Looking around shiftily the Prince leaned in to him.
“If the guards here did that to me, I'd do the same thing… Only less effectively and probably end up dead, you know? Though part of that is that we have better quality guards here. Not just that I'm a wimp. Just so you understand of course.” Rolph gave him a half smile and tried to keep his face blank. It didn't really work too well and they both ended up chuckling a bit.
Ending up dead led to the topic of Smythe and how everyone wanted him for the investigation, which meant an audience with the King before Tor did anything, if only to buy him time to work his nerve up. Rolph didn't have to ask him what he meant by that at least. One of the benefits of being long term friends. They knew each other.
Before they went in to see the King, Tor dropped into a receptive state and held his focus as open as possible. It was… not a good thing to do, but he was getting tired of not knowing who to trust. The hard part would be keeping his reactions seeming normal and lively enough. Facial expressions became subdued in almost any trance state after all, body language too. Tor pulled his features into a small grin as he walked into the room, letting his smile grow larger when he saw the Queen, who looked at least as pretty as ever, even with her new short hair, that didn't really suit her at all.
Both of them were uneasy to see him, that was clear, it was also pretty easy to see that was about Varley and her being pregnant. Tor bowed a little to each, which he didn't normally do, but this wasn't a pleasure call, they needed to be alert to that or it would waste time. Tor wanted to waste time, true, but it wouldn't due to waste the King’s. He started right in, his breath catching as he did, trance state or not.
“The Wards think Smythe of Westend is their only hope, and when they heard he was left blind and crippled, they kind of gave up.” He sighed. “I need to talk to him I guess. I can't fix the hand, I could have at the time, but I was busy, you know? The eyes, well, I've done that. I think I can with him, if that's all right? He'll have to…” Tor shook his head, both the King and Queen was too surprised to speak.
They both thought he was going to call for his death.
That made Tor blink. He'd never thought to call for that at all. Would that have even worked? Not a real point now, was it?
“I don't know. Making him apologize means nothing. He wouldn't have done it if he didn't think it was important, right? But really, I don't want to die just yet, so if maybe he could lay off? I… fuck it.” Tor blinked realizing the language he'd just used in front of the Queen ducking his head he apologized.
“Sorry, I meant to say; fuck it, your majesties. Let my manners slip for a second there. Won't happen again.” The surprise got a chuckle from them both.
“I'll fix him if he wants it. We need to talk though, I guess, which I don't really want to do. The man hates me enough to want me dead after all. I have no idea how this conversations going to go. I think I'll leave him blind for it, so that I have a fighting chance if he freaks out on me. I guess I should get to that now?”
Rich looked at him and nodded, obviously feeling… proud? Of him? Why? Because he was willing to face his personal nightmare head on? No…
It was because he was letting go of the attempt on his life for the greater good. Heh, well, who wouldn't? No matter who you were, avoiding a war was worth more than your own safety, comfort, or even life. Even the Wards agreed with him on that score, how could he do less?
The feeling from Rolph was calm, and not at all surprised that Tor would do this. It was the kind of thing he expected from his friend. That made him smile a bit. Before he could ask for directions to where Smythe was staying Connie reluctantly raised her right hand a bit, then higher, trying to catch his attention, even though she really didn't want to say the words she had to, knowing it would hurt him more than a little. She projected this so loudly that Tor picked it up without half trying. So it was something she really thought of as important.
“There's been a change in plans regarding Varley's… and your engagement. It's nothing to do with you of course, but… well, we need to marry her to Count Peterson for political reasons… It's…”
He shrugged, which made her stop suddenly and stare.
“Because she's pregnant, it obviously isn't mine and you need a rather tall and dark skinned royal to fill in for the real father…” The pieces flowed together, the baby even felt like him, even though the idea nearly floored him. But an offer of a dalliance had been made, before the engagement, Varley had told him that the very first time they'd met to talk. At a public dinner no less, so it wasn't that secret or anything. She’d said that she'd refused, but royals lied. A lot. Like breathing for everyone else. Or maybe she'd just refused the last in a line of offers from the man? Ah… That could be it.
“Count Ward.” It wasn't a question, Tor knew it as much as he knew that the sun would rise in the morning or that, barring magic, things tended to fall down.
Well, freaking heck.
That got a reaction from the Prince, shock, surprise and rage. So he hadn't been in on it at least.
“What? He… he defiled my baby sister? I'll… I'll kill him!” He moved as if he was about to fly off to County Ward right then and there and do just that.
Tor put a hand out towards him and so did the Queen.
“She told you, did she?” The King said, not sounding overly amused, but not really angry. Not inside. He felt… worried.
The Queen’s eyes went huge, but she remained quiet and watched her son for signs of combat rage, which didn't happen. In a way, Rolph was within his brotherly rights by both Tor’s country logic and the rules of the nobles. Ward had no business doing anything with a Princess that could get her pregnant when he was already married. It was stupid and he should have known better. Even if he wanted to have her, he should have used precautions or not done it at all. How the man kept getting otherwise intelligent women pregnant Tor didn't know. If they were serving girls it would have been different. First Rolph's fiancee and then his little sister…
Oh.
Maria. How had she done it? Obviously by guiding her husband into things, that made sense. Tor explained the situation as gently as he could. It was… Insanely complex, but Maria had felt scorned by the Prince even though he hadn't done anything overly wrong by their rules, and humble apology to Tor or not, she'd never mentioned letting go of her personal campaign against Rolph. After all, he told them, in her mind the Prince was the evil Doretta and she was the noble Count Wylde, rising in power and coming to make him pay any way she could. She could never rise high enough to punish him directly though, could she? So she was using other means.
Gods it was convoluted.
The King saw it first. Somewhere inside he had more information than the rest of them did. Something Tor had said was incomplete, but it was close. Enough so that the man looked at the tiny builder in front of him with secret amazement. Tor nearly laughed when he realized that the man was wondering if Tor had a spy network in place.
Shaking his head he looked at the King directly and smiled. “No. I work with fields, with magic. Everything is made up of information, and I have to know how to read it, don't I? Any good builder can do it, but, well, I just started. Too much is happening and I'm too far out of my depth not to read people if I can.”
The Queen was puzzled and Rolph too angry to notice the words completely but Richard just let his eyes widen fractionally.
“I see.” Then the King’s mind went blank.
Tor bowed a little, and smiled. It was a good trick and one that he'd use himself if a similar situation ever came up. He looked at the Prince and bowed to him too, which got everyone’s attention.