A Simple Darkness (The Young Ancients: Tiera) (7 page)

That got Kolb to bow as well and ask
her
to the event, at least as well as David had managed. She made a full curtsey and accepted, batting her eyelashes just a little. It looked a bit strange on her, but Kolb didn't seem to mind overly, smiling with a look that seemed genuine enough.

Tiera nodded, trying to remember it all. Then she reached out and touched her date's arm, smiling a little. He grinned back and gave her a slight bow that didn't seem ironic at all.

The trip only took one of the Fast Craft and the whole trip wasn't a long one, so they set down at about eight forty-five, even if it was about two thousand miles away. It was what made the new kind of flying carriage so useful. You could go from one side of the land to the other in about an hour if you didn't stop or from the top to the bottom in about two and a bit. It made going off to the Capital for dinner a thing that almost made sense. She still had to be up in the morning, but since she'd be eating dried fruit in her room that would save on the wasted time of going to breakfast. As it was she was hungry right now, not having eaten that day. She didn't complain though. It wouldn't help anything and most of the people with her would probably just let her know that it was her own fault and that she deserved some minor discomfort.

It made her dislike them all a little for a moment, even though they hadn't actually done anything. She let it go though, as they settled over Count Thomson's Capital mansion. It was a nice place, but not as grand as many there. That was mainly due to his family's tradition of not trying to compete with the others like some of the nobles did. They spent the savings on making a better life for their people instead. It made sense to her, but some of the nearby buildings really were finer looking.

Not so much that anyone would feel bad about it though.

As they climbed out they were met in the garden by Terlee, who came out the back door, followed by a stiff looking man in a nice suit of clothing and gray gloves, who seemed to be holding a stick, ready to defend her at need. It wasn't, but it was good to know that the people here were looking out for her.

Timon nodded to the man, who seemed to recognize him, but he didn't take the craft down, ready to fly away if they needed to? That didn't seem likely though, did it? Tamerlane looked to be dressed for a royal visit, rather than just them, and seemed a little worried, though she wasn't hiding behind her hair. She made a face at the collected people that was a little hard, not all of them, just Karen, David and her...

Ali fixed that for them instantly, stepping forward in her nice and slightly overdone dress that looked like pink foam, all made of lace.

"Tamerlane! This is my older sister Karen. Conserina first now. Derring. This giant here is my brother Davie. Countier second." She didn't introduce Tiera of course, which got a slight frown from the woman, her black hair being waved out of the way.

True, it was a little dark in the back of the house, but there were some magical lights. For a second she wondered if Terlee was just mad at her for something. If that was the case then they were going to have a fight, because she wasn't going to be scolded for the same thing over and over again. Especially not after she'd started trying to fix it already. There were limits to what she'd take, with a quick movement she crossed her arms, which caused two things to happen. First her older sister tilted her head and took a few steps toward her.

"Tiera? You're
bald
!" She seemed to be worried about it even.

Before she could answer the second thing happened, which was Karen gently touching her arm.

"Don't stand with your hands tied up. If you have to fight you need to be ready. Keep that in mind at all times."

It was Timon that explained things, even though he hadn't been told to.

"It's part of her penance. She accidentally insulted some people at school. I hear she understood that she wasn't allowed to date certain people and that Count Lairdgren would have them executed or banished if they were seen with her too closely, so she managed to act the Doretta with them to drive them away. She gets it now and has apologized, but has to go though six months of humbling too. You know, first they shave her head, then she has to do all the low tasks for the school. The fighters are also going to beat her around daily for a while too, just to really make the point. It might work. Worth a shot." It was said with such a deadpanned voice that Tamerlane, Countess Thomson, Tiera's own sister...

Bowed.

"That sounds like the correct thing to do." She ducked her head at Sir Kolbrin then. "Please make sure she isn't harmed more than she can stand."

The man didn't even crack a smile, just returning the gesture.

"We hardly ever allow our students to be killed. I'll pass the word of your request, but I think she'll be fine, past a few bruises and sore muscles. Karen is working with her after all."

That got the large woman a hug, since she was family and David one too, though it was a quick thing, barely making contact. There was some subtlety there, and something that she didn't exactly understand. Timon moved in beside her as they walked in, having seen the look on her face.

"Think about it. She isn't related to David by blood. She needs to keep her options open there, so by not naming him direct family right off the bat, they can be lovers later." He sounded a little dry, his young voice deeper than it normally was. Not like a person that was aping greater age or anything, no it had the feeling of someone that just couldn't be bothered to add any energy to what they were saying. It was nearly as shocking as her little brother's words.

Oh, it was clear he was
right
. She might be from Two Bends, but The Rules did mean people had a lot of lovers and things of that nature. It was just hard to think of Terlee doing something like that. Especially since David was there as
her
date. She felt her face go a little hard and she glared at her sister's back a bit as she moved to everyone else. The rest got various hugs and light touches as well. Petra was included as family as well, so at least her sister wasn't announcing herself interested in women too. That would have been too much to adapt to in the moment. Even if not socially wrong.

It was a strange thought, since she
also
thought of Petra as being very pretty and was sort of interested in kissing her more. Just to practice for boys, of course. She didn't say anything out loud, but Timon looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

Like he was reading her mind, except that she didn't think he could. Not yet.

Inside the situation was a lot different than she'd figured. There was a vast table, one set for dozens of people. They were led to another room to wait, and one presumed mingle, though no one exactly told her what she was supposed to be doing. Most of the people were huge, of course, marking them as nobles, or high level merchants. She did recognize Sara Debri at least, which gave her one friendly face to talk to, so she started to wander over in her direction. The woman was dressed in a nice, if slightly plain dress that was all black and a little tight across the chest, and rear, but seemed to be that way on purpose, since it was clearly magical clothing, not an actual outfit.

