Chapter 8
Eight
James
I had apparently come on too strong with Edwin, because he’d put a very subtle but firm distance between us the rest of yesterday. Dammit, I’d been too enthusiastic having him back and had found it very, very hard to be hands-off with him.
Likely the peppermints had been too much.
I hadn’t been able to stop my impulse for caring about him, but in retrospect, I shouldn’t have given the mints to him.
Current me had no reason to know about his stomach issues, after all.
Since then, Edwin had made sure to keep two feet between us at all times, which was just hurtful.
He hid behind formality too, wouldn’t even crack a smile when I tried to joke with him.
It made me moody as hell.
Sleeping poorly the night before didn’t help my mood any, either.
Today, at least, he was safe from my well-intentioned flirting.
We were on the road toward the demon portal.
We’d left just after daybreak, as it was a good four-day trek north to Berengar.
Nowadays, a small town nearby had become something of a tourist spot for anyone passing through the area, and they used the money from the tourists coming to see the portal to support the town.
If we were truly in a hurry, we’d have taken a ship—it would be far faster—but I wanted to inspect the roads going up here as well. If memory served, they were dreadful, and I needed the excuse of having traveled them myself in order to fix them.
It was a beautiful spring day, warm without being sticky, lazy white clouds in the sky.
I’d chosen to ride horseback rather than travel by carriage because I’d always felt carriages to be too confining.
I only chose them if the weather was perfectly foul, as who wanted to ride in a snowstorm? Not I.
I nudged my stallion to fall more into step with Captain Rowan. This particular stallion was a loan from the palace stables. My horse soulmate, Titan, wasn’t due to show up for another couple of years, sadly.
“Captain,” I said, putting on my interested face. “Tell me more about my knights. Who’s married? Who has children or elderly parents to care for?”
I already knew all of this, of course, but I had to ask in order to “know” it again.
Sometimes it exhausted me, having to remember what I shouldn’t know yet.
Plus, I had serious regrets from my previous life.
I had befriended my knights and secretaries but hadn’t truly gotten to know them.
I’d naively thought I would have time, but I’d lost almost half my knights in the first forays of the war, and their deaths still haunted me.
Time and people were precious. I would not take them for granted a second time.
“Most of the knights are single,” Captain Rowan replied. “Only Osbourne is married, and he doesn’t have kids yet. Why do you ask?”
“I try not to keep people past their working hours unless there’s a dire emergency,” I explained easily, “but if anyone has kids or elderly parents to take care of, I always send those people home first. It’s a ripple effect otherwise for them and hardly fair.
I’ve got my secretarial staff more or less figured out, but I had to ask about the knights. ”
Captain Rowan gave me the exact same face this time as he had the first time I’d asked him this. Like he couldn’t believe his ears. “You’re accommodating our schedules?”
I wagged a finger. “People do not quit jobs, Captain. They quit bad bosses. I watched my uncle, who was a horrible boss and couldn’t keep staff on hand for more than three months, and learned from his mistakes.”
“Huh. Well, this was an enlightening talk.” Captain Rowan eyed me for another second before blurting out, “Lanslet, Remfrey, and Abel are all from the northern territory. I know you want to assign some of the knights to guard the demon portal. If you assign those three, they’ll embrace the task. They want to be near their families.”
Now that I had not known. Then again, I hadn’t posted sentries around the portal in my first life, so this topic had never come up before. “I was going to ask for volunteers…and send them after I got back to the palace. But if you’re sure of this?”
“I heard them wistfully talking about volunteering, but they weren’t sure how you’d take it, as we only just started guarding you last week.”
“Ha, I suppose it could be taken the wrong way.” I could see both sides, but if these three wanted to stay and guard a portal so they could go home to their families every night, I would be all for it. “I’ll ask them once we stop for lunch.”
Captain Rowan intensely studied me again, his brown eyes narrowed on my face like he was doing some high-level math. “Your Highness, do you mind if I ask you an impertinent question?”
“I adore the rude questions. Shoot.”
“What do you actually want?”
I want you to not die this time, Captain Rowan. I want to see you actually live to retirement. I want the teamwork of my knights to be so tight, so well formed, that I don’t lose any of you this time. I don’t know if my heart can take it, burying you once more.
