the Leathermines

Back to Chapter one - The beginning of The Chronicles of the Midlands is in The Slave Warrior.

 

The four masted ship blocked the small harbor.  There was no way the Rosemond ships could get out.

A smaller boat came to the ‘Twilights Gold’ and tied off to the ring next to the rope ladder that had been thrown off the edge.  A hand up and the man was face to face with several dark green dressed men.  He had seen the name on the ship and spoke in the Midlands tongue, only a slight accent to be heard.

“I am Captain Chandrey of the Royal ship ‘Barh Wada’.  Why are you blocking this harbor?”

There were a few looks between the men facing the Captain.  One stepped aside and a smaller figure dressed in Midlands military garb came forward.  The Captain blinked as he heard a feminine, soft voice come from under the sharp cap.

“We are looking for the ship that is taking her Excellency to the mainland.”

It might have been soft, but the tone said much.

Captain Chandrey nodded to the woman with the crown and bird pin on her cap.  “Ma’am.  She is aboard my vessel.”

There seemed to be a relaxation of the people on deck, a murmur and hand signals spreading the word.  A smile was on the militarily dressed woman and the Captain had to smile back.  “Thank you.  My cousin asked that I escort her excellency to him.”

He blinked again.  “Ma’am?  Who are you?”

She shrugged slightly and raised her hand for an informal salute.  “Laun.”

He gave back a sharper salute and then smiled.  He took her arm when offered and was in a warrior’s grip, strong in their hands on each other’s elbows.  “Uncle didn’t mention you were so short.”

There was laughter.  Laun looked down and felt herself flush slightly.  “I haven’t had any complaints about it until now, Captain.”

There were a few words between the naval men on the ship before another salute and Killian’s nephew was down the side of the ship, headed back towards his own vessel again.  Laun stood at the railing, watching the small rowboat until it was behind the larger, two masted ship that they had stopped.

“We should have made sure.”

Laun nodded and turned from the rail.  “Being the admiral’s nephew, I will take him at his word.  We are not here to do anything but escort her, but King Ifahyd wanted this, so I shall assume the Captain was telling the truth.  I do not want to ruffle more feathers than necessary.”

There was an eyebrow but no comment from her Husband.  She brushed a hand down his arm and moved from the rail.  She did not want to be in the way as the skilled sailors on Lieutenant Beau Dumonde’s ship tacked her to clear the harbor.  Many of the people went below decks again, the Princess being one of them.

The quarters that Laun had were not the largest on the ship, but close.  She shared them with several people, the bed with a few less.  Her Husband and Lord had surprised her by asking to go on the journey to Rosemond.  She had expected him to stay in Salam-Dir to take the leadership of the household while she was away, and to look after their children.  Fount and Edgar had softened her with a good, private night between the three of them before they had laid out reasons and feelings for Edgar to be with her.

Laun smiled thinking of laying between them in the large bed in their room in the tower.  She had giggled and said, “All you had to do was ask.”

Fount was the one left in charge, a slightly frightened look on his face as Laun led the caravan out of the gate in the wall around the lands with Edgar riding beside her.  Ali had Lin by a leashed harness and was standing next to Fount as the hinged gate had swung into place in the year-old stone wall.  Laun knew he would be able to handle most of the duties, though Orgia was crankier than usual and Laun cringed thinking of what her chatelaine may be putting her younger husband through.

The journey had taken almost three weeks by the time they had seen the shores of the Island Principality.  It was rushed and yet felt as though it would never end.  There had been one stop along the Southern shore of the Midlands to drop Jake and Nan off, the three year old Tis more than a handful on the journey.  It had made some more room on the ship, but it had also made Laun homesick for her family.  They were very close to the end of their journey and Laun did not know what was to happen when they were in the Rosemond Capitol City.  She did not know what was to happen once she laid eyes on Lady Engrid again.  She did not know.

The two masted ship was alongside and the four masted ship easily slipped through the waters, keeping pace with a watchful crew.  They were far enough away that the calls between the sailors were forced, but even with being from different countries, they spoke the language of the sea and kept the ships from meeting as the waves became choppier.  They were both going against the wind, having to tack more to catch favorable winds.

A watch was posted that none wanted to do, but all knew was needed.  Laun took part of it herself, keeping an eye on the other ship.  Even with the assurances from Captain Chandrey, Laun wanted to make sure a small boat was not launched or left behind as they made their way back to the mainland.

