
The room they went into was a new one to her, and was nicely decorated as far as the walls went, having patterns made of wood tiles there, and a nice stone floor, but other than that there were just chairs. Two large ones, for the King and Queen, and on either side there were smaller ones that the younger people sat in.
Hers, it was clear, was the smaller one done in gray, rather than red, and while nice, was situated right in front of the other four people.
Smiling she pointed at it and then sat when the King nodded.
"Well, this is rather adversarial, isn't it? Me having to face off with all of you alone. In the tiny chair too, so that you can lord over me?" She shook her head, but didn't sound upset about it, just a little teasing. "I'd like to point out that it really wouldn't matter. You could all sit on the floor and be near as tall as I am standing."
This was addressed to the Giant King, but Prince Alphonse answered, his hands spreading.
"Well, really it isn't that bad this time. That's pretty much why it's done this way however. Most don't pick up on it instantly, or at least don't mention it. I think it makes me look commanding, don't you?" He was trying to smooth things over it seemed, but it wasn't really needed. After all, she wasn't in charge here, they were.
"Really, it does. I'll try not to let myself be too intimidated."
The King moved his mouth a bit, as if starting to speak and then stopping, which was a lot more careful than she would have expected for him to be regarding her, Countess or not.
Finally he got his words out.
"I was hoping to make certain that everything was well between us? I didn't intend for the seating to be an insult, and as Alphonse so helpfully pointed out, you did understand the reason for it. Really, Connie was just worried about the situation with our Royal Guard, George and wanted to assure you that he'll be punished appropriately for striking you, that one time." The man knew the real score on it, but seemed willing to let George take the blame anyway.
Even to the cover story, which was that the man been ordered to do it, that was wrong though. The real facts were even more so, since she'd been the one that asked him to do it, to try and make her cry for show. From the way the others were acting, they all thought it was a real issue. Karina looked a bit upset, but the Queen seemed stern about it. Fierce even.
"We cannot punish Count Lairdgren for ordering it, but the tool can be. It's all we have to give you for it, I fear." She made direct eye contact and didn't look away, which made things oddly harder. It was pretty clear the woman still didn't know what it had all been about.
Her son did, which explained why he wasn't looking at her.
She had to think for a moment, because it felt like anything she said would be too harsh, that or give them away. Constance was trying to prevent the war she thought would be coming over a few slaps, and the King really didn't want the whole thing with her passing messages to be known? It was a bit of a mess then, wasn't it?
"Well, George and I have already made our peace, so that won't be needed. As you said, the tool can be punished, but I find that tools are best cared for and kept ready, not blamed for doing what they're designed for." She had to resist sticking her tongue out, it sounded so pompous. "Of course in this case he's a friend. Not a sword, hammer or bit of magic. I'd not see him harmed over this."
She didn't know if it was the right thing to say, but everyone seemed relived suddenly and Constance actually moved to her, and hugged her solidly.
"Wonderful. I know that I'll sleep easier, knowing that you won't call for him to be put to death over the issue."
Tiera blanched and didn't bother to hide it at all.
"Death? Over a few slaps? I was thinking you'd, I don't know, just slap him back for me. Unneeded, as I mentioned, but..."
The red haired Princess stood, and then sighed and started pacing, which got her mother to give her a look, one that said she wasn't supposed to do things like that. She didn't speak for a while, which was a bit odd, since it was very clear she wanted to. Finally the tall, very thin girl turned and moved closer to Tiera.
"So, that's one Countess that would do that. I think we could, between all the Counts and Countesses, sitting or not, say that four, maybe five of you would have said that just now
. It shows a lot more wisdom than not, but in anger, well, people that have armies and the right to do whatever they want most of the time can be a problem." She took a deep breath and rushed on, saying something that Tiera was almost certain was an act of war. "If you start doing that... I'll have to kill you. I mean me, personally. I don't know how I'd get it done, but with your anger... Please understand?" The last bit was an actual plea, even as the others all gasped.
"Karina!" Queen Constance stood then, looking ready to strike her own child, or at least grab her and wrestle her out of the room.
Tiera tried to take a moment to actually think about it. It did make her angry, being threatened like that, but the alternative was probably to have her brothers or grandfather have to do it, if the need arose, which would hurt them, Tiera thought. At least she hoped they liked her well enough. Maybe not Count Lairdgren, but the others.
"Deal then. I'll try my best." That got everyone to give her very shocked expressions, and the Princess to sit before Tiera went on. "My current plan is to get the County on its feet, economically, and then give it over to someone else to run anyway. I don't know who yet, for certain. I'm thinking of my right hand man, Lawrence. Lawrence Morris, a second or third cousin to the old Count. So far he's been a good find, swore to me under Truth verification and everything. That's just what I'm having people do for now, so that my closest advisors are good people that don't particularly want me dead. It might not be him." She shrugged, then waited to see what they would all think of it.
The King gave her a blank and unreadable expression, and the others seemed... bored.
"Are you certain that's what you wish? It's a lot of power to give away. You could set up your man to simply run things, which is about the same amount of power, if you're generous. Then you can protect him, acting as a shield for the man, from the worst of the intrigue and back stabbing."
It took her a few seconds to get that the King thought he was joking for some reason. She didn't get it, but smiled politely.