I shook off the melancholy and kept my tone light as I answered aloud, “You’re asking because I don’t act like royalty.
” I nodded, agreeing with my own assessment.
“What I need you all to understand is, I’m not.
Royalty, I mean. Sure, I bear the name, but I wasn’t raised to be royal.
I don’t agree with how the reigning family treats others, and I won’t conform to their expectations of behavior.
As for what I want, it’s quite simple. There’re people in this country I love dearly, and I cannot protect them unless I’m in a higher position of power.
I took the title of prince to safeguard those precious to me. Frank enough, Captain Rowan?”
He finally relaxed some, his mouth teasing up into an almost smile. “Yes, Your Highness. Frank enough for me. Is setting up extra precautions around the demon portal one of your methods of protecting those people?”
“Yes. I know the seal’s supposedly good for another five years, but to be upfront with you, I don’t trust magic.
I always have a redundancy plan in place in case the magic either fails or doesn’t fully do as promised.
Too many bad experiences. I’d rather have a second and third line of defense against any possible danger. ”
“Hence your bringing two court mages?”
“Yup. They’re putting a secondary seal up. I’ll have others come up as well to form a more permanent sentry, to serve side by side with the knights.”
Captain Rowan’s brow creased. “Just how many bad experiences have you had?”
“Too many,” I said with a groan. “Far too many. No more.”
“I’ll keep that in mind for the future, when you ask me to do something.”
“Please and thank you.” Captain Rowan had, by far, been more open with me now than he had been in my first life.
I wondered why? I’d ask something rude and impertinent and see how he took it.
For some reason, I bet he’d be happy. “So how many drinks will it take before you start being truly rude to me?”
His eyes twinkled, crow’s feet crinkling up. “One.”
I knew for a fact he wasn’t a lightweight, so this made me laugh. “We’ll test that tonight when we stop. For my knowledge, who’s a lightweight?”
Captain Rowan answered loudly enough some of the knights riding behind us could hear him, which resulted in squawks of dismay, denials, and more than a few stories told to make a point.
It became the sort of atmosphere I encouraged on long journeys. A long trip always went better with stories and laughter to make the time pass.
I didn’t get to speak with the three knights in question until later in the evening, when we stopped at an inn.
Captain Rowan picked a good one for us, a nice building three stories tall, the stone stoop leading in worn into a dip with age.
This place had been here a long time, but it was lovingly maintained.
I sat with everyone in the tap room, and we had a rather large party.
Only Edwin had come with me from the secretarial staff, and he sat to my right at the table, but with the knights, porters, maids, and court mages, we came to a total of twenty people.
I treated them all equally, having to escort one young maid to the table to sit with the rest of us; she seemed overwhelmed to be sitting at a table with royalty.
I didn’t stand for such nonsense. I wasn’t any more noble than all of them.
I wanted to be treated as a boss and friend, not as some otherworldly being who they supposedly must worship.
I made sure to sit near Sir Lanslet, Dame Remfrey, and Sir Abel. Our drinks arrived first, we all put in our food orders, and then we had nothing to do but chat and wait. Perfect.
Angling a bit to the left, I caught Sir Abel’s attention first. “Sir Abel. Captain Rowan tells me you, Sir Lanslet, and Dame Remfrey are all from the north?”
“Uh, yes, Your Highness.” Sir Abel seemed startled to be suddenly called out but rallied immediately. “In fact, Lanslet and I are cousins and come from Berengar.”
“Huh. Dame Remfrey, what about you?”
“Next town over.” She smiled fondly. “Wood’s Cross. It’s a timber farm and logging community. Most of the wood made into ships comes from there, as they pride themselves on straight trees.”
“I’m learning something new.” Indeed I was; the whole area had been decimated before I’d fought the Demon King. I’d had no idea so much lumber for the shipping business came from there. “All right, I must ask, would you like to be stationed in your hometown?”
All three lit up.
“I’d love to!” Dame Remfrey was akin to a child given an unexpected present. “Permanently?”
“That’s up to you.” I shrugged. “I can also do a rotation where you switch off with some other knight every six months but still stay on my roster, allowing you the opportunity to continue to advance your careers.”
All three shared a long look as if silently conferring with each other.
