It felt low and un-trusting of him, but then… it was.
So at least there was that.
On a whim Tor stopped at the bakery door and went in. He probably didn't look that different, though his clothes had been made green, they reflected a simple silk look that was at once expensive looking and plain enough that no one would think he robbed a young Countier or something.
The woman behind the counter looked up with a smile but clearly didn't recognize him at first. On the wall there was a temperature control plate and the whole interior had been redecorated, with lights all around and Tor noticed, a new door, expanding into the shop next door? Cool! The little shop was growing then. He felt a little better, since last King’s week he'd run off and left her in a bit of a lurch, which wasn't fair of him at all. He'd left her some money and some field devices to make up for it, and sent some later with the lights, but it had left a bad taste in his mouth at the time, even through the rest of the misery he'd felt. That she'd made do… it made things easier.
Tor smiled and poked his head into the space next door, which had an empty glass topped display case for goods and some tables where customers could sit and eat in the cool, several people were busy using it for that at the moment. It was a good idea. Not everyone could afford their own temperature plates, or knew him to get personal ones to wear, but for the price of a roll they could get out of the heat for a while here.
There was a stirring behind him, a rustle of fabric and a scent of vanilla before he turned around.
“The magical Tor devices are all sold sir, but we do have some baked goods…” Her voice was diffident, but Tor smiled when he turned.
Right, so she had a store front for magical devices, but was all out? That could be fixed. He wondered if she'd take the same sales deal that Ethyl and Clark had. Without preamble Tor mentioned it, her face looking shocked as she put it all together.
“Tor! I…” He found himself wrapped in a hug, or at least her arms tried for it, she stood back eyes wide, but not commenting on the shield.
“I never thought to see you again! How are you?” The voice was worried, but not scared.
Debbie still reminded him of his older sister Terlee, straight black hair, thin, but not raw boned about it, and with brown eyes that looked happier now than they had last time. Her clothing was a good bit nicer too, but then his sister had started dressing the royal, which she was, so Debbie couldn't compete there, not yet.
“Right, well, so far it looks like I'm not kicked out of the city, though people keep trying to kill me since we last met. So, if you want I can bring some things for you to sell in a few days? Sooner if I get a chance to work. But well, palace stuff, you know? Who knows how that's going to go.” Tor grinned and looked down. “If they don't refuse me at the gate again, but right now I almost hope they do. I'll make up some things for you and come work in your bakery for King’s week. I mean if you'll have me of course, after the way I dodged out on you last time. I… feel really bad about that. I'm sorry.”
Tor wondered if he should kneel and beg forgiveness like some of the royals did when they really messed up, but Debbie didn't seem to require that of him, she snorted instead.
“Tor… you left me enough to keep me as a Princess for the rest of my life! If anyone should apologize it should be me for not realizing who you were sooner, I… sir…” She curtsied.
“Cut it out Debbie. I'm your employee or maybe, now, partner in half the shop? Without ownership of course, which makes you the boss still, so I'm pretty sure you don't curtsy to me at all. If anything I should bow to you, but I won't, because I think were good enough friends to skip all that. Right?”
Tor got a beef hand pie and ate it there before saying his goodbyes and heading out to the palace to face Smythe. It was funny but that was the part that worried him now. If Varley couldn't, or no longer wanted to, marry him he'd deal. After all, he had experience with bad relationships now.
The military minister, that was a different horse all together. Normally he'd have left him blind and crippled, just for his own safety, possibly even suggested he be removed far off to a country estate where it would be harder to plot against him. Even if he had to pay for it himself. Tor wouldn't put a blind man in prison though and wouldn't suggest it. He'd been blind for a bit. It was its own prison. You could deal with it, but it made greater punishment too much.
It was scary to him anyway. Smythe was needed, for the Wards to feel comfortable if nothing else, and possibly for everyone else too as well. But Tor still shook a little at the idea of facing the evil man again.
Chapter ten
The gate guard recognized him at least, though Tor still had to wait for someone to come and confirm it was him. It was a good safety procedure, he had to admit. What if he was just made up to look like Tor? It wouldn't be that hard to find a short man, or even a boy, with black hair and pale skin, and the guards probably didn't know him so well that something like that might not fool them. He'd worked with Debbie for three whole days and she hadn't gotten who he was immediately, so having him vetted just made sense.
Normally Varley had the job, and once or twice he'd seen Karina do it, but today Rolph came out, smiling.
“Tor! There you are. We've been expecting you for days now, ever since Varley got back. Come in, come in. Oh…” The gate guard hadn't moved out of the way.
“I confirm this is Master Tor, Torrance Baker. The Builder. Troll of Galasia and font of wonderfulness. Cutie of the masses and all around great guy.”
Laughing, the guard got out of the way. Royal Guards creeped Tor out sometimes. Most of the time if he was honest about it. They'd smile and laugh at a joke, sometimes even bad jokes and seemed to really mean it, but if Tor had moved to hit Rolph or even hug him too fast, the guard would have done everything he could to stop him, and barring being able to do that would have fought to the death so that the Prince could run away. If they weren't collectively the best fighters in the kingdom it was only because of the new group Kolb had started and that they were better armed. Well, really, that he'd had Kolb start. The point was that Tor really didn't want to have to fight them if he could help it. Then he didn't want to fight anyone, if it was at all possible.
They walked in chatting, Tor updating the Prince quickly as to what had happened, not leaving much out. He added the stuff with Trice, but left out that he knew she was faking it, in case of listeners. He did add that he was seeing Petra and Collette and that he'd be a little upset if Rolph stole them both away with his good looks and princely charms. Not that both weren't worth trying to steal, he added, trying to be playful, just that Rolph could get a lot of women if he wanted…
“Um, sure I can. All the serving girls from the palace that I want. Except that most of them are either way to old, or far too young for me. Or men, which isn't my thing, not mainly, though a few here are starting to look kind of cute… At least when I was at Wilderness Station I had Sara around. She won't even visit with me now you know, too worked up about you leaving. Thinks I made you leave, which isn't fair really. What was I supposed to do, order you to stay around a bunch of people you'd just been fighting with? You were fresh off a combat rage the day before, and already been fighting that day again, the whole thing could have gone lethal in an instant. Displace hundreds of people so that your bruised ego wouldn't hurt so much? I mean, you weren't wrong. It is your house and you still own it, but I couldn't order all those men, vital to the war effort, out into the wastelands to fend for themselves. Even if I did kind of want to at the time. Jerks.”