Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
Tisera
No, I didn’t.
I was broke.
The last two months I’d only just managed to pay the land taxes on my not-so-small plot within the city. Last month I’d had to borrow a bit of money from my housemate Dazar. He was more than willing — and more than capable — of paying for everything I needed, but I hated having to ask for his help, or anyone’s help.
I hadn’t worked in months and I desperately needed a job. So, I didn’t really have a choice. Even if it hadn’t been a prince asking — to whom one does not say “no” — I’d have taken any job which came my way.
“I can and I will, Your Highness.” I nodded my head solemnly.
He approached and extended his hand. Most contracts for a mercenary like me would be in writing, but this one would be by handshake only. I took his hand, clasping my hand around his wrist, and he took mine. We shook firmly.
I shot a look over the prince’s shoulder at Kel, which I hoped said: thank you for this opportunity , while also saying: I hope you rot in the deepest of Hells, you bastard . It was a complicated look.
“Tell me everything,” I said as the prince released my wrist and I motioned for him to sit again.
Instead, he shook his head. “Why don’t we speak in my carriage, I’ll take you to meet Veora so you know where she lives and I can introduce you two.”
“As you wish, Your Highness.” I motioned to the door. He left and Kel followed behind him by a few steps.
“You’re welcome,” Kel whispered, tone even and a bit cold.
I wanted to hit him, or better yet, plant a well-placed kick between his legs, but I didn’t. The fact was, he had helped me, even if it seemed he hadn’t truly wanted to. He also hadn’t had much of a choice. If the prince had asked for recommendations for female warriors… I was the only one.
And it wouldn’t look good for me to be picking a fight in front of the prince. But by Brovos, I wanted to give Kel a good thrashing. Though a small part of me was a bit worried if I began grappling with him… it would turn into something else once our bodies were pressed together. So, best not to think of that… for many reasons.
I closed up the house and quickly told Avela I’d be out for a bit then followed the others out to a carriage. Kel held the door for me like the gentleman he wasn’t. I was a bit surprised when he didn’t join us. Instead, he closed the door behind me and probably joined the driver or took up the footman’s position at the back. It was just the prince and I inside.
The carriage started rolling down my long laneway.
“You and Kel have a history.” It wasn’t a question.
“We do.” I didn’t feel like elaborating. What I could say was, “He is an exceptional warrior, loyal and dedicated to Pearlia.” If not loyal and dedicated to women .
“He said something similar about you. Your father was a mercenary in his father’s service?”
“Yes.” It had been four years since my father had died, but it hadn’t been the war that had killed him. “The waning sickness took him.”
The prince grimaced. “I’m sorry. That is… unfortunate. I’m sure you know my sister, Princess Alice, had the waning sickness and though she survived, she is still frail and weak to this day.”
I nodded. “Yes. In fact, my Aunt Emri is Princess Alice’s lady’s maid.”
The prince nodded and smiled warmly. “I didn’t know that. Emri has been a wonderful blessing for Alice; for us all. She takes excellent care of my sister.”
I returned the smile. I knew Emri was happy in her position.
My aunt had raised me for a time. I’d not known my mother. She’d died giving birth to me. My father had been off serving in the Dath-Riven War, so Aunt Emri had taken me in. But when I’d been seven, Emri had taken the position as Alice’s lady’s maid and the war had ended. I had been raised by my father after that.
All he’d known was a mercenary’s life, and that was what he’d taught me. I’d been a hardened campaigner by the time I was ten. I’d been able to wield a sword as well as any boy my age by twelve and had been officially apprenticed to my father the next year… along with Kel. My father had joined with Drako’s Dragoons when I’d been eleven. He’d proven himself and Drako had liked him, so he’d given his son to my father as an apprentice. That had been how Kel and I had gotten to know each other, and why we knew each other so well. As for why we hated each other, that had come later.