Several people seemed more tired than usual as they came to the outer markers of the Rosemond port city again early in the morning of the third day from the Island Principality.  The itch of not seeing the Lady in person was in many minds.  The itch of the message from Ifahyd was on Laun often before this return trip to the Mainland, and what was behind it.

Laun did not have to see the parchment to know the message.  She had seen it so often that it was burned into her.  A simple message with a date at the top a few weeks away from when the message had been handed to her by one of the men from the Rosemond Embassy.  And then, above the signature of the monarch of Rosemond, “She will be on the mainland on this date.  I want you to be her escort.”

So simple, and yet, it had thrown Salam-Dir into chaos.

The Princess shook her head sadly, mainly at herself.  She was used to being able to pick up and rush to the Capitol City at a messenger from Falmir.  This wasn’t too much different, just longer.  Laun hoped that there would be a resolution in her own mind after seeing Lady Engrid again.  It frightened her that it seemed so final, and yet there was something in her that wanted it to be over.  It was hard to keep hating someone for so long.

The port city was in sight as the sun lit its Eastern face.  A small fog bank softened the morning, but everyone on the ‘Twilight’s Gold’ was awake as they passed the outer belled buoy.  The other ship was still there, the watch not seeing anything untoward in the night.  Laun stood on the bow of the ship, feeling the expert navigation of the ship under her.  She was going to face the woman who had been a strong part of her life without Laun knowing it, and possibly for the last time, if the rumor from the messenger had been true.  If Engrid was sick and dying, the trip to King Ifahyd would kill her.

Laun smiled into the fog.

The ‘Twilight’s Gold’ made it into her slip before the ‘Bahr Wada’ came into the dock area.  The dockside workers remembered the ship and gave it a wide berth, not wanting to be punished for insulting a royal again.  The sailors of the merchant ship went about their business with an efficiency that Laun appreciated.  She watched until she saw some of her household colors come out of the fog.

Silar and Daffyd, the matched pair that were completely different, walked out of the fog and towards the ‘Twilights Gold’, the broken Blue assassin known as Girl walking behind them.  Laun smiled at the green and black dressed people coming out of the thick morning, Girl only wearing her boots and little more than a tabard of a tunic for clothing.

The men stopped at the bottom of the gangplank, Girl kneeling as was her custom and position when not being led.  She knelt in a puddle, a scared look on Girl’s face when she realized what she had done, a slight shiver as she bowed her head lower.  Laun came to the men, put her hand on their cheeks and smiled.  They smiled back, each with a small hand sign to show that things were clear.

Laun looked down at Girl and sighed.  “You will have to wear that mud until we find ourselves a place to rest, Girl.”  Laun paused, seeing the slight nod in the bowed head.  There was an eye flick to the men and a subtle hand signal.  Silar nodded and held out his hand to Girl.  The lead she had been holding for herself was hesitantly offered, her welded metal collar loose but heavy around her pale neck and under her loose, dark blonde hair.  As if she was a dog on a tight leash, Silar snapped the woven cord and she was on her feet, mud dripping down her legs and into her soft boots.  The men followed Laun, Girl half a step behind the dark man.

Laun walked slowly along the road that was along the piers jutting out into the shallow harbor of the port city.  More of her people came to her, Lieutenant Beau being escorted by a Rosemond military opposite as they approached the ‘Bahr Wada’.  The Rosemond officer was introduced, saluted and warrior’s grips offered and taken.  He handed a flattened scroll to Laun, apologies for the condition of the missive from the man.

Laun opened the scroll, breaking the familiar seal with the rose pressed into the red wax.  Written inside was more of an elegant note than a real letter, but Laun recognized King Ifahyd’s hand from the messages they had been sending back and forth over the last two years.

“My Midland Rose,

Forgive me for forcing you to finally come to my kingdom this way.  I look forward to seeing you and entertaining you as you deserve.

With this at your hand, I give you the responsibility to bring Lady Engrid and hers remaining to me.  You have a squad at your disposal of Rosemond Regulars to do with as you see fit.

I look forward to seeing you.

Iffy.”

Laun smiled at the message and smiled at the officer who had been holding the message for her.  She turned to Beau and said in a low tone, “Lieutenant, you will be my liaison between myself and the Rosemond troops that have been put at my disposal.  You know my tastes...”  She saw the flush and nodded, the fiercely loyal man all business, except for the small tremble Laun saw under his right eye.

