Ancient Kings (The Young Ancients) (29 page)

"She... She's a Doretta, everyone says so. If we're friends with her that's the same as saying
we
are too." She didn't seem happy about the pronouncement at least and Tiera only rolled her eyes, instead of answering the accusation with fists.

The problem there was that he had no real clue what to do about the situation. His sister had messed up a bit, he'd heard, but that had been corrected as well as it could be already and so publically that everyone knew it too. She'd apologized and been
beaten
for it in public. What more did people want from her?

Tor almost sputtered, but found Cordes taking over his mouth instead, sounding calm and collected. There was a strong sense that said he was sorry for doing it at the same time at least, but that didn't
stop
him at all.

 "Fine. Tiera, take this girl to a room and have sex with her. I'll stay up and help, sorry, what's your name dear?" He waited politely for the rather miserable looking girl to rally enough to speak.

"Demis, sir." She looked to be about sixteen or so, and had no reason to call him sir, but Cordes didn't pause at all, just nodding.

"That's a pretty name. I'll aid Demis in her project and you can prove that you've well and truly fixed that Doretta thing. Go. Sherri can help us here. Unless you plan to join them?" The words sounded a lot less like himself than normal and he thought everyone would get that, but the girls all just looked a bit uneasy suddenly and Tiera...

She just nodded.

"Right. Good plan. Come on then. I can't claim I'm any good, but I can do enough to show my intent is in the right place." She actually took the mean seeming girl by the hand and pulled her away. Tor noticed that she didn't protest at all though.

Sherri stayed seated and didn't say anything until they cleared the door.

"That..." After a bit she smiled and looked at Tor and then Demis. "It's a
good
plan, really. If she willingly takes a turn with anyone wanting to claim she's a Doretta it should shut people up soon enough. They can't even say no, or
they'll
look the Doretta themselves. Even better, anyone she sleeps with will be obligated to defend her against such charges afterward, knowing they aren't true, first hand. I thought you were more of a prude than that though. Ali always said you were." She blushed and slapped a hand to her mouth as Demis let her eyes pop open pretty wide.

Tor just winked at her.

"Pretty much, but that won't get the baking done. Do we have everything we need?" He got up to start searching for things, which had the topic changed after a few moments.

Sherri hopped up, glad of the distraction it seemed, and showed him where everything was kept. It was her kitchen after all, he realized. Organized to her standards and expectations. A bit odd that she was keeping it in his and Ali's house perhaps, but it was still the fact of the matter.

They needed more flour, sugar and oil, as well as some eggs. Tor darted up the stairs and got his coin purse, filling it mainly with silver, since what they needed wouldn't be that expensive really, and took the two girls along with him, which if nothing else allowed him to escape the fact that he'd practically ordered his sister to go off alone with another girl. Cordes had done it, but it would be impossible to tell anyone that and be believed.

For a second he just hoped that his mother would never find out, but then he realized that if she were there the woman might well have suggested the same thing herself. It was just so different than the act that he was used to from her. Two Bends Laurie Baker was just so different from Conserina Lairdgren that he forgot she wasn't really the person that he'd grown up with at all.

He made a point of buying a good stock of spices as well, since he was planning to set up a bit of a practice kitchen, he told Sherri, who nodded a lot, but didn't speak very much, until they were loading the floating trunk that he'd brought to carry everything. They'd just walked to the shops, since it wasn't far at all.

"I didn't mean... What I said earlier, it's just that... You don't entertain a lot of people and I asked Ali about it. She said that you... It's because of where you come from?" The words weren't very coherent, but Tor thought he understood what she meant.

"Pretty much. Right now though it's worse. I'm really embarrassed about it all, but it turns out that several women I was...
with
, are actually closely related to me. No one knew, because it isn't exactly a normal thing... Old techniques were used without anyone knowing about it, I think. So right now I'm pretty much afraid to be with any women at all. I'm not into men that way either. So not only am I a prude, like you said, but also afraid that any women I touch right now will turn out to be my daughter or cousin." He shuddered a bit as they walked out the door of the dry goods shop. He paid what the man behind the counter had asked for, instead of haggling about the price, since he wanted the shop keep to get in more of what he wanted. Especially the soft cake flour from Ross. That was expensive, but couldn't be beaten as far as texture went.

Demis dimpled at him then. She was taller than he was by about six inches already, but was under six feet tall. She had slightly red hair and dusky skin that probably meant she was related to the Cordes family somehow.

"That happens though. Don't let it worry you overly. You can get over your fear by having sex with me later, after you help me make something that isn't too horrible for Instructor Hendrix I mean. I haven't turned in even one thing so far this year that she was happy with."

Tor nodded.

"We can't though, not today at any rate. You'll be too tired after taking a turn with my sister. You too Sherri. I guess it's one way to keep her busy, even if mother will probably have me beaten for it later." Or more likely his father would, really. He'd just have to take it though.

The tall smiling girl put her hand on his arm gently.

"Alright. But soon? Unless you're putting me off. I can see that, what with your recent hardships. Still, if Sherri get's to sleep with you and still call you a prude, I should get to as well."

That got the sandy blonde Baronetta to blush at least.

"Um, I..." She looked away then, back toward the large brown and gold chest that floated after them, following along as if it were a puppy and they had meat.

Tor shrugged.

"Well, that's a good point. I am really a bit worried that we'll turn out to be related. You're right though, I can't live in fear. Later though? I've been up for over a week. If it wasn't so important for you to have a good product in the morning I'd just go to bed directly."

