Bloodstone - Power of Youth (Book 3) (18 page)

“Please, call me Sallia. A personal advisor must have a more intimate relationship. Don’t you agree?”

Anchor could feel his heart beat increase. “I… Of course. Whatever you feel is appropriate… Sallia.”

She smiled. “Good. Now what do you think of Prince Peeron?”

Dangerous ground. Yet, what interest did she have for Learsea’s prince? “He is—I hesitate to talk about my employer’s son.”

She now had an impish look to her. “Your employer? Yet you live to serve me?”

Sallia had him there. He felt that he had to be honest with her. “Prince Peeron is a man to watch. Perhaps he’s not as seasoned as he might be. Fighting in a war can mature a man, or woman, more quickly than in peace.”

“Does that apply to you as well, Anchor?”

“Especially to me. I’ve changed quite a bit in the last year or two. More than I would have imagined. I picked up a second hand sword to protect me on the road and now I will soon go to my command as a Lord of Gensler, an advisor to the Princess of the Red Kingdom, and as commander of the forces of Learsea. The glory could easily go to my head.”

“And yet it doesn’t?” Sallia dragged her finger from Sally’s Corners to where his holdings would be on the map. She looked up to him for an answer.

“I know my place.” He didn’t know what his place was, but it seemed to be the right answer.

“I’m sure you do, but which place is that?” Sallia said, echoing his very thought.

Anchor wanted so much to take her hand in his and tell her all, but he couldn’t. “I fight against the enemies of the Red Kingdom in all three of my roles, Sallia. My ultimate goal, and has been for some time, is to restore you to your rightful place as Queen of the Red Kingdom, sitting on your throne in Foxhome.”

“A simple advisor would claim that as his goal.”

“Although it may not appear so, I am anything but a simple advisor.”

“I look forward to reading this.” Sallia held up his letter again and held out her hand.

Anchor swallowed and knelt as he took her hand in his and kissed her fingers gently.

“My advisor is also exceptionally gallant.” Sallia withdrew her hand and held it in her other. “Thank you for this conversation. You must go and refresh yourself before we dine.”

Anchor recognized her comment as a dismissal and left the map room lost in thought and emotion.             

~~~

Chapter Nineteen

~

S
allia watched Anchor’s back as he left the map room.
She just about called him back. She put the fingers he kissed to her cheek. Why did she have to bait him so? The man had impressed everybody, yet she could tell that he held secrets close to him. A man of mystery? Is that what prompted her feelings? She felt like the impressionable teen-aged girl she had never been during this meeting with him.

Would he have displayed such devotion to her before Unca had ripped her from Foxhome and changed her life? He claimed to know Unca, yet she had never remembered seeing him at Foxhome. How many other notable people had she just ignored? She shuddered. She was a different person now, yet she still knew she’d have to change again before Foxhome became hers.

Perhaps Anchor could advise her with that. She envisioned a series of letters discussing elements of ruling the kingdom. What kind of advice would Anchor provide? He’d never ruled anything. His letters made that plain. He lived to serve her. She would have to put that to the test before she regained her throne, unfortunately.

He did warn her about Prince Peeron. Sallia had wondered about making a suitable match when she became queen. A marriage of state. Marrying Prince Peeron would unite both Learsea and the Red Kingdom for the first time. Would that not be worth it? However the prince was an odious person. She didn’t know if she could make such a sacrifice. Perhaps the subject of another series of letters with Anchor?

If Unca ever showed up, he could counsel her about the Prince. Perhaps even about Anchor. Her meeting only gave the man more of an aura of mystery. There was something to him that appealed to her. Unca had accompanied her father to Learsea a few times that she knew of and she wished Unca could advise Anchor about what to do.

She heard a bell toll and realized that she had to change into something more formal for dinner. She hurried out of the empty map room.

~

Anchor had to select something appropriate from the clothes Morio had dumped on his bed. It had been quite a while since he wore clothing of quality. He rummaged around, finding an outfit and laid it out on the bed. He had to laugh. He had chosen Unca-style clothes. Dark grays and blacks. He’d have to change his wardrobe up a bit.

How long had it been since he thought of himself as a young man? He winced at the realization that he had never acted ‘young’. His parents had apprenticed him to a wizard at ten years old, and Unca had to dress in black as he served his master and had never really gotten out of the habit, except to wear a light gray cloak and robes.

He wouldn’t dress like Peeron, that peacock. No. He decided on a dark red tunic and black pants. Anchor didn’t have to totally abandon his own style. His face in the mirror looked more presentable after shaving and his hair, less disheveled. He adjusted his tunic and left for dinner.

As he walked the halls, he thought of Sallia lightly stepping through these same corridors. Had she really gotten used to her captivity? He thought of it that way, but the truth told a different story. Sallia captivated Anchor. Wherever he walked, circumstances shut him off from her. How could he have fallen in love with a princess? He scoffed, because inside, Unca still existed. Old, rumpled, wizardly Unca. Anchor was an external persona, not a real person, although he had thought of himself as Anchor for quite a while.

Crackledown’s dining hall rivaled Foxhome’s in size. He walked to the front, following a servant, who led him to a seat one away from the Duke, who had already arrived, chatting with Prince Peeron on the other side.

“We will eat like kings,” Shiro said as a servant escorted him to the seat on the other side from the Duke.

Anchor laughed. “We will eat like dukes,” he said. “But kings eat much the same.”

“I submit to your experience, Anchor.” Shiro looked down on of the two rows of tables extending down from the dais. Anchor followed his eyes to Chika, sitting by herself midway to the end.

“Your third in command doesn’t sit with the duke,” Anchor said.

“Sometimes I don’t know who commands, Chika or me? It doesn’t matter. We finally have a good understanding of such things.”

“She is a tiger,” Anchor said.

Shiro laughed. “And Chika would say ‘…  a tiger with a tail,’ and then she would give me a wink. Her mind is always twirling and letting words twist their meanings in intentionally awkward ways,” Shiro said. Smiling at Chika with his eyes.

“I’ve born the brunt of that.”

“She would say that she has a lovely brunt,” Shiro said, smiling. He looked over at the prince. “I don’t have to tell you that I don’t trust the prince. This visit to Crackledown has done nothing to change my impression.”

Anchor nodded with a smile, knowing that others might glance his way, “You don’t have to tell me. Our views are the same. I hope we can come up with a solution.”

Sallia’s hand brushed his shoulder as she stood on the other side of him, interrupting his words. His train of thought fled as he rose from his seat, along with the duke. Duke Jellas nodded and permitted Anchor to assist Sallia in sitting down. The duke turned back to Peeron after nodding to Sallia.

“I see you both found suitable clothing for dinner,” Sallia said. She smiled to show her comments were not a slight. “It must be quite a shock to blink your eye and move from a border fort to a castle.”

“I do it often enough,” Shiro said. His eyes widened and he turned red. Shiro must have realized Sallia addressed Anchor.

“I don’t know which I like more, except for such charming company,” Anchor said. “I’ve come to enjoy working physically with the rankers and teaching myself more history and strategy at South Keep. It has been stimulating… sort of an extension of my rebirth as a warrior.”

Shiro touched Anchor’s elbow under the table. Anchor smiled as he had let on a bit more that he should have. Sallia’s presence muddled his mind, as it never did before. She had changed from when he left her in the winter. The princess acted more like a princess and less like the aloof, disdainful woman that had escaped from Foxhome. She had let her poise slide at his holding, but now she had let it show, without the petulance. He could see how her capture had changed her. Others might be spoiled forever, but she seemed to have used her time at his holding as a transition period in her life and the horrid experiences in Everwet had to have strengthened her even more.

“He has learned much in South Keep, princess,” Shiro said. “We have sparred and fought to a draw. I never am beaten. I can barely say that now.” He slapped Anchor on the shoulder.

“I admit it. When I first arrived at South Keep, the commander ignored me and I turned to the practice field as a way to spend my time. I’m afraid I wasn’t an able defender in Everwet. I’d do much better now, I promise.”

Sallia shivered with a memory. “Let’s hope you don’t have to defend me like that again.”

“Not personally, but I spend all of my time defending your honor and your kingdom, your highness. In that I would hope you willing support me. I still carry the silk token.”

She beamed. “You do?” She laid her hand on his arm. “I’m very pleased. I sent you a letter with Shiro…  ”

“I didn’t get a chance to read it,” Anchor said.

“I wrote to recommit that I wish you to advise me. I need some advice on how to rule. Perhaps we can correspond on that and similar subjects. I’m sure that there will be enough teleporting from wherever you fight to Crackledown to permit messages.”

Anchor would do anything to retain contact with the princess. “I have never ruled, but I would be delighted to render any perspective that you would posit.”

“Such flowery language for a simple soldier.”

“We are not so simple,” Shiro said, nudging Anchor with his knee. “I would be pleased to carry any messages you wish, princess. When we take the field, there might be others who bring information. Chika, for example,” he nodded towards Chika who had just said something to make a Gensler office roar in laughter. “She knows how to teleport. We have others. All of us would be honored to relay any messages at any time and even bring Anchor from time to time.” Shiro gave Sallia a short bow of his head.

Anchor welcomed Shiro’s interruptions. He felt himself floating down a river, out of control, flirting with disaster at every dip in the water and curve of the river’s course. His thoughts ended when the duke stood. His men were well-trained, except for Morio’s group, who took a moment more before they, too, gave Duke Jellas their attention.

“I’ve gathered my retainers and key officers as well as our distinguished guests to eat this evening. I have a few announcements to make and then you can get back to your feasting and,” he cleared his throat, “drinking.” He smiled during the predictable roar of approval.

“A few introductions… Prince Peeron joins us from the Learsea court. Lotto Mistad is back, now representing the king of Valetan directly. You all know Princess Sallia. You might not know, but have heard of, Anchor. He will lead some of us from Gensler and the soldiers of the Red Rose into Learsea to develop their defenses. He takes with him Shiro of Roppon. We also have Chika of the Red Rose, his third in command. She will join our forces in Gensler with approximately a third of Shiro’s capable men and women, many of whom are wizards.

“Anchor has developed a general strategy that will employ multiple fronts in the war against Duke Histron. I would like to remind you that we are not at war with the people of the Red Kingdom, but with a usurper.” The duke nodded at Sallia, who smiled. Anchor thought it a different smile from when he knew the princess at Foxhome. He admired the difference.

“This is new to all of you. Prince Peeron has accepted my suggestion that he join our allied forces as we move into the Red Kingdom from Gensler. He has a few troops to add to our forces, but we will welcome his presence as a symbol of the alliance of kingdoms and duchies fighting for the rights of the citizens of the Red Kingdom. That is all. Continue.” Duke Jellas waved his hands to encourage the eating and drinking to continue.

His words had unexpectedly disturbed Anchor. What were we fighting for other than to maintain the prerogatives of the rulers? Did we fight to restore Sallia as queen, or did we fight to bring freedom to the people of the Red Kingdom? He didn’t quite know and the thought continued to bite at him. He felt more comfortable defending the boundaries of Learsea from Histron, but the prospects for battling fellow citizens of the Red Kingdom sat unexpectedly poor with him. His anger at the Dakkoran emperor burned within. That man had put them all in this regrettable position of fighting each other.

“You look dour, Anchor,” Sallia said.

He nodded, still letting his thoughts roll around in his head. “I fear for your subjects, Princess Sallia. We fight Histron, but we also fight soldiers in the Red Kingdom who will fight for any who lead them. Innocent people will be killed or left destitute as battle ruins their homes, families and lands.”

She gave Anchor a questioning look. “And yet you’ve pledged to fight for me.”

“Indeed I have. Cannot I fight for you and still worry about your subjects?”

~

Sallia couldn’t help but put her hand to her mouth. She had shared Anchor’s view, but always she reminded the leaders of the lives of her subjects. Anchor had, on his own, vocalized her feelings, the first to do so. It made the well-being of her subjects that much more precious. If they were just words before, Anchor had given them weight and strength within her. The lightness of mind that the meal and the wine had produced, suddenly took on weight.  She looked at the remnants of her meal. She had left much food on the plate and wondered how much of it a small farming family would eat. Would a wife make it into a stew or soup that might last a few days? Here it would be thrown out to the pigs the duke kept on the castle grounds.

“You have clarified my thoughts, Anchor,” she said, marveling at his wisdom. He felt so deeply for one nearly as young as herself. “My first instruction on how to rule. Consider all of my decisions to encompass their effects on my people.”

Anchor nodded, but his face reddened. She could tell she had embarrassed him. “I didn’t mean to discourage you, Your Highness.”

She wished he would use her name, but perhaps the formal setting held his tongue. “I’m not discouraged, but heartened by your attitude. You weren’t the one held by Histron’s men and suffered from their depredations. They have turned the Red Kingdom into a nasty place. Remember that as well.”