“At the same time you, personally, are needed for the common defense and that, if I understand correctly means working undisturbed? Given everything, I think you should delegate some of these tasks. Visit with Ward first, as that is a matter of honor, then establish a working base and send others out to do most of these things for you. Hire a man to manage the school funds and scholarships for instance. That should leave you at least slightly more time to work.”
It was a plan, a good one, but he didn't know how to make it all happen. He didn't want to work out of the palace and didn't have a home to go back to, did he? The military had taken it over. A wave of despair came over him then, which turned into anger. He had to close his eyes and calm himself before he could even think correctly. When he opened his eyes, everyone else was across the room looking worried.
“What?” Tor said, his tongue a bit thick feeling suddenly.
Trice giggled, earning a glare from the room.
“What were you just thinking about?” She said as if it made sense as a question. The tone was serious for all that she was smiling at him.
“Um, the military taking over my house. It's kind of ticking me off. I mean, I was thinking of it as mine, but apparently no one else did. Oh well, I guess I just need to start over somewhere, when I get a chance. I don't need much, but well, later. There's too much to do right now for me to whine about things, right?”
Everyone nodded, though Kevin was starting to back out of the room. Everyone else held their ground well enough. Had he looked that ticked off? Wow, he must seem deranged for people to respond like that. He apologized and closed his eyes, seeking as much calm as he could muster. After all, if he was acting like a jerk or something, or looked crazy, he needed to fix it. After about five minutes he opened his eyes, only to find that everyone else had sat and was staring at him with similar funny expressions on their faces.
“Ah… I wasn't in a thinking trance or anything. If I'm supposed to produce a brilliant plan or something now, you're all out of luck. Well, I think that Kevin had some good ideas. He can be in charge of the school stuff. Holly, would you see that he's paid fairly for his work on that? I should focus on getting the ball rolling in the poison investigation, if the King doesn't have that underway already. If that isn't overstepping what I'm supposed to do I mean. Other than that, well anyone have an idea of where I can go to set up a base for this? I'd rather not stay with the Wards, before anyone suggests that. It would look a little bit like favoritism or something. Same with staying in Printer or Thorgood, even though none of those have been offered. The Capital, well, could I rent something in town maybe? Or… buy some land do you think? I can build fast enough. It doesn't even have to have water on it. I don't know…”
Tilting her blond head, her slightly large nose and full lips giving her face a lot of character, Holly blinked at him several times as if he was speaking a foreign language and finally started nodding. Without getting up she reached over, a large lean across the table, and put her shielded hand over his own.
“Tor… You just went into a combat rage. The aura… how did you stay so calm?” She sounded impressed, and a little scared.
Petra grinned.
“I've seen him do it before, when we were in bed together at Count Thompson's. I'd told him about some of the lies Maria had spread about him three years ago, before she left school and he did something similar. I thought he was going to kill me at first, but he just sat and closed his eyes like that and it went away. I think it's because of all the building work he does, the discipline letting him control himself, even when pushed like that. I don't know for a fact though.” She smiled and him, her white teeth flashing in smooth dark skin.
“If it is the case then I want to learn building too. Could you imagine the power a warrior would have if they could learn to harness the rage like that? Targeting things on purpose, not just lashing out?”
It made sense and felt right, but Tor didn't really know. Varley looked a little put off by it, so he tried to set her at ease, telling her that he was fine now, and forcing a smile. He really was too. His head felt a little stuffed, reaction to having been in a combat rage, but he'd live. It was just a thing after all. She made some non-committal statement about it, but obviously still seemed worked up. Tor couldn't see why, but Trice did.
“Hey, Varley, don't go blaming Tor there, it wasn't him being indiscreet, that one was all Petra. Who really should know better… Tor's the guy from the country that doesn't know all the rules, not her.” The glance she gave the dark girl was amused, not upset at least.
Petra smiled and looked around playfully.
“Oh! I guess I phrased that one wrong didn't I? I haven't had sex with Tor yet at all. I was on guard duty, sort of, and was sitting on his bed so that we could be under the silence field thing of his while we talked, that's all, which is why I didn't try to hide that part. Totally innocent.” Then she licked her lips seductively while dropping her chin and making her eyes go half hooded, an overdone thing that made her previous, and totally true, words seem like a lie.
Everyone else at the table laughed. Tor just shook his head and asked if anyone knew what that stuff for combat rage reaction was called, and where he could find some? He added, while they were at it, if someone could get him a guidebook that explained the silly rules of the nobles, so he didn't start a war or wake up one night with Varley trying to trim off body parts that he'd barely gotten to use, just because someone made an offhand comment? No one laughed at him for saying it, but then they wouldn't, not with him having just been showing combat aura.
Holly went to see about the first part, but everyone else just chuckled gently, awkwardly not making eye contact with him, watching her leave. Right, he was helpless and clueless little Tor. He wanted to raise an eyebrow at them all, but had never actually mastered doing that. Instead he just sighed dramatically and tried to look much put upon. It was close enough to reality so he thought he probably did a good job.
Varley started talking to him and wasn't being all cold or standoffish, so she must have accepted Petra's statement. That or the whole thing had been a game for her to begin with. From the way everyone else reacted he kind of thought that might have been the case.
“Easy enough, we'll get Rolph to lease you some of the Wildlands on an indefinite basis. When you set that river up that you told us about, you can run it past your new house, so water won't be a problem. Rolph said you could build easily enough with that new compression device and earth moving equipment? That way you'll “own” it as much as anyone owns anything and can use it for anything you like. Maybe even your own school? Definitely get enough for your own town at least. “Torville” or maybe “Torington”? Both would be within the normal naming conventions I think, don't you?” The Princess knew one thing about Tor at least, and it was how very much he hated everything he made being referred to as the “Tor” whatever. She was teasing him he realized after a bit, feeling slow and stupid. He smiled at her and smothered a yawn. It wasn't a real one either, just being meant to show how boring he thought the teasing was.
She chuckled and looked at him sweetly. Then yawned for real, which got him to yawn back.
Holly brought him a carafe of brown sludge that tasted like the bottom of a shoe, or at least he imagined that to be the case, and along with that she brought a thick brown leather bound book, one that just said “Manners” on the front in faded black ink. Amazingly, Tor realized as soon as he opened it, the book actually told him a lot of what he needed to know.