They chattered for a bit, with the girls actually looking a bit concerned, which, it turned out had to do with their petty concerns keeping him up, since they realized what he'd been doing. It wasn't a secret, but everyone knew it really couldn't be done. Only he
had
.

It reminded him to do something though, and he stepped into the little flower shop on the way back, to get a basket of them for his wife. He'd have to go and look her up, but he was almost certain she was in classes still. It was a school day and so was the next, which would mean she'd be in her room on campus, if she wasn't entertaining someone in their own space. Or just as likely now, doing copy work
or
planning her next building project.

The truth was none of those, since she was sitting at the kitchen table when they got back, her face looking a bit pensive, eating a roll from the uncovered tray.

"Tor!" She fairly tackled him, ignoring the basket of flowers so she could kiss him instead. It went on for a long time, until she had to break off to breathe. "I'd thought that you'd gone off to the Capital to deliver the amulets you were making, or one of the other lands. Are you staying for a bit?" She looked at him, her face worried then.

Until he handed her the flowers.

"I am. Tiera and I are opening a free baking school here. Or another facility, if there are enough people coming in for it. I have some work to do in the mornings, but most of my time should be free for a while. At least in theory. Right now Demis needs to get some dough started. Remaking those rolls. Sherri and I will turn that into a sweet bread pudding, since they didn't turn out to expectations." It was one way to salvage them after all. It was why they'd gotten so many eggs.

Ali didn't seem to care about that, smelling her flowers instead.

"These are lovely! Thank you honey... I'll get some water for them." There was a small pot inside the basket for that after all. She only had to travel about six steps for that, to get to the faucet, so it didn't take long.

While she was at it Tiera and the other girl came down into the room, both clearly a little flushed looking. Ali got what that meant and seemed a bit surprised, her eyes going wide.

"Uh..."

Tor just patted Sherri on the back then, smiling. It was Cordes's idea, but he really didn't want to seem like a prude either, did he?

"Sherri next then. We need Demis down here for a bit." To his slight surprise the girl got up and took Tiera's hand, both of them leaving the room without saying anything.

The girl that had called his sister a Doretta looked at them all and nodded a bit abstractly. She just went and washed her hands, then turned to look at them.

"What should I do?"

Ali settled the flowers next to the rolls on the table and gestured at them, adapting faster than Tor would have if he didn't know what was going on.

"Bread pudding?" That wasn't a hard dish and while the girl needed a little instruction, she followed along well. Tor didn't have to do anything much at all to begin with, except making sure Demis kept paying attention. It was clear that was her main problem, not lack of other skills. She got sidetracked easily and that led to her forgetting to check on her timing. The dough had to be punched down at the right time and then rolled, with the filling on it. She worked hard, but wanted to chatter while she did it, which was fine, except that she didn't have any technique set up to get her back on task.

"Make sure you have everything ready to go." He was basically just saying the same thing, over and again, but at least she didn't take offense at it.

When they were letting the rolls rise for the second time, Tiera and Sherri came back. Demis just smiled, but didn't try to leave the room or anything. She had work to do after all.

Ali smiled at Tiera and then waved at the others.

"Making friends then? That's a good plan. I've been worried about you."

"Tor's making me do it." She grinned at least and winked at the first girl. "Not that it wasn't fun. Surprising though. Is that Cordes then?"

Tor tilted his head, but saw no reason to lie about it, not if she'd already guessed. After all, if the Ancient King tried to take over all the time, Tiera would probably have to be one of the people killing him to stop that.

"Yes. It's not a horrible idea though, I don't think. Sherri thinks it will work at any rate. Now you only have what, two hundred more people to go?" That was an overstatement, since the school didn't have that many students, but it got her to nod a bit anyway.

Ali stood up then, smiling herself.

"Oh? We
all
get a turn? About time. I always thought you were cute, but Timon said I shouldn't sleep with any of Tor's family members. If it's
mandatory
though, what can we do?" She said it so cutely that Tor nearly just let her, but then the girl laughed and hugged him instead. "Don't worry, I'm just teasing you, Tor. I know better, honest." She kissed him though and it had all the effects that it should have had. He was tired, but he seriously considered dragging her off to the bedroom then. She was his wife after all. The only problem there was that he wasn't certain she wasn't a relative too. It wasn't likely though, he reminded himself, so he decided to risk it.

After the rolls came out, which would be about an hour and ten minutes later. Which would mean her getting back to the room late. The school didn't have a strict curfew, but students were required to be in their rooms at night. Looking around he nodded.

"That's right. For the moment, you should come with me though. We have to hurry a bit I'm afraid... Or, really, not so much if Tiera will stay here and make certain the rolls get finished?" Demis wasn't that bad after all, she just needed someone to make certain she didn't forget her task.

That meant he had his wife in bed not five minutes later, naked and giggling. It was a good thing that he'd made other arrangements, because they didn't head down the stairs for nearly an hour and a half, having done a lot of things he'd feel guilty about later if it turned out the genetics of the situation were wrong. It had been fun at the time though. He'd been away from her for too long though, what with one thing and another.

Tiera was gone when he got back, but Demis was still there, helping Sherri make a light meal, since they'd missed going off to the dining hall. For all her lack of attention earlier, the girl knew not to add the icing until the product had cooled.

"Did the other girl escape?" Tor didn't know her name but Sherri nodded as she worked, her focus on the sauce she was making. It had an egg base, and smelled like beef gravy, but wasn't something he actually recognized. It was meant to compliment a roast though, since Sherri clearly had a strange idea of what a light meal was.