There was a call to secure the gangplank on the ‘Bahr Wada’ which caught most of the Midland’s people’s attentions.  Laun looked and saw a small gathering of people being avoided by the working sailors of the ship.  The Captain was near the top of the gangplank, talking to an older man as a tight group of people approached.

Laun blinked and suppressed her smile.  The rumor had been right.  Engrid was being carried in a fancy style of gurney.  The men around her didn’t even seem all that sturdy for the job of carrying her.

Several sailors came down the wide wooden board before the group around Lady Engrid did.  Laun waited at the bottom of the gangplank, her people loosely around the pier as the once great Lady was unloaded.

Engrid was not really aware of much around her, but she saw Laun and laughed.  “Come to see me die, tongueless whore?”  The voice was not the smooth musical instrument the great Lady once had used.  It was tired, but held venom enough for all to hear.

“I was asked to escort you to the capitol city and the King, your excellency.”  Laun was not going to rise to the bait, even if it was tasty.

There was a shallow breath and Engrid smiled.  “All this way to make sure I am dead.  I hope it was with some difficulty...”  She sighed and closed her eyes.  The fatigue of trying to harass Laun was too much and the men holding her gurney were allowed to go to the secured carriage on the port road.  Laun noted that one of the men, an older man in plain clothing and accessories, took another glance at Laun, longer than the others around the Lady.

Laun’s group followed those around Lady Engrid.  Gem slid in between, but not behind, Silar and Daffyd, her girl asleep in her arms.  Edgar walked with the group until he saw an opportunity and sped up slightly to then walk beside Laun.  She looked up at him, seeing that he had put on his Royal Companion circlet and his Salam-Dir baldric with the full arms embroidered across his chest.  The Lieutenant was on her other side, keeping his eyes front, but still watching to see how Laun walked to pace himself with her.

It was comfortable, even in the unfamiliar kingdom with blonde haired heads turning to watch them go along the harbor road.  They were being escorted to a large portside inn with a large courtyard filled with carriages and horses.  Laun missed her favorite palfrey and the military chargers stationed at Salam-Dir, but the bloodlines and breeding she could see in the waiting horses made her smile.

There was a glance from the escorting officer from Laun to the horses she was looking at.  “Highness, I know that your man here told me you ride well, but we only have the chargers available.”  The Rosemond officer was trying to tell her that he wanted to have her ride in a carriage, and Laun knew it.  She nodded and looked concerned.  He took it as being displeased and said, “Ma’am, our carriages are quite comfortable...”

Laun dropped her hand from Edgar’s arm and stepped towards the officer.  “I am here at your King’s whim.  If you believe that the mounts of your kingdom are too much for me, I will take you at your word.”  She heard a suppressed giggle from Gem behind her.  “The only thing that concerns me is making sure that her excellency is properly protected until she can be presented to my cousin.”

There was a slight flinch.  “Ma’am.”  

Laun watched the group around Engrid pause and then bring her into the Inn.  The Princess clicked her tongue and three dark green figures were inside before the door had closed even a fraction.

The Rosemond officer looked startled at the small sound from Laun making her people rush into action.  “Ma’am?  Would you like to refresh yourself before we get on the road?”

Laun glanced to her Lord and saw a nod from him.  “That would be pleasant.  A lie-down on something not moving for a while would be nice.”

The group moved towards the Inn, Laun stopping to look at and approach several of the chargers, one taking her scent and rubs down his legs well.  Laun smiled to herself and then to Edgar as they went into the Inn.

There were two large rooms on the first floor of the Inn.  Both were occupied with the escort of Lady Engrid, more heading up the stairs to the next floor.  Laun did not see the need to get a private room for herself, though Gem and the baby along with several of the others went up to have access to whatever was up there.  Laun headed for a bench in the room occupied mainly with the few Midlands’ military and some of the Rosemond squad assigned to them.  A few of the men who had helped to carry Engrid were at one of the tables, tired looks on all their faces.

Laun sat, Edgar beside her.  She closed her eyes and just let the non moving surface be everything for a moment.

“Acqua ye ale?”

The young woman was pleasant to look at and was waiting for a reply.  It was nice to know that ale was the same everywhere.  Soon, there were tankards in front of most of them.  Laun had a few Rosemond coin and placed one on the table.  The woman frowned slightly and looked at Edgar, saying, “Troppo...”