“I think I’d prefer that, Your Highness,” Sir Lanslet admitted. “I left home because there’s no good career opportunities, and I don’t want to languish the rest of my career there. That said, when I get closer to retirement, I’ll be happy to be stationed there permanently.”
“I completely understand. Dame Remfrey, Sir Abel?”
“Same,” Sir Abel said. “I’d love to be switched out every six months, be home more. My mother’s knees aren’t doing well, and she needs more help at home.”
“Then you’ll be home more,” I promised him.
Dame Remfrey’s tone was rock solid. “I’m game as well for the rotation, Your Highness.”
“Very good. Captain Rowan, I trust you to work out the schedule for them.”
Captain Rowan was already scribbling in his little black book he lugged everywhere. “Consider it done, Your Highness. I do need three more so we can have a clean rotation of two knights at all times.”
I looked about the table. “Any other volunteers?”
Two hands immediately shot up. I knew them, of course, but one of them surprised me. I didn’t think Dame Temperance would volunteer.
“Dame Temperance? Why? I mean, it’s fine, of course. I’m just curious.”
“Oh, well…” She sighed and sank in on herself as if tired already. “My mother’s trying to introduce me to a nice boy again.”
“Ah. Got it. I’ll need to send the others up first, but you can be in the next rotation. Feel free to run away for six months. Dame Joan?”
She smiled when I called her by name. “You really must have a good memory for names and faces, Your Highness.”
“I do try.” In this case, it wasn’t hard.
“As for me, I just had a broken engagement, and I’d rather not be at home until the awkwardness of the whole situation blows over.”
“My condolences, Dame Joan. I hope your heart mends from it.”
“Thank you.” She made a face. “In truth, I caught him cheating, so I’m still too mad to be sorry about how it all ended.”
“In that case, I hope things rot on the man and fall off.”
She laughed outright and raised her glass. “I’ll drink to that.”
I clinked tankards with her and grinned. I’d always liked Dame Joan. She was a no-nonsense, refreshingly blunt person. If memory served, she did get married a few years after I came in—to Dame Sarra. It wouldn’t hurt to help their relationship along, would it?
“Dame Sarra, I understand you’re close with Dame Joan?”
“Yes, we are,” Dame Sarra answered in that throaty voice of hers. She was even now seated right next to Joan, at the very end of the table. “And I’ll be happy to station with her for a while.”
“Excellent. Then you’ve got your roster, Captain Rowan.”
“I do indeed.”
Sir Collins, who sat on the opposite side of the table and barely in my line of sight, lifted a hand to draw attention to himself. “Uh, Your Highness, there’s a rumor you’re a five-time champion of the Wilton Archery Competition?”
“I am, in fact.” When did that little tidbit get passed around?
“Would you be willing to train any of us?”
Now that was a question I’d never been asked, not by this group, which meant I’d somehow made a better first impression this time around than before. Huh. Go me?
I wouldn’t mess it up. I wanted them all stronger, more prepared, just in case a war broke out again. “I’d be happy to give you some pointers. Anyone willing to learn, I’ll teach. You eyeing the competition, Sir Collins?”
“I am,” he admitted without shame. “I’m a decent shot, but I’ll need to train hard to win it.”
“Train for consistency,” I said.
“Pardon?”
“That’s the one thing most competitors don’t seem to understand.
They keep learning all these fancy tricks, trying to impress the judges, but the competition was created to encourage young soldiers and knights to have the stamina necessary to last in a battle.
They want to see staying power and consistent aim before anything, so train for that. ”
Sir Collins bobbed his head, grinning. “Understood, Your Highness. And thank you. That’s precisely the kind of intel I need most.”
“We’ll talk on the road tomorrow, I promise.”
This started up a whole conversation questioning whether the knights were allowed to take part in competitions. Which, of course, I encouraged. People striving to be their best at something were happier, more productive people.
We ended up lingering over dinner and pints, and I had to put a shoulder under Sir Pedan, who had definitely had one too many. I would tease him about it tomorrow.
The day ended on a very good note, and even though I was sad I hadn’t been able to flirt with Edwin all day, I’d made progress of a different sort. I’d gained good ground on getting my friends back, which was just as precious.