Chapter 93: The Second Dose

Chapter 93: The Second Dose

Breakfast was a private affair, in the sense that everyone was privately pretending that all was well. Orin was pretending he hadnt had to grip the back of his chair a moment, steading himself for the task of sitting down. The Lady was pretending that little conversation from last night had never happened. As was Aaron, less successfully. And the servants The servants were pretending something, but Aaron didnt know what, except that all the enclavers about the castle were the most polite and deferential that Aaron had ever seen. It didnt suit them. None of this suited anyone. But the lords and ladies kept eating, and the enclavers kept serving, and there was the click of serving trays being set down and of silverware against plates, and the murmurings of polite conversation all about. Good morning, lovely weather, how excellent that the fields were sprouting and the dragon attacks ebbing; this would all be over soon.

No one asked the king whether he was looking forward to going home.

And the Lady smiled across the table at Aaron, as pleasant as ever.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Aaron ate a little faster. Disappeared a few more things into his pockets, just in case. His fingers brushed the smooth surface of the bezoar. Bezoars were only good for one poisoning, werent they? Hed brought significantly more than one poisonings worth of ingredients north with him. All safely stored in the Ladys rooms, now. Hed seen her Death through the window this morning, down on the rocky beach below the castles cliff, holding her blue dress up as she hopped over rocks and waves and seals that never saw her. Shed stopped to speak once, to the Death of one of those small gray whales that seemed always to be smiling,the kind that could come right up near shore in the same waters people swam in. People not including Aaron; it was abundantly clear to him that he wasnt an ocean creature. The Lady herself was in a dress of whiteor possibly argentand no closer to dying than shed been last night.

Orin ate exactly his usual amount, and not a spoonful more. He remained sitting while the table was cleared. Happily for him, the dining hall in the Held Lands frequently doubled as a meeting hall. And so it could be written up as convenience rather than weakness that had him holding his morning court without the need to stand. Or walk. The nobles here were concerned with increased griffin sightings and, less subtly, with how many trade agreements they could get His Majesty to sign before the man was physically unable to do so.

Subtlety was a subject much on Aarons mind as he continued sitting a scant few spots down from the Lady, his leg jittering under the table.

Have you plans this morning? his sister asked him, voice low, as a negotiation which concerned neither of them continued. She asked it very casually. A bit too casually, but seeing a trap didnt mean understanding its workings.

Im at His Majestys leisure, Aaron hedged back, in his own whisper.

Excellent, she said, deliberately glancing about the meeting from which Orin would not soon escape. Then youve time to begin your sword lessons.

Ah, there it was.

How generous, Aaron replied. Followed immediately by, No thank you.

No thanks necessary.

Actually, whispered Rose, I require his presence for a tour of this place.

Im sure my brother can show you around in the afternoon, Adelaide said.

Im quite sure Ill need my cousin all day.

Shes absolutely right, Aaron said, and stood. Rose hastily followed suit, her chair squeaking on the floor. The talks briefly halted, a great deal of important-seeming people turning to look at this interruption, but hed never yet met a social nicety he couldnt step over.

And so they escaped their respective siblings. Even if Aarons problem was being wanted too much, and hers was rather the opposite.

They began their tour outside. There wasnt much to see, but Rose looked at it all like she was taking down notes in her mind. Apparently this hadnt just been a pretense. She stared at the aging long houses set in their rows, each clearly constructed around the same time as the rest. And patched where theyd been damagedmostly by firethe woodwork turning each house into a calico whose history was in its spots.

Why is it so quiet? Rose asked.

The adults are out in the fields.

Where are the children?

In the fort. Most live inside it, I believe.

Why dont they all live in these? Or all in the fort, instead?

A security risk, I imagine, he said, and she was smart enough not to ask to whom. She didnt even glance at the guards on the wall, any more than was polite.

Is their school in the fort, as well? she asked.

Not sure they have a school.

They did, as it turned out, have a school. Rose insisted upon finding it. It was a one-room classroom built into the fort, currently occupied by a handful of young children and their teacher.

Oh yes, of course, the man said. The tuition is very reasonable. Much subsidized, you know; our lord provides scholarships for all who want to learn. Well, those whose families truly cant afford it. Most would rather have their children working, though. We dont get many that come for more than their basic letters. Just enough for most jobs, and then theyre pulled out. A shame; just a shame.

Im just trying to help.

And very helpful, your family has always been.

Aaron edged a bit farther from the two of them as their spat continued. The weaponsmith joined him. He slipped her Johns latest letter under the workbench; she accepted it.

Theyve made arrests, the smith said, her voice soft under the nearby squabbling. Anything you can do about that?

Are they to be executed? Aaron asked.

I gather that executions are considered tasteless, with your kings situation. I give it until your lot leave.

Noted, Aaron said.

Hours later, the princess was still not over her verbal defeat.

And then he said, The Held Lands are grateful for your aid.

Lochlann had as much to say to this as Aaron did. Or as Rose had, in the moment. Now she was pacing her room, as if it had been the floor to offend her.

I want to learn their language, she said.

They dont speak it, either, the lieutenant said. Its illegal.

One of those was certainly true.

Why? she asked.

The griffins are not our allies, Your Highness.

Theyre not griffins; theyre our people.

One of those, as well.

And isnt that a further reason to learn their language? she continued. I want to to understand them, to show Irespect them, to be taken seriously.

Speaking the language wont stop them from clubbing you while your back is turned, Aaron put in.

This was taken as hypothetical by the princess. The good lieutenant leveled a look upon him, but Aaron didnt elaborate.

That night, King Orin took his second dose. He tried to bar his sister from attending once more, but shed a day of frustrations in need of venting. And so she watched him put the cup to his own lips, and drink. And if she left the room shaking with more anger than when shed entered, well. Sometimes that was what getting your wish was like.

Aaron waited in the hallway again. Without the Lady or her Death, this time. He sat in the window seat, and stroked down the back of the calico cat, who was staring out the window with a body tensed for pouncing and the occasional string of murderous chirps coming from her mouth.

There were griffins out there, white shadows under the moonlight, circling far outside of the range of the ballistae. Circling the castle. Aaron watched, and pet a cat who didnt know how small she was compared to those overgrown birds.

Some of their Deaths flew with them. The little calico could see them; she made just as many aborted lunges towards them as she did their wards. The kaibyou had been able to see Deaths, as well. Were griffins cat enough to see who flocked with them?

His Majesty emerged from his rooms with the second letter for Connor. Aaron stepped forward to take it.

...Did you forget something? Orin asked.

Aaron stopped looking over the mans shoulder. Just checking, he said, and didnt elaborate.

No Deaths were near His Majesty tonight. Only Jeshinkra, guarding his door.