The Rosemond officer took pity on them and talked to the woman for them, lifting the coin and putting it in the woman’s hand with assurances in the Rosemond tongue.  He turned to Laun and shrugged.  “Highness, you just paid for all of us for the next week with that coin.”

Laun turned slightly pink.  “I didn’t know.  I only have that denomination.  My Treasurer didn’t say anything about how large it was.”  Laun put her hand over her mouth thinking of the amount of money she held in her pouch.  She was used to the Midlands coin and had thought that the metals and sizes were similar in value.

“I am sure our Majesty will reimburse you, Highness.”  He saluted and went to talk with his men, a small sneer barely covered.

Laun shook her head, mainly at herself.  “Some bell I am.  I wonder where you can get change around here?”

Edgar put his arm around his Wife and Lady and kissed her on the side of the face.  “I have an idea that you will not have to exchange that for anything, Love.  You are under the orders of their King.  He is paying for everything.”

Laun crinkled her nose at that but did not say what she wanted to.  She drank her ale and looked about the open room, seeing the differences from what she would see in a Midlands tavern.  The beams were hidden and the plaster walls had fine patterns embedded in them.  The doorways were more pointed archways with the wall of windows being open to let through any breeze that would go by.  The tables were made of light colored wood, all the benches and chairs a slightly darker wood.  The carving on the chairs seemed to be mostly curves, the legs of the tables and benches straight without any embellishment.

She looked up from her survey of the room and saw that one of the men was looking at her.  It was the older man who had looked at her before from the escort.  He seemed...familiar, but Laun could not place where she might have seen him before.  She smiled and saw that he smiled back.  Laun turned away, looking more at the slight swirl pattern on the ceiling above them.

Swirls.  She had a flash of leaves swirling and then she saw the man.  He had been to Salam-Dir when she was younger.  It was blurry, like most of her childhood, but she knew he had been there.  She could not remember his name...

“Marquis Justin Blaque, Ma’am.”

Laun turned on the bench to see the man she had just been thinking about standing there, partially bowed with his hand out for her.  She gently placed her hand in his and he lightly kissed the back, looking into her eyes the entire time.

“Have we met before, Marquis?  You seem familiar.”

He smiled and stood, dropping her hand.  “I am not sure.  Is this your first time to Rosemond?”

Laun’s head tilted and she turned the rest of the way around on the bench to face him.  He was not dressed as a Rosemond noble, more plain in many ways, though with a loose silk tunic made for the heat that Rosemond was known for.  The lightly embroidered neck was open and Laun could plainly see the area they normally looked for the scar on his neck under his long, silver hair.  It was scarred and looked like it had several old cuttings on top of each other.

“Sir, I do not ever remember coming to Rosemond before.  Perhaps you have been to the Midlands?”  Laun was fishing for information and if the man did not know it, he was not worth the third rank scar she also saw on him.

His eye went to where she did not have a scar and then back to her eyes.  “I happened to travel there almost a decade ago, but I doubt that we would have crossed paths, Highness.”  His smile was small and Laun could hear the start of a patronizing tone starting.

Laun smiled and nodded.  “You met with my Lady Hellon, did you not?”

There was a flick to his eyebrow and he nodded.  “I did go to the Salam-Dir lands.  I was unhappy to hear of her untimely death.”

There was a flash of true grief that Laun saw under his cool mask.  “There were many four years ago, Marquis.”  Laun tilted her head and looked at him as he tried not to wince.  “That is the past and cannot be changed.  I hope that the future is smoother, and that everything that passes is unwarrented.”

He blinked.  There was a twitch of one hand.  He moved his left booted foot back slightly.  “Ma’am, that is a double edged blade.  If everything was warrentless, it would be chaos.”

Laun nodded and felt Edgar bristle next to her.  “Chaos has it’s place, but I do like to know the order of things.  Knowing who has what colors, as it were.”  Laun smiled and took another sip of her ale, watching the man.

He nodded.  “Perhaps we shall talk again, Highness.  I am part of Lady Engrids honor guard and will be with her for the journey.”

Laun nodded to him and said, “Thank you for introducing yourself.  It is good to know who has been charged with such a responsibility.”  Laun watched the Marquis make a half-bow to her and turn to rejoin the others he had been sitting with.

“I don’t trust him,” Edgar rumbled.

Laun smiled and took another sip of ale before quietly saying, “Neither do I, and I don’t think I ever did.”

 

Onto Chapter 3 The journey in the hot Kingdom is taking its toll