“Don't worry Ger! Tor won't put you or Gemma to work there. Alphie just meant that you could use their services, when you got a little older, that's all. Well, unless you want to work there, then that would be all right I guess…” She teased a bit, getting knowing nods from the other royals. Tor snorted.
“Not until they're at least fifteen though, for working there at least and then only on school breaks. If you want to spend your money that way, that's up to you, or I suppose you could trade work with some of the women if you wanted, in exchange… But as to working there, I have different plans. Those being almost anything else you want to do that doesn't make my little country bred mind spin in circles. We'll get with Connie and your sister later and work out what you two actually might like to try.”
And, Tor decided, see that any relatives they had might be informed and kept in the loop. For all he knew some aunt or uncle would want them to go into the family business. The kids seemed smart enough from what he'd seen after all. Which wasn't, admittedly, very much. The Queen announced that everyone should present themselves at dinner to see to it. Connie like to do that, set up dinner meetings. It gave her an excuse to have extra ceremony or something. That, entertaining and such, was really her job as Queen, it seemed unimportant at first, but once you realized how much everything in the kingdom hinged on people not having ruffled feathers and feeling like they were important… well, it was probably as crucial as anything the King did, if in a very different way.
That gave them several hours, which for Tor meant just enough time to wash up and put out two hundred more devices, shields and flying rigs this time, just to keep things slightly fresh. Doing only one kind of thing without stopping would eventually wear on his own field, which couldn't work, because he was a person, not a shield. Do that too often and it would just kill you. It was covered on the second day of school even. It wasn't really that dangerous, but it was something to keep in mind pushing like he was.
Ger wanted to stand guard at the door, but Tor sent him to look up his sister as soon as Holly and Ursala came in, since they could keep the wolves at bay he assured the boy, both being Countesses and all that. Ger looked at Holly and, obviously remembering her practice earlier, nodded. Not a lot would be coming through her, Tor agreed.
Ursala, tall and blond, leaner now than he'd ever seen her, though not skinny at all, let her eyes follow Ger as he bowed himself out of the room in best servant fashion.
“Cute kid. Are we assigned a page then finally?”
“No, that’s Tor's new ward and possibly future Squire. There's a girl too. Orphans, the last of their immediate family being killed by the Austran attack. The cook that led the servants against that Larval assassin? Anyway, we just need to get your signature and the kids can both be squires, we already have Thomson, which will make their lives a lot easier I dare say. No orphanage for them. Already offered surety towards any schooling they want by Master Tor here. Plus the kid knocked around Count Morris earlier. Tried to imply Tor and he were lovers. Turned out to be a mistake. If he's going to do things like that the boy is going to need to be at least a Squire. Really, we should get with the King on that tonight, in case Morris gets in a snit over what happened earlier. We don't need a potential fighter like him executed just to keep the likes of Morris happy. Not with a war on.”
For some reason all that earned him a warm hug from Ursala. And a kiss. Then a little more than that, until Holly started to chuckle darkly.
“Not to break up your fun, but we should be getting ready for dinner, we're all supposed to be present tonight to discuss this and see what the kids want to do. You could probably dodge it of course, but since they're like as not going to be your side-range step kids, after a fashion, I'd think you'd want to be there.”
With a soft smile Ursala moved to get ready, helping Holly as needed and vice versa. Normally they'd have dedicated palace servants, if they didn't have their own, but the place was so crowded that they'd opted to do without. It would leave someone to attend to older people that needed the help more than they did. Holly was used to field conditions she'd said, and Ursala was too, in a way, living in a little hut with Tor and the others. They didn't really have servants at all. Just a tiny prostitute that brought their meals in sometimes.
Tor was already more or less dressed, except for shoes, so he made one last batch of shields. Flying rigs may be neat, but fighting forces only needed so many flying warriors it seemed. All of the military wanted shields though. That and lights. He'd have to start on those too again soon, and weapons. Really he was waiting on that last part though, until he could talk with the King, and maybe Rolph, alone about it. The Prince was, of course, vital to the war effort. If anything should happen to the King, he was in charge and no one wanted a six month training period for him to get up to speed while Austra hammered the kingdom back to the cataclysm. They hadn't really attacked in force yet, but they had some boats off the coast harrying fishing vessels at times. Mainly name calling so far for some reason. They'd take advantage of a vulnerability though.
Who wouldn't?
Besides, Rolph was smart, it would be stupid not to get his advice.
At dinner a lot more people showed up than he'd expected. For some reason half of them were people from his house, well, Wildlands Station, which was a lot more than a single dwelling now, but he hadn't known they'd be coming for dinner. For that matter, given the plain and practical dress that most of them wore, it didn't look like they'd known they were coming either.
It fell to Rolph to make the introductions, because, like Tor, he knew everyone at the table by name and was the highest ranked person that did, so the job was his by tradition.
“So, introductions! This is an exciting group of people all around, first let’s do the boring people, and by that I mean the ones that everyone probably knows, not that they’re any less than interesting. At the top of the table we have the King, Richard Cordes, next to him his lovely wife, my mother, Queen Constance Cordes, next to her is Tor, whom I think everyone here knows? No? Right, Gemma you haven't officially met yet. Then let me formally introduce Sir Torrence Baker, Countier four Lairdgren and probably one of the best people I've ever met. In case the title got missed by some, I'm Alphonse Cordes, in disguise right now, but they still let me be Prince for some reason, as well as a pin cushion in my spare time. Not a hobby I recommend taking up.
“Princess Veronica the fair is across from Gerald Cannor next to him his twin sister Gemma who's across from my lovely sister Princess Karina the-”
Trice snorted.
“Princess Karina quick cut.” She waived the stub of her left arm, gone at just below the elbow around the tan bandages standing out from her rather stark black clothes. Her voice was playful at least, which earned her a stuck out tongue from Karina.
Good.
Trice wasn't someone that could be coddled. She was tough as nails most of the time and willing to do anything to get a job done, but if you let her cry or feel sorry for herself she could go on for hours. Loudly. Better to not let her start. Once again Karina impressed Tor without knowing she did it. Varley was clearly a genius, but Karina had her moments of insight too.
Rolph glared at Trice a little.
“Really Trice, if you’re not going to be grateful to her, you should at least be afraid. Think about it.” He didn't smile about the words, but Tor did. It was a good point. Tor wouldn't have been able to cut her arm off like that. He would have frozen up… and let his friend die because of it.
“Anyway, next to Princess quick cut is Sir Martin Kolbrin, Knight of the realm,
Baron and a wickedly good weapons master, across from him Mercy Morgan, my aunt and Baroness Thorgood, then her husband Duke Eric Morgan. Across from him is Countess Ursala Thorgood, my good friend and next to her is Major Godfrey head of the military's focus stone manufacturing unit as well as co-inventor of the people moving transports along with Tor.