"Hello!" Tiera tried for cheery, even though most of the people in the place were a little gloomy for some reason, including the woman in front of her. It was odd, but when she checked over her shoulder the entire group she was with had followed her, as if she were in charge. It wasn't that though. She understood it almost instantly. Some of the others were just coming to connect with the blonde as well. Old friends it seemed.

Petra moved in for a hug, keeping her cheek well away from Sara's, so that their make-up wouldn't smudge, even though at least the ship's Captain didn't have any on. Karen did something similar and Kolb actually pounded her on the back a bit. David held back, but bowed to her and Timon...

He just looked a bit sad and nodded his head.

That
was a shock, since as far as she knew they were friends. Or at least Tim had been pursuing her for years, looking to get married. Since the first time they met practically. Sara was too old for him, except that wasn't really true, was it? If Karen was seriously trying to tell her that Sir Kolbrin was a good candidate for
her
, then Miss Debri shouldn't turn her nose up at her little brother. After all the ages were a lot closer there. Sara was what, twenty-two or so? Ten years older than he was, but at thirty that would hardly matter and by sixty no one would care. Of course he'd still look about fourteen, so it would seem pretty strange to most people, but that was just what they had to deal with. She'd have the same problem eventually.

Sara nodded back to the boy, looking a little hurt for some reason. Whatever had happened there, it didn't seem to have been all her fault. Or at least she wasn't acting like it.

Tiera covered by moving in for a hug herself, since they'd met before. She didn't seem to recognize her though.

"I'm..." She looked confused, but Karen patted her on the back.

"Tiera Baker? She's at Lairdgren now. Fighter's section and maths, as unlikely as that combination seems." It came out as if it weren't something new, but rather what she'd been doing for years. That was nice, but wasn't exactly honest, was it?

David moved in alongside of her, and she wasn't expected to speak, so at least there was that. It meant she wasn't making anyone else mad at her at least, even if she wasn't the center of attention. That actually seemed to be Sara for now, since it seemed that her tour was almost done in the military. She'd signed up a few years before, but only for two years, which was standard.

The woman seemed happy about it, if a little lost.

"So I don't have a lot to do. Next week I'm out, and need to find some work. I guess I'll go into the family business. Maybe see about setting up some new contracts with other lands? You can get me in touch with the right people, can't you Timon?" She went still then, as if expecting him to lash out at her, but he just nodded and seemed to be thinking.

"Austra and Soam I think. I'm not welcome in Afrak anymore. We could possibly see if some of the other lands have things to trade as well. We have to barter for the most part, but if it's done cleverly there are things that can be done. No currency exchanges are available yet. Denno Brown in Austra is trying for one, but so far that's not going very quickly."

She blushed a little and looked down at the floor.

"Really? You'd do that?"

Timon seemed a little flat for a bit but spoke calmly, his voice sounding a bit bored by the whole thing already.

"Of course. We're friends, aren't we?"

That was something that Tiera had picked up from other places already, so she understood what it really meant to him, and that Sara likely didn't have a clue. By their rules, the ones the Baker family had grown up with, being friends was a sacred duty. It meant giving everything you had to another person, if the need arose. The Capital didn't have that as far as she knew. Timon
had
to help her, but, to her it was him going a lot further than even a boy that was interested in her ever would.

It probably seemed like he was trying to get her into bed then. Or maybe even do something more than that.

Everyone else seemed to think that was the case it seemed, but Tiera nodded at them both, showing her support. Someone had to after all.

"Let me know when it's needed and I'll help fly goods around on my off days. You two can pay me. I have to buy my own food after all."

That got the tale of why that was to be told, by Kolb, since he'd been there. When he said the words it made her sound like an overblown hothead instead of someone that had been truly wronged, until he got to the last words at least.

"If the boy had spit in my food he probably wouldn't have knees by tomorrow, so he seems to be getting off with more gentleness than I would have allowed for. Still, once one does it, someone else is far more likely to follow along. Best to seek preventative measures, as Tiera is doing."

He didn't mention why the kitchen boy had done it, or that he was likely a student there, on his kitchen rotation. They each had to take turns at it. Hers just hadn't come around yet. They didn't cook the food, they just served it and washed the platters used. After this she doubted that anyone would want to eat when her turn came, even though she'd die before ruining food like that. Food had to be clean and wholesome and making it less than that was a crime that deserved at least a solid beating. Probably several.

She didn't mention it, but Sir Kolbrin did.

"I don't have that particular student in my section however. We'll have to see what the Headmaster has in store for him. I can't imagine it will be fun. If one student has to fear such things, then many others will no doubt pick up on the idea. I don't doubt that most won't be eating there in the next few days." He didn't seem to think it was funny, and no one else laughed either, even though it was clearly a minor enough thing.

Listening to adults speak about it kind of showed that pretty clearly. Not that it wasn't gross, just that the whole thing, her making mistakes and then having to fix them, it wasn't all that important, was it? No, to these people it was just idle discussion, to explain her shopping habits.

It did bail Timon out however, and he gave her a look that seemed to say that he got the idea, even if the others didn't. He hadn't been suggesting that Sara do anything with him at all. Then, after what that evil witch Countess Alan had done to him, he wouldn't. She didn't know it all, but Timon had called it rape and flat out said he'd been being tortured at the time. It was a bad enough thing that she would have flown to this Countess' home and killed her directly, except she was already dead. Timon had done it.