“Now, to business,” the prince said, and I listened intently. “In truth, I am not worried about my mother’s condemnation of my lover. She won’t stop me from seeing Veora. She had to say what she did to save face, politically. But that also means Veora cannot be seen in the palace openly, hence the secrecy. Also, since it is fairly well known that Veora is my mistress, there will always be the constant threat of danger from those who seek to hurt me, or perhaps ransom her freedom. I offered her security at all times, but she is content with the protection of her brother most of the time. They live together, she and her brother. His name is Merik. Hence, she’d be most vulnerable when alone, like when she’s coming to the palace to visit me. She has reluctantly agreed to a guard at such times, as long as it is a woman.”
“So, I would only be needed when she’s coming to the palace, no other times?” I asked.
“That would be up to her. If she asks for an escort at any time, I would expect you to oblige.”
Which meant I could be called upon day or night. I hoped this paid well, though I didn’t ask about money. Hopefully, the prince would get to that.
And he did. “For such a service, knowing it might take you away from your family or other duties at any hour, I would pay you two strips per week, for a total of a hundred strips per year or two royals.”
I tried not to gawk. One strip — a bar of silver roughly the length of one’s palm — was a significant payment in itself. Two a week, would mean I’d easily be able to pay my monthly taxes and have a small fortune left over. I’d be a very wealthy woman after a year of this, assuming the relationship lasted that long. I’d be able to pay my taxes for — I did the math quickly — another five years if I didn’t find work.
I nodded solemnly. That would be more than enough pay for the inconvenience of having to escort this woman around at her every whim. “You are very generous,” I said and meant it.
He nodded. “Just… keep her safe,” he said softly.
I couldn’t get over how much he seemed to care for this woman, or that he had a mistress at all. I hadn’t thought anyone in the royal family would be like that. As much as they had all married for politics, not love, they had all made the best of it, or so I’d thought.
We rode in silence as the city passed by.
I lived in the second ring of the city. My grandfather had been a merchant wealthy enough to buy this plot of land from a destitute noble who’d been selling off his holdings.
The inner ring — or first ring — of Pearlia had been the original city, established when Aestrian settlers had found this protected harbor after their arduous journey across the Narrow Sea. Many of the original buildings had long since been replaced with the marble and stone structures of The Pearl Palace, The Grand Market, The Forum, and many nobles’ houses.
The second ring — known as The Gardens — had originally been where the early nobility had built manors “outside” the city with vast lawns and gardens. Eventually a second city wall had been built, encompassing the second ring, and as the nobility moved out or went bankrupt, those vast estates had been bought up and divided into smaller, but still luxurious, plots for wealthy merchants and such.
The carriage passed under the wall, through a gatehouse, into the third ring, where most of the citizens of Pearlia lived. Off of the main road were narrow lane-ways and dark alleys shadowed by the seemingly outward-leaning, jettied buildings.
People teemed through this part of the city, making way for our carriage as well as other carts and wagons. I was a bit surprised when we exited the city itself through the West Gate, rolling out into the countryside. Slums huddled close around the city wall. Past them was the caravansary, a large area for foreign traders and merchants — or anyone seeking passage elsewhere — to meet and load or unload wares. Within the caravansary was The New Market, where merchants could buy and sell without needing to get passes into the city itself. The mass of brightly colored stalls and handcarts seemed more than usually busy this morning; a caravan must have arrived recently. Farther out from the city, beyond the market, were farms and the newer nobles’ estates.
It was down the lane of one of the smaller estates which we turned. This would be a decent walk for me, probably a good half-an-hour each way from my house.
The manor itself wasn’t large, situated on a beautiful — if not large — plot of land next to the Pearline River.
The carriage stopped and Kel opened the door for the prince and me. The prince nodded for me to exit first. I did, ignoring Kel’s hand to help me down.
As the prince descended from the carriage, a woman came running out from the house in a flurry of pale pink skirts. As she raced by me, I caught only her most notable features: a long cascade of hair — like flowing red wine — streaming behind her, a pale face with large green eyes gleaming like emeralds, and full red lips.
When she finally stopped, throwing her arms around the prince and covering his face with kisses, I took in the rest of her. If what I’d overheard from my male companions during my days in Drako’s Dragoons held any weight, the woman had ideal proportions. I didn’t know if her dress had a corset to it, but if not then she had a natural hour-glass figure with full hips and bosom and a slender waist and long legs. I could see how a man might become infatuated with her.
She pressed her lips to the prince’s for a long and — very steamy — kiss. The prince was just a little flushed when they finally separated. He cleared his throat. “Ah, Master Drakoson, and Tisera Halvensdaughter, may I introduce Veora Thistledown.”
The woman turned to us, beaming with a large smile. “It is a pleasure to meet you,” she said eagerly. “Any friend of Victor’s is a friend of mine.”
I wasn’t a “friend” of the prince, I was working for him, but I nodded.
“Lady Thistledown, I am Tisera. I will be escorting you from now on whenever you wish to be out and about in the city, and particularly when you are going to meet Prince Victor.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed with a clap of her hands. “That’s wonderful. I’m sure we’ll become fast friends!”
I was less sure.
I didn’t much care for the frivolity of other women. I’d been raised as a warrior. I felt awkward around girlish women, perhaps because I saw what I might have become… and was horrified by it. I’d much rather have a sword in my hand than a flower.
Still, I let Veora embrace me, holding me close. She practically hummed with joy and life and after a moment I relented a little, easing.
“I’m sure we shall get to know each other well,” I said softly.
“Yes, we shall!” she said and released me. Then she curtseyed to Kel.
“Master,” she said with respect. When she leaned forward in her curtsey, it gave Kel a good view of her full bosom exposed by the low neckline of her dress.
He seemed a bit stunned, then shook it off. “Ah… Lady, it is I who should be bowing to you,” Kel said.
True. She was nobility and he wasn’t. He bowed low and when he came up, the stoic hardness to his features had returned.
“Will you be escorting me as well?” she asked Kel, then turned to the prince. “I’d asked for just a woman.”
Kel replied. “Ah, no, I will not. Tisi will be more than enough to keep you safe.” He caught his use of my nickname and corrected himself quickly. “That is Sera— I mean Tisera.”
Kel cleared his throat, giving himself a moment to regain his composure. “She is an excellent warrior but dress her up right and no one would know it.”
He glanced at me, and I guessed he was imagining me in Veora’s dress. I couldn’t imagine myself in that low-cut, frilly, pink monstrosity, but Kel gave a half smile, a quick breath of a laugh then was all stony features again.
“Tisi?” Veora said, turning to me. “What a wonderful name. I shall call you Tisi, if I may?”
“You may,” I said grudgingly. I wasn’t going to deny her in front of the prince, even though that name was reserved for those who knew me well. I got the feeling she’d know me well soon enough. We’d be spending a lot of time together.
“Then it is set,” the prince said softly. “Tisera, thank you for this. I shall have someone drop off payment for the first three months in advance tomorrow.”
That would be nice.
Then came some talk about when I’d come to see Veora next and the schedule which she and the prince would be keeping. I’d be returning on the morrow to escort Veora to the New Market, outside the city. The day after, I’d take her to see the prince.
“Come on, Sera, let’s go,” Kel said — using the nickname I despised — pulling me aside with a bit more force than he needed to. I didn’t know why until he whispered. “The prince will be remaining here for a while to ‘wet his whistle,’ so we’re walking back to the city.”
Ah.
“Perhaps, but we won’t be doing it together.” I tore my arm from his iron grip. “You go ahead.”
Kel grunted, jaw tight. “Right.”
He said a few quiet words to the prince, then left.
I loitered as the prince and Veora headed to the swathe of gardens between the house and the river. I quickly lost sight of them among the hedges and trees.
Something caught my eye and I looked to see a shadow in the open doorway of the small manor-house. A man in finely tailored dark clothing glared at me. This would be Merik, the brother, I assumed. There was nothing friendly about him. In fact, I instantly disliked him, getting a cold feeling from him. He wasn’t one to mess with.
I nodded to him. He glared back before retreating into the manor and closing the door.
A shiver ran down my spine as I waited another few long breaths — so my long legs wouldn’t catch up with Kel as I returned to the city — then turned and began a slow walk home.
This job would be… interesting.
At least I would be well paid to be a glorified nanny.
My fortunes had turned in an instant. Though I wondered, offhand, if they had actually changed for better… or worse.