P. Power - Knight of the Realm

“Ah! So, did you come for our festival then? If your dressed like this, flying, and claiming to have been fighting Noram soldiers… Let me guess, you must be Torrence Baker? Here to save us all maybe?”

Tor blinked.

“Um, yes… how did you know?”

The man laughed again, and so did all the people that had gathered around. It would have been intimidating, except that half of them were still dancing. A woman that was only about four inches taller than he was danced over, following the beat of the drums from an instrumental band across the grass.

“Look everyone! It's the Wizard Tor!” The woman bowed slightly and handed him a cup with something in it. At first he was going to refuse, not drinking alcohol himself, but it smelled like fruit punch. Digging out his poison detector to the laugh of the crowd, he waved it over the cup, nothing happened, so he took a sip. It was just juice, but tasted nothing like anything he'd ever had before. He asked what it was quietly, which got another laugh.

“Ah! Right, Master Tor wouldn't know that, would he? It's pineapple mixed with the milk of a coconut. I have to say, you're really going all out for this aren't you? Even flying in like that! Truly an event worth remembering.” The woman said, putting her hands on his shoulders and dancing a bit, looking around Tor got what everyone else was doing, handed off his drink, and put his hands on her hips, then tried to copy it. People laughed again, but most started dancing.

He didn't get it, not at all. If he told fifty people his name, no one would jump to him being, well, him. They'd just think he had a similar name to the guy that built stuff. Really it had happened to him over and over already in the Capital. These people had guessed without even being told anything and even knew that Tor was named Torrence Baker. There were less than a hundred people in the kingdom that knew that. Most of those related to him. He'd thought that was the case at least. These people seemed to know all about him.

“Um, where exactly am I?” He asked, his voice carrying as the music suddenly stopped and people bowed all around him.

“You're in Warden, Master Tor.” A female voice behind him said simply, not unkindly, but not chuckling at him either.

When he turned he saw her, even taller than the last time, standing next to her eight foot plus tall Count. Maria Ward.

“Oh.” He said brilliantly. “Of course I am.”

Tor just waited, not even bothering to try and fly off. Obviously if he flew directly to the stronghold of his worst enemies, there was a reason for it. Maybe they'd kill him and put him out of his, and their, misery? That seemed like a good enough reason, truth to tell. The woman that had been dancing with him giggled. Then she did a double and then a triple take at the scene.

“Wait, you're the real Tor? Not just a boy in a costume? I…” She stepped back and bowed low. A lot of the people around her followed suit for a bit.

Count Ward wasn't just a giant, but fantastic looking too. Dark skin, shining white teeth and ebony hair. Tor would have felt jealous if he wasn't too busy wondering who was going to try and attack him first. Maria smiled at him, ducking her head slightly for a second, a move that seemed almost shy, then she surprised the hell out of him, by bowing. The Count bowed too. Shrugging first, Tor returned the gesture with a grin. This was different. Well, if they wanted to pretend to politeness before lynching him or waiting for whatever poison they put in the juice to take effect, he could play along, right?

Maria sank to her knees, trapping her skirt, a plain white cotton thing like most of the rest of the women had on, under her demurely. Hands on her thighs she bowed low. Very low. It didn't look comfortable at all. Her head actually touching the ground then rose to speak, just ever so slightly, not looking at him.

“I didn't know if you would come. Honestly no one thought you would… Let me start by apologizing.” She bowed deeper still, and didn't rise or look up at him at all for a few moments, forehead to grass. The silence grew until even the whispers of the crowed breathing started to quiet.

“I was cruel to you, who didn't deserve it. I took your heart felt gift and invitation as a spurning from someone else, and acted without grace. Then in my anger and later fear, I maligned your good name. This makes it sound so minor, but… I know it wasn't. I talked to Patricia Morgan about it often and learned things about you that I didn't know at the time…” She took a deep breath one that sound half like a sob. When she started speaking again it was obvious that she'd started crying.

“How… how my words damaged you and made you think that you were worthless, even as you helped other people and saved lives. How even now you think that you aren't worthy of being loved… because… because of me.” If her crying was fake, she was a master of it, Tor realized. Real tears glistened on her cheeks and her breath caught realistically as she rose just slightly. Not perfectly, but like a person that was actually crying might.

She kept talking after a moment, even though Tor couldn't think of anything else she could possibly add.

“And then… In my rage over what happened with Ursala Thorgood, I… accidentally set something in motion, which led directly to your being poisoned. I didn't mean for that to happen! You have to believe me in this, all I intended was for you to be frightened, but my friends went overboard out of love for me. I take full responsibility and offer you…” She swallowed dramatically, it was well timed enough that even Tor could tell this part was an act.

“My life.”

The audience gasped.

Tor waited. After about twenty seconds she looked up, her eyes still moist and looking far too lovely for someone that was supposed to be heartbroken over their horrible misdeeds. He had to respond though, so he nodded. She kept watching him, so after a few seconds he shrugged and stuck his tongue out at her. The Counts face clouded for a second, but Maria just looked down, then back up, smiling demurely.

“Right, so you all know I don't kill people as a rule, so this little game is just to make you look good? Don't worry, I've already let go of the whole poisoning thing, at least as far as I go. But the others, the Thorgood's, Ursala's child, Karen Derring… I won't forgive those at all and I really don't think anyone else will either… It's not a good situation you know?” It was all she was getting from him. Those people were his friends, and there were others that had died, some he never met, servants and grandmothers, innocent people caught in the cross fire.

“But, we didn't do that.” The Count said in his deep voice, deeper even than Tovey's. “Yes, we admit that the attacks on you were our fault. Wait-” He held a hand up to Maria who'd started to say the blame was hers alone. “No dear heart, I could see what was happening at the time and should have put a stop to it. It was clear that your hurt feelings towards Alphonse were an overreaction to very normal things and your treatment of Master Tor bordered on insane.” He smiled when Maria bristled a little.

“What? It was, and you know it. So he stopped me and the Prince from fighting? Well good! I was being crude and deserved a thrashing and even if I'd won that particular altercation, what good would it have done me? Ursala was pregnant and I should have done more for her. Yes, she should have taken better steps to prevent it, but that was no excuse… Plus… and, well, I know you were feeling poorly after seeing the Prince, but taking it out on this man was wrong. I should have stood up for him with you more often.” The large man turned to Tor